hi,pls help a newbie

What exactly are you looking for?

Do you want something to compile source files that are a .java files?

In that case, you'll need the Java SDK from: http://java.sun.com/

If you're looking for an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), you could have a try at JCreator http://ww.jcreator.com or another popular IDE, Eclipse which can be found at http://www.eclipse.org/.
Furthermore, java.sun.com is full with really good quality tutorials. Just do a search on their webpage such as "tutorial."

Hope this helps.

Well I've been using JCreator for a while but I don't think it has debugging capabilities. I often just use println statements.

Eclipse is a popular IDE, I don't use it since it appeared to have a higher learning curve compared to JCreator.

If your source code is short you should be able to use JCreator and just use println statements for your debugging purposes.

I've used JBuilder at school and it does have debugging capabilities that are very straighforward. One note is that JBuilder is coded in Java and can run slow at times. Nonetheless, Eclipse is also coded in Java but runs top-notch.

I suggest DevSquare (www.devsquare.com). Its easy to get started as you dont require any set up on your machine infact its better than JCreator as it needs no installation and has good editor features like auto completion, templates, code navigation and prompt error messages support that redirect to the corresponding line in the code. You can also debug your applications and refactor your code using this tool. I found it quite useful as it also has a code base where code bytes are availble.