command prompt

What is Command Prompt?

The Command Prompt works at a lower level than Windows. This means that you will have more control over the machine. The disadvantage is that it is less user-friendly.

To launch Command Prompt select Start -> Run and type cmd in the box.

The Command Prompt shows up as a black terminal window. The command prompt should look something like:

C:\>

This is where you type commands. The boldface type below (that follows the command prompt) is what you should type as you work through this tutorial. Windows does not care if you use upper or lower case. That means that command cd is the same as CD. It also means that, in Windows, file HelloWorld.java is the same as helloworld.java. This is not true in the system to which you will be submitting your files.