Learning Java with Sun SPOTS

Small Programmable Object Technology devices from Sun Microsystems (Sun SPOTs) are small wireless devices that can run Java programs. In the on-going research project described in this paper, Sun SPOTs have been used in conjunction with model-driven software development techniques to develop a tool that can be used to introduce new software developers to object-oriented programming in general and Java in particular in a new and interesting way. The tool, a graphical user interface application, allows users to quickly design, build, and deploy Java applications to the Sun SPOTs without using a conventional integrated development environment or low level commands. In this way new developers aren’t so overwhelmed by the wealth of technologies, commands, and possibilities offered by the current sophisticated Java development tools. However, the generated Java source code will be available as either an Eclipse or NetBeans project for those who would like to study it.