BlackBerry Application Development Tutorial (Part-2)

Hello All,

Hope that everything is going good …

Today I’m going to tell you some basic requirements to start your BlackBerry application development. Today you will build your system with all necessary tools and will be ready to write your first program for BlackBerry… don’t think about hello world … we will use some other name

Note: This tutorial is a part of a series of my tutorials on BlackBerry application development; so far we have discussed the following.

• Introduction :: BlackBerry Application Development (Part -01)
• Setting Up Your System :: BlackBerry Application Development Tutorial (Part-2)
• Your First Application :: BlackBerry Application Development Tutorial (Part-3)
• Creating A WebIcon :: BlackBerry Application Development Tutorial (Part-4)

OOk,friends … Let’s start…. First of all, some good news: BlackBerry application development is java based … Heyyy, cheersss… You don’t need to have extra machine to develop applications or install simulator type tool like in case of iPhone… if you are a java developer, and already doing java development, then u just need to install few more things to jump into BlackBerry’s world …

My English isn’t too good but my java language is somehow… so don’t concentrate what I’m saying … just focus on what I want to teach … else you will find lot of EnglishGrammarException or SpellExceptions… 🙂

For those who are already doing Java development, skip this step; for those who are new to Java, they must download and install the Java Development Kit (JDK). Currently, version 6 is the latest, so you must use it. Next, we will use Eclipse IDE for our development and debugging. Eclipse is free with many useful plug-ins. The next step is to download BlackBerry JDEs and a plug-in of BlackBerry for Eclipse and a simulator for the device.
So open your downloader and start downloading required items from following links

• java development kit (JKD).
• Eclipse
• BlackBerry JDEs.
• BlackBerry JDE plug-in for eclipse
• Device Simulator (try to download latest version)

After downloading JDK install it to your prefer location, then edit a “path” environment variable entry, append the [java-instal-dir]\bin … Like in my case, I appended the entry c:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.5.0_06\bin in the path variable after placing a semicolon in the previous entry.

Start your Eclipse that you just downloaded (or, in case you are already using it, just open it). It’s time to configure your Eclipse with BlackBerry tools.
1. Install the JRE

• Click Window > Preferences from the main menu in Eclipse
• Click Java > Installed JREs
• Click Add.
• Fill the fields:
  • JRE type = Standard VM
  • JRE name = ‘RIM JRE’
  • JRE home = path to the JDK (eg. C:\jdk1.6.0_06)
  • Default VM Arguments leave blank
• In the JRE system libraries box, select all of the entries and click Remove.
• Click Add External JARs and navigate to the lib directory of the BlackBerry JDE (eg. C:\jde\lib).
• Select the file net_rim_api.jar.
• Back in the JRE system libraries box, select the new entry for net_rim_api.jar
• Click OK to close the Add JRE window.
• In the Installed JREs window, check the box next to the new RIM JRE entry.
• Click on the prior entry in this list (for jre1.6.0_06) and click the Remove button.
• Click OK to close the Preferences window.

2. Set the JDK Compliance Level

• Click Window > Preferences from the main menu in Eclipse
• Click Java > Compiler
• Change the ‘Compiler compliance level’ to 1.6.
• Click OK to close the Preferences window.

3. Increase debugger timeouts

• Click Window > Preferences from the main menu in Eclipse
• Click Java > Debug
• Increase the launch timeout by a factor of 10 (eg. set to 200000)
• Increase the Debugger timeout by a factor of 5 (eg. set to 15000)
• Click OK to close the Preferences window.

Your Eclipse is ready to write your first program for BlackBerry.

In the next post I will illustrate the basic structure of BB’s application and main program.

Cheers.

Author Profile

Aasim Naseem

Hey, Thanks for your interest. I’m a PMP, AWS Solutions Architect, and Scrum Master certified professional with 17+ years of hands-on experience leading projects, building teams, and helping organizations deliver software solutions better, faster, and smarter.

Outside of work, I’ve got a deep curiosity for history — especially ancient civilizations like Egypt. I also enjoy reflecting on the everyday moments that shape how we live and work. This blog is my space to share insights, lessons, and thoughts from both my professional journey and personal interests.

Thanks for reading — and I hope you will find something here that matches your interest.

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