Computer Science

HOW to get computer science software

Quick Links

This document tells students and faculty how to get software used in UWGB Computer Science courses.
Specifically we describe how to get:

Microsoft products: Visual Basic, Visual Web Developer, C++, etc. see next section.
Eclipse and Java (after the Microsoft section).

How to get Microsoft Software Including Web Developer Express, Visual Studio.Net 2005, Visio, MS Project
Microsoft has made freely available a number of products in an Express version which should meet most needs. These products can be downloaded from Microsoft's website for free from this site: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/default.aspx

Visual Web Developer Express (2005 edition)
Visual Basic Express (2005 edition)
Visual C++ Express (2005 edition)

The above The following express versions can be downloaded from this common link:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/downloads/default.aspx
The PC system requirements are listed in step 1 of the download process. Before installing, please verify that your PC or laptop meets those requirements.

UWGB's MSDN Academic Alliance Software Center - (UWGB Students/Faculty Only)

UWGB's Computer Science Department is a member of Microsoft's Academic Alliance. That partnership makes Microsoft programming software available at a substantially reduced price. For example, Visual Studio.Net 2005 Professional retails for $799, but you can get it for $32.50 + shipping & handling through the MSDN Academic Alliance Software Center (price as of June 2007). You can also download Visual Studio.Net 2005 and other products for free (such as OneNote 2007 and Expression Web). [Note: if you are running a PC or Laptop with Windows ME or Windows 98, you may need to upgrade to Windows XP Professional if you want to develop software using Visual Studio.Net.]
Computer Science students who are currently enrolled in programming courses have been enrolled in UWGB's MSDN AA Software Center which enables you to download or order software from
the website: http://msdn03.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Home.aspx?campus=uwgb_ics . Enrollment in the MSDN AA Software Center expires at the end of each semester. UWGB's MSDN AA Software Center sends out an Email message to each enrollee containing their User ID and Password that allows students to log into the Software Center where they can purchase products. If you have been previously enrolled in the MSDN AA Software Center, you will not receive an Email, but your previous password will still work. If you have forgotten that password and you want it reset, please contact Bruce LaPlante. Your password is different from the one you use at UWGB.
Please save that Email message so you can refer to it whenever you need your password. Your User ID will be your entire UWGB Email address (e.g., JohnMB05@uwgb.edu).
UWGB's MSDN Academic Alliance Software Center website is at:
http://msdn03.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Home.aspx?campus=uwgb_ics

To Download Software from UWGB's MSDN AA Software Center
See instructions on how to Download Software

To Order CD's

You can order CDs for any of the these products (VS.Net 2003, MS Project, Visio, Windows XP) as follows:

You will need a valid credit card.
Navigate to:
http://msdn03.e-academy.com/elms/Storefront/Home.aspx?campus=uwgb_ics
Click on the Login button on the left side of the home page and login (use your email address and password).
Then click on the "Software" button at the top.
To order a CD for one of the products, click on that product Icon, which will take you to an order screen.
After ordering, your product should be delivered within 1-2 weeks.

CD Check-out
Note: some of the product Icons (SQL Server, VS.Net 2005, MS E-Learning Library) are for CDs that can be checked out by contacting Bruce LaPlante (MAC Hall C-wing Office 326). The cost for checking out CDs/DVDs is free. If you order one of these CDs, please also send Mr. LaPlante an Email and make arrangements to come in and pick up the CD. The "Software Center" unfortunately does not send us Email messages to let us know who ordered products using the CD Checkout feature. When you return CDs/DVDs, please include your name so we can record the fact that you have returned it.
If you have any questions about using the Software Center website, please contact Bruce LaPlante. Note: because of filters on the Outlook Email program, some students have found the MSDN AA Email with their password in their "Junk or Spam Email" folder, so if you didn't receive an Email with your password, you might try looking there before contacting Bruce LaPlante.

How to get Eclipse, UWGB's Java Development Environment (Software Design I & II)
There are several ways students can get eclipse, our Java Development environment. The following information might be discussed in the Software Design classes, but is provided here for your convenience. Please contact Lecturer Bruce LaPlante or Professor Hosung Song if you have questions about the procedure for installing Eclipse.
For those of you unfamiliar with Eclipse, it is an open source professional Java development environment originally developed by IBM and currently used as the basis for IBM’s WebSphere Java development product, and many other commercial products. Find out more about Eclipse at: http://www.eclipse.org/ .
Note: these instructions are for getting the latest release of Eclipse 3.2. This release is compatible with other releases and will work for your course work.
To get eclipse, you will need to either:

Bring in a CD and copy files from UWGB’s servers, or
Download Java from Sun’s Java site, and Eclipse from the Eclipse.org web-site.

