screen capture

Hi,

I want to create a screen capture using java.

I'm new to java and I'm overwhelmed by the so many terms: SE, EE, FX, Swing...

I saw a nice product written in java that let you start the Java program from the website (java web start) and then it sits in your system tray. When you right click on it you see several capture options: full screen, area, window...
After you capture it opens a window with your screen capture and you can manipulate it or save it...

I know that Java is moving fast so I'll appreciate if you can show me the way to the most relevant tools to make it.
What is the first thing I need to learn and what IDE do you recommend?

Thanks

re: screen capture

Hi dolittle!

OK, let's start with the easy things. One very popular (and free!) IDE for Java development is eclipse. You should also install the newest JDK (JDK 6 Update 6), if that hasn't already happened.

Next, you should check out this short summary of useful documents - you should certainly get the tutorial and APIs.

Go through the tutorial, solve the tasks and if you are in any doubt, ask. There are also some good (and partially free) books about Java out there, just ask.

To answer your other question, the one about making screen shots with Java - often a simple google search gives you a lot of information.

Greetings,
Nepomuk

re: screen capture

Thank you for your answer.

I've read about javaFx script. Should I use it because this is the new technology or is it different then what I'm looking for?

How can I let users install the screen capture program from a web page?
I could be a temporary installation.
I've read about Java web start. Is this the way to go?
Will JavaFx address this issue in a different way then Java web start?

Thanks

re: screen capture

Hey, not so fast!
First of all, learn the basics. Then write a program, that can make screenshots localy. You will see, that you'll need AWT (or maybe Swing?). It will take some time, until you can handle both basic Java and Java with graphical libraries.

Then you can ask about JavaFX script and Java WebStart - which by the way are two totally different things - and decide, which one you could imagine using. I suspect, Java WebStart would be the choice, but I haven't heard much about JavaFX script yet, so I might be mistaken.

Greetings,
Nepomuk