CSC 120 Programming and Problem Solving I
Hardware and Software Requirements

Accessing the CS Virtual Desktop

You can access the Computer Science Virtual Desktop remotely by browsing to the VMware Horizon server.

If you are off campus, you will need to establish a connection with the Mount Union virtual private network (VPN) before you can access the viewconnect server; see this explanation and series of directions for using VPN at Mount Union. It may take a little time (possibly several days) for access to be granted, so if you plan to use this option fill out the form linked to the previous directions page to request access early.

VPN access is supported by IT for Windows and Mac computers.

Installing Course Software

You can set up the Apache Netbeans application on your own Windows 10 or Mac computer. Start by opening this current instruction page in a browser on the computer you want to install the software on.

If you have an older version of Netbeans already installed, it is recommended that you uninstall it before you follow the directions below to install Netbeans 20; there are different details depending on whether your computer is Windows 10 or Mac.

Install Netbeans 20 on a Windows 10 computer

  1. Download Eclipse Temurin jdk-16.02+7 for Windows x64 from the Adoptium download site.  When you click this link, scroll down and choose the .msi version for Windows x64 platform, as shown in this image:

    Start the installation process by double-clicking the downloaded msi file. Proceed through the installation process by clicking Next one or more times, accepting the license agreement if you are asked, until you see the screen below; at this point select also the Set JAVA_HOME variable feature to be installed, in addition to the other two features already selected, then press Next and complete the installation process.

  2. Only after you have installed Temurin JDK16 properly can you successfully install Netbeans 20. Once you have installed Temurin JDK16 following the previous set of instructions, download the Netbeans installer file Apache-NetBeans-20r1-bin-windows-x64.exe; this link and other information can be found on the Dowloading Apache Netbeans 20 page.   Run the downloaded file to install Apache Netbeans 20, accepting the license and any default options.

    If you see a dialog box similar to the following one pop up, you didn't select the Set JAVA_HOME variable feature correctly when you installed OpenJDK16, so you will have to run the OpenJDK16 installer again (it's probably in the Downloads folder) and change the features selected so that the Set JAVA_HOME variable feature is correctly selected, then run the Apache Netbeans install program again.

Install Netbeans 20 on a Mac computer

  1. Download Eclipse Temurin jdk-16.02+7 for macOS x64 from the Adoptium download site.  On this page, select the .pkg file for macOS x64 platforms.  This will download the installation file.  Start the installation process by clicking on the downloaded pkg file to open it, pressing the Continue button, agreeing to the license, then pressing the Install button and providing your password to allow the install.

  2. Only after you have installed Temurin JDK16 properly can you successfully install Netbeans 20. Once you have done the JDK16 install, download the installer Apache-NetBeans-20.pkg; this link and other information can be found on the Dowloading Apache Netbeans 20 page.   Click to open the downloaded dmg file, then double-click the pkg file that appears in the Finder to open the installer for Apache Netbeans 20. Follow the prompts, agreeing to the license and entering your password as for the installation of Temurin JDK16. You may then eject the dmg file from the desktop. A Netbeans folder should appear in the Applications folder, and inside of that is the Apache Netbeans 20 application.