Shortcuts for testing out small code snippets in IntelliJ IDEA?

Question

I use IntelliJ IDEA and was thinking about how nice it would be to be able to pop up a context where I could write, compile and run some simple core java code and then automatically dispose of the whole thing when I close the context.

Sometimes you just want to try simple something out, like a regular expression (I'm aware there's a regex tester plugin) or some series of bit-wise operations; for whatever reason its not always feasible to test directly within the project code and creating a whole new project is disruptive to the work flow.

So my question is this: what do other people use to try out their snippets of code?

Answer 1

Take into account IntelliJ Idea's (from version 14) Scratches:

• Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Insert and select type

Answer 2

Java 9

You can use jshell from any command line (or from the IntelliJ terminal).

1. View > Tool Windows > Terminal (Alt + F12)

2. Type jshell:

   user@xyz:~/IdeaProjects/prj$ jshell
   |  Welcome to JShell -- Version 9-ea
   |  For an introduction type: /help intro
   
   
   jshell> 
   

3. Enter your snippet (you don't need to add ; at the end of the row)

   jshell> Set.of("c", "b", "a").size()
   $1 ==> 3
   

4. Exit from jshell using one of the following approaches:

   • type /exit
   • press Ctrl + D