Java stuff 2

Discussion in 'Scripting & Programming' started by zxspectrum, Oct 10, 2009.

  1. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    OK so ive ordered my book, head first java, and from the sample pages if got from amazon i seem quite impressed, ive lso been looking at sites and have just obtained a lot of ebooks in regards to the topic.

    Now im either really dumb or im ust not meant to do java, though i know that when im truly focused i kick arse. Does anyone know of a site of book that strips java down to its bear bones and then builds on that. We have some sample code through our uni but its incomplete and we have to add the rest, but theres no start off point at all.

    And im not sure if the programs differ, the code in quesiton is designed for a program called blueJ which is a java coder, the one that were using is called netbeans so im wondering if there is a slight difference??? as when i try an type the code in i get errors.

    I may even be looking to far into Java as the course were doing is distributed systems where we have to build an application uing java, and ive got that sinking feeling that when i ask the tutor for help shell say, look in such a book, read your slides or look at the notes on the uni site. To me thats not teaching, hell if hs asks my name then should i day the same to her, look on the uni website?

    I know were meant to teach ourselves here but you always need a start off point i think, when i was a mechanic i didnt learn much through looking at a book, it complimented what i learned on the job, which is why i gained a level 3 NVQ and was also an MOT inspector. So im not doubting my ability, i know how good/bad i am at stuff i always need a start off point always have done which im sure most of you would have to.

    Any ideas inhow i should aproach this??

    eD
     
    Certifications: BSc computing and information systems
    WIP: 70-680
  2. MLP

    MLP Kilobyte Poster

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    Hi

    My java is a bit sketchy, as I haven't done any for a while, although I need to get back into it for next year.

    When I was at Uni, we used Java in Two Semesters, and also Big Java. Of the two, I preferred Big Java. There's also these tutorials, which might be useful.

    I've used netbeans, which is much more like a traditional IDE, with projects and on-the-fly error detection. I've also used BlueJ a little, and was impressed with its simplicity. It allows you to create a class, and test it without creating test programs. I.e. you create a class Car, with private attributes mileage and petrol. You then create some public methods, AddGas(), DriveCar(), and rather than write CarTest, you just call the methods from the program itself. I'd go with BlueJ to start with personally, and then explore Netbeans later.

    Maria
     
    Certifications: HND Computing
  3. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    I found it useful to ditch eclipse, netbeans and bluej and just use a simple text editor. That way all you need to think about is the code itself, and the object oriented nature of it, rather than try to learn a piece of software alongside it.

    Without knowing what errors Netbeans is throwing my first guess would be the code is using a different version of Java from Netbeans. There is also the possibility that the code has been printed wrong, is incomplete or you've typed it wrong. Actually, one of those would be my first guess. I'm no Java guru but feel free to PM me the code (as you've typed it) and I'll give it a once over and see if I can spot anything obvious.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job
  4. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Would have to agree with that. When I started using VB and C++ I used notepad to learn the basics and then started Visual Studio later on.
     
    Certifications: MSc MCSE MCSA:M MCSA:S MCITP:EA MCTS(x5) MS-900 AZ-900 Security+ Network+ A+
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  5. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    This is going to sound daft but i could type all the code i have into notepad and run it from there??? Without using a program????

    Then what about errors??? Can you tell im totally new to all this

    Ed
     
    Certifications: BSc computing and information systems
    WIP: 70-680
  6. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    When programming typically you type in high level langauge into a file called a source file, this file is then translated into something else by an interpreter/compiler/assembler etc.

    In Java you can use a command line program called javac (Java compiler) this does not really compile your program in the traditional sense, it converts it from high level source to intermediate code (java bytecode) that the JVM can understand. The JVM or JIT then kicks in later and converts this intermediate code into machine code.

    Errors are output to the output and standard error streams, these errors get displayed on the console as text like all console programs.

    All you need to start is notepad/notepad2 or some text editor of your choice and the Sun JDK which contains javac, you should set up your PATH environment variable and yout JAVA_HOME environment variables too.

    Forget BlueJ, I'd advise later moving to the Eclipse Integrted Development Environment (IDE) once you get to grips with the fundamentals.

    Eclipse has its own compiler written by the Eclipse team, I expect they have interfaces that allow the compiler to output information to the IDE, related to errors and warnings.

    If you want to stay with the command line look at things like ant which is like Java's make.

    I used this book to learn Java and get my SCJP.

    It covers most of core Java from the nuts and bolts of binary arithmetic upto things like Swing and Generics.

    Its quite possible to learn from books, but instructor led tutorials, workshops, peer groups, etc, tend to help a lot when people start out programming, are you telling me your Uni has no hands on programming labs where you can interact with the teacher and classmates ?

    Beginners make a lot of basic mistakes, or lack basic comprehension of whats going on, having someone to stear them though makes all the difference. Otherwise people can hit roadblocks and just give up. The best will succeed regardless, and the best programmers tend to be thoose that solve their own problems and will keep trying until they crack a problem, but you've paid for tuition at uni, so you should at least get basic help starting out.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2009
  7. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    Cheers for the feedback guys, looks like i need to looking into object oriented design as well, got a nice site for that though.


    Also i mailed the tutor who we have for some workshops on the java subject so im hoping for a positive response.

    Ed
     
    Certifications: BSc computing and information systems
    WIP: 70-680
  8. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Last edited: Oct 11, 2009
  9. Computeach Brian

    Computeach Brian New Member

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    I would recommend Bruce Eckel's "Thinking in Java 2nd Edition" - its free and downloadable from http://www.mindview.net/Books.

    There is a version 3 and 4 but I think you may have to pay for these.
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2009

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