Java

Java is a programming language that has become ubiquitous given its ability to be used in many different hardware and software configurations through the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It is quite similar in syntax to other strongly typed languages and compiled like C++. Given that this tutorial is aimed at learning about how to create a Project Malmö task and not a Java tutorial, should you be unfamiliar with Java or have never used Java before, it might be a good idea to go through some Java resources: Tutorials Point, Java Docs at Oracle, Minecraft Gamepedia Helpful Links for Creating Mods.

Minecraft Forge

As alluded to above, Minecraft is written in Java and in fact uses the LightWeight Java Game Library. Thus, to be able to able to create mods, it is a good idea to use Java itself. MinecraftForge, commonly known simply as Forge, is one such modding platform which uses Java that is quite mature and has been used for many Minecraft mods. At it's core, Forge provides access to the state of the Minecraft world, and entities like players, enemies, villagers, and the weather. Additionally, Event Handlers provide hooks for getting access into events like block place and break events which we will be using.

There is not much thorough and up-to-date documentation on Forge. This is one reason using an IDE helps a lot since being able to go through the Minecraft and Forge libraries itself serves as quite a good reference. That said, many of the functions and arguments are "obfuscated." For example, you might see a function like func_152917_b(String p_152917_1_). This is generally the case for methods and parameters deep and internal to Minecraft. For many of these, you can find more information and possibly the true name for the method and arguments on an Internet Relay Chat website, EsperNet, in the #MCPBot chatroom.

Apart from the above, there are indeed many resources and websites; however, as stated before, proceed with caution when using such resources as they may be outdated. Here are some that can be very useful:

In the next section, we will begin writing the Forge side code. The steps will be presented in a manner much like the XSD instruction given before. So, a deep understanding of Forge or Java isn't really required. That said, have a look around some of the resources presented above and take a look at the Project Malmö code in the IDE you have installed.