Both the Sun installation file and eclipse can be copied from the Computer Science department file-share: \\fpsb.uwgb.edu\compsci$ or simply \\fpsb\compsci$ (if accessed from campus). On the compsci$ file-share are several directories, but the two of most interest are:

Java Sun JDK 1.5 Update 7 (54 Meg), and
eclipse32 (~ 280 Meg)

Two-Step Process
Setting up the eclipse programming environment on your PC or laptop is a two step process:

Install the Java Development Kit (JDK) and the Java Runtime Environment (JRE)
Intall eclipse

Step 1. Install Sun’s JDK and JRE
Before installing Eclipse, you will need to install Sun’s Java JDK (Java development kit) and JRE (Java Runtime Environment). Both of these are included in the download for Sun’s JDK. The Java JDK and JRE used in our Computer Science labs are contained in a file that can be copied from UWGB’s Computer Science faculty share at: “\\fpsb\compsci$\Java Sun JDK 1.5 Update 7” or you can get the latest version, by downloading it directly from Sun at: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp . If you download directly from Sun, make sure you download the Java 5.0 SE JDK. The update version number on Sun’s site will likely be a higher update than listed on our file share. That is OK.
Sun distributes the Java JDK as a large “exe” file such as: jdk-1_5_0_08-windows-i586-p.exe (~ 65 Meg). When you double click this file, it begins the installation of both the JDK (first) and the JRE (second). You should run both of the installations. Place them in their standard locations (on Windows: C:\Program Files\Java). After installation, you should see the following directories on your computer:
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.5.0_07 and
C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_07
(Note that the drive letter is dependent on what drive you installed it on, and the update number “_07” could be larger if you downloaded the software from Sun.)
Step 2. Install Eclipse
Students have two basic options for installing eclipse on their home PCs:

Bring in a CD or Flash-drive and copy the contents of the \\fpsb\compsci$\eclipse32 folder (~ 280 Meg), then take it home and copy it to your hard drive. For example, copy it to a folder named c:\eclipse or c:\eclipse32 (“c:\eclipse” is the standard name if you don’t need to have two versions on your PC/Laptop.)
Then you are done. Eclipse is installed. Yes – it is that easy.

or ...
Download eclipse from Eclipse.org (http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/) and install manually. See below for more on option 2 download and install manually.

Option 2: Downloading and installing from Eclipse.org.
[Note: this assumes you have installed the Java JDK and JRE as described above.]
First, why might a student want to download and install from Eclipse.org when option 1 listed above is so simple? Because there are a variety of enhancements and features on the eclipse website that extends eclipse’s capabilities. It is the best way to keep eclipse up-to-date. Like any software, there are bug fixes, and new features being added regularly. There are also other features like eclipse documentation (pdf files) that are available for download on the Eclipse website.
To install Eclipse using option 2, do the following:

Download the Eclipse 3.2 core product (see below)
Unzip the file
Run the software updater. (optional, see below)

Download Eclipse 3.2 Core Product.

Go to the eclipse download site: http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/
Select Eclipse SDK 3.2

Pick a site from which to download
Download the eclipse SDK: eclipse-SDK-3.2-win32.zip (~124 Meg).

Unzip the file (eclipse-SDK-3.2-win32.zip).

Double-click the file or run WinZip to un-zip the file. You probably want to un-zip it onto the C:\ directory. By default it will un-zip into a sub-directory named eclipse. All components will be unzipped into the same (eclipse) sub-directory. The directory structure is important. If you decide to rename the eclipse director, or to move it, please retain its structure.
If you get warning messages prompting you to replace existing eclipse files, you can replace them.
Run Eclipse by going to the directory where you installed it and double-clicking the eclipse.exe file. For convenience, you might want to create a desktop short-cut to the eclipse.exe program for later use.

Run the software updater (optional).
To update your new version of Eclipse, do:

Start-up Eclipse by going to the directory where you installed it (e.g., C:\eclipse), and double-click on the eclipse.exe program. For convenience, you might want to create a desktop short-cut to the eclipse.exe program for later use.
After Eclipse starts up, click on the Help menu, and select Software Updates, then Find and Install. Help==>Software Updates==>Find and Install …
Select Search for New Features to Install and click the Next button.
Select Callisto Discovery Site and check Ignore Features not applicable to this Environment
Click the Finish button, and then select a Callisto Update site or a Mirrored site, thus indicating the site from where you will get the downloads.
Select the Sub-Features you want to install.
[UWGB’s site has all features that were available in July of 2006, and we will update our version of Eclipse each summer.]
Nice features to have are:

C and C++ Development
Database Development
Graphical Editors and Frameworks
Java Development (GEF and Visual Editor)
Models and Model Development
Web and J2EE Development
Enabling Features (supports web and database development)