The method to setup BlackBerry software development environment

You can easily go for blackberry development if you are aware of the right tools you need to install on your computer.  The initial things you need are a Java Software Development Kit (JDK) and BlackBerry Java Development Environment (JDE).  These are available free on the websites of Sun Microsystems and Research in Motion. JDK is used as a basic tool, complying Java source code into bytecdoe. This is done using Java Interpreter. Java interpreter comes with JDK and is used to run various development tools in JDE. 

JDE comes with tools targeted to the BlackBerry development. They transform Java bytecode into the format used on BlackBerry devices. It has editing tools and debugging tools for serious BlackBerry Programming. 

When developing software for BlackBerry, first determine which version of OS you want to target. This decides the version of JDE you have to use accordingly. 

There is a general rule to determine this. You should use a JDE version equal to or less than the version of operating system you want to target. So, if you have to target OS 4.3, the JDE version should be 4.0, 4.1, and 4.3. This assures that your application will work on Blackberry devices working on OS 4.3. 

After determining the JDE version, it is time to download and install the accurate version of JDK. You can use JDK version 1.5 for JDE version 4.1 and 4.2. For JDE version 4.0.2 and prior, use JDK 1.4.  For JDE 4.3, use JDK 1.6. Most of the versions (not the quite old) for JDK are available on the website of Sun Microsystems. 

Once you’ve installed the right JDK, you can download appropriate JDE from the BlackBerry developer site. Here, you need to register for free account. 

You can install different versions of JDK and JDE on the same machine. They can co-exist on the same machine if you install them in a correct order. First install the lower version of JDK and then the compatible version of JDE. Higher versions should be installed after installing lower versions. If you don’t follow this method, you can also alter the path.