How to Use the Tutorial

The Java Tutorial: Object-Oriented Programming for the Internet is a practical, online guide to writing programs in the Java language.

Documentation Trails

This tutorial consists of a series of intersecting trails -- programming lessons grouped together based on topic. To learn about a certain area of Java programming, go to the trail map, decide which trail is of interest to you, and follow the link to the trail head for that trail. For example, if you are interested in information about writing applets, select the link to the Writing Applets trail, marked with this signpost:

The trail head is the first page on a trail. It lists, describes, and provides links to all of the lessons on the trail. Selecting a link from the trail head takes you to the lesson head for the lesson that you chose. The lesson head is the first page in the lesson and introduces the lesson, typically providing an outline or overview of the lesson. Usually, several lesson pages comprise the entire lesson.

The Control Panel

Each page in The Java Tutorial has a control panel at the top with the following five elements:
The "Previous" link takes you to the previous page in the lesson.

The "Next" link takes you to the next page in the lesson.

This link transports you to the top of the tutorial: to the Trail Map.
This is a trail marker and is a link to the trail head of the current trail. Each trail has its own identifying trail marker--the symbol to the left represents the Creating a User Interface trail.
Lesson Title And finally, this right-aligned link is the title of the current lesson and is linked to the lesson head (the first page in the lesson) of the current lesson.

Inline Links

Links within the text of the tutorial have one of the following forms:

Links to pages within the current lesson are text links.
Links to pages within a different lesson, but on the same trail as the current lesson are also text links , but they have an icon that indicates which trail the lesson is on (the icon for the current trail). Both the text and the icon are links.
Links to pages in a different trail are also text links , but they have an icon that indicates which trail the lesson is on. Both the text and the icon are links.