Setting up the development environment

This page describes how to set up the development environment that you will use to complete the exercises in this tutorial.

This tutorial is written for a Microsoft Windows development environment, but you can also complete the exercises using macOS or Linux. Sections below that apply only to Microsoft Windows are indicated with a Windows icon ( ).

Install OpenJDK

Follow the steps below:

  1. Install OpenJDK 8 or OpenJDK 11 (see Installing Java)

  2. Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to the root of the OpenJDK’s installation directory

Install IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse

The tutorials in this course require an IDE with Gradle integration and provide instructions for IntelliJ IDEA and Eclipse.

For installation instructions, follow the links below:

Install Google Chrome

The tutorials require a web browser that includes comprehensive developer tools. Google Chrome is used as an example.

Install the Google Chrome web browser.

Install a Bash shell ( )

This section only applies if you are using Microsoft Windows.

The Caplin Deployment Framework is designed to run in a Bash shell. To run the Deployment Framework on Microsoft Windows, install Cygwin or Git Bash and enable the winsymlinks:lnk option.

For detailed instructions, see Installing Bash on Windows.

Install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for VS 2015 ( )

This section only applies if you are using Microsoft Windows.

The Windows builds of Liberator and Transformer require the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015.

The installer is available at The latest supported Visual C++ downloads on the Microsoft website.