The Java environment on the lab machines relies
on a set of command-line tools, the Java Development Kit (JDK)
rather than an integrated environment.
At its core is the Java compiler,
invoked by the command javac filename.java .
The command java classname executes Java bytecodes
created by the Java compiler, javac. As usual, you
can find further information on these commands
through the man pages, invoked by man 'commandname'.
New to Java?
For those of you who have not had an opportunity
to program in Java, here are a few pointers to
some on-line material.
There are also dozens of books available. As reference material,
the "Core Java" series published by SunSoft
and Prentice Hall
is a good bet; many of its books have been
co-authored by the developers of Java.
Another more concise one is
Java in a Nutshell
published by O'Reilly.
You can find a long list of books on Java
at
http://www.ibiblio.org/javafaq/books.html;
although it may be biased since it is put together
by somebody who has written related books himself,
it can give you some guidance on the choice of suitable books
for your purpose.