Thread: Java Eclipse Code Error

Hello. I'm very new to Java, and I have just recently found a tutorial that I am using. I cut-and-pasted a bit of code -- some code that I saw the tutorial use successfully from the command line -- from the tutorial's website into Eclipse. Here is the code:

 
import java.awt.Canvas;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.FontMetrics;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
 
public class AdvancedWindowClass2 extends Canvas {
    AdvancedWindowClass2() {
        setSize(200,200);
    }
    public void paint(Graphics g) {
        Rectangle rect;
        rect = getBounds();
        String str;
        str = "I'm in the center!";
        FontMetrics fm = g.getFontMetrics();
        int strwidth = fm.stringWidth(str);
        int y = rect.height / 2;
        int x = (rect.width / 2) - (strwidth / 2);
        g.drawString(str,x,y);
    }
}

Eclipse didn't show any errors, so I ran it, and got this error:

 
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: main

Being new to coding and Java, I have no idea what this means, although my guess would be that Eclipse is searching my code for a "main" method, and not finding it. However, the code that I pasted in didn't have a "main" method, and it worked fine in the tutorial, though that was from the command line. Does that have something to do with the error? If anyone knows the problem, I would really appreciate some help!

Thanks!

--- Update ---

Sorry. That first sentence with a bit confusing. What I meant was that I have just found a tutorial for the Java programming language, and I am using it to learn Java.

Your guess about the error message is a good one. Yes, a main() method is needed as the starting point for a Java class to be runnable/stand alone, though Applets are slightly different animals. However, this isn't an Applet. There were "things" going on behind the scenes in the tutorial you watched (I assume), and the piece of code you copied and pasted into Eclipse was a small piece of a larger whole.

Have you done the basic HelloWorld tutorial/trail to learn the basic parts of a Java program? You can follow the Oracle version and adapt as needed to the Eclipse IDE, or you could do the Eclipse tutorials that are available from the Welcome screen. You can get Eclipse's Welcome screen by selecting "Help" then "Welcome".

Originally Posted by GregBrannon

Your guess about the error message is a good one. Yes, a main() method is needed as the starting point for a Java class to be runnable/stand alone, though Applets are slightly different animals. However, this isn't an Applet. There were "things" going on behind the scenes in the tutorial you watched (I assume), and the piece of code you copied and pasted into Eclipse was a small piece of a larger whole.

Have you done the basic HelloWorld tutorial/trail to learn the basic parts of a Java program? You can follow the Oracle version and adapt as needed to the Eclipse IDE, or you could do the Eclipse tutorials that are available from the Welcome screen. You can get Eclipse's Welcome screen by selecting "Help" then "Welcome".

Thanks! I followed your advice and went and watched the tutorial again, and realized that the particular thing I was doing required another class (I think that's what it's called) in order to function. I added this other class, and sure enough, it worked! Thanks again! I really appreciate it!