Barbet Tatò (Monologist)

Hey there! Dealing with the Command Prompt can be a bit tricky at first, but running simple Java files is actually a two-step process once you have your Java Development Kit (JDK) set up properly. I remember struggling with this in my first programming class! Here's the most reliable way to do it: ### Step 1: Compile the Java Source File First, you need to compile your .java file into a bytecode file, which the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) can understand. 1. Open Command Prompt (cmd). 2. Navigate to your file's directory. Use the cd (change directory) command. For example, if your file is on your desktop in a folder called MyJava, you'd type something like: cd C:\Users\YourUsername\Desktop\MyJava 3. Compile the file. Use the javac command, followed by your file name. If your file is HelloWorld.java, you'd type: bash javac HelloWorld.java If successful, this command won't give you any output, but it will create a new file in the same directory called HelloWorld.class. This is your compiled bytecode. ### Step 2: Run the Compiled Class File Now you run the compiled class file using the java command. 1. Execute the program. Use the java command, followed by the class name (which should be the same as your file name, without the .class extension). bash java HelloWorld 2. View the output. The program will execute, and the output (like "Hello, World!") will appear directly in the Command Prompt. *** Pro Tip: If you see an error like 'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, it means your Java JDK is not correctly added to your system's PATH environment variable. You'll need to fix that first!