To program the RCX brick in Java, we recommend the use of the LejOS programming language. Programming in LejOS offers us all the advantages of object-oriented programming. In order to run Java programs on the RCX brick, you will have to download the LejOS firmware onto the brick which is really a Java virtual machine which fits conveniently into the 32kb available on the RCX. For more information on the LejOS programming language, check out LejOS's website at http://lejos.sourceforge.net.
Two IDEs that we recommend using for programming the RCX in Java are BlueJ and Eclipse. Both IDEs have versions available for Mac and PC. Also, with each IDE, you will need to install the lejOS plug in. The IDEs can be found at the following links:
BlueJ - http://www.bluej.org
Eclipse - http://www.eclipse.org
BlueJ is a simple IDE that is very visual, which can be useful for beginning programmers, where as Eclipse is a much more advanced and developed IDE.
In order to interpret and download information to the RCX brick, you will need download the LejOS programming language, which can be found at:
http://lejos.sourceforge.net/download.html
And, the RCX Mindstorm Tool, which can be found at:
http://ddi.uni-paderborn.de/mindstormstools/index_en.html
These will allow you to write, compile, and download the your Java programs onto the RCX brick.
