[ale] I've decided again to learn programming again

[Tim Watts]

The good news is that learning Java is almost like learning C++ (and
vice versa) -- at least on a foundational level. I've heard good things
recently about Head First Java but haven't read it myself. Although it's
not the most up-to-date, it at least covers Java 5 which is good for a
beginner. But for any book you get make sure Java 5 is the baseline.
There were several language enhancements added in that version. Java 6 &
7 (the latest) add some nice stuff but nothing critical for a beginner.
There are also excellent tutorials on the web (java.net, oracle).
Personally I would start there if I were just starting out.

But install the latest JDK version anyway. Java 5 (ver 1.5) has already
reached EOL. Sun, IBM, OpenJDK, I don't care.

Another thing is that the standard Java class library is Ginormous --
Ginormous I tell you. A lot of it is geared to "enterprise"
environments. Don't try to learn it all. Learn what you need to know to
solve a problem.

I use Eclipse myself and have been quite happy with it. Others like
NetBeans and still others are willing to pay for IntelliJ. I wish I
could care. But my advice is: Don't crank up any IDEs until you've got
at least 3 weeks of solid practice with the command line tools. (OK, I
just pulled that number out of my butt, but you get the idea -- master
the basics before the IDEs hook you in to the "easy way" without
understanding what's going on).

You may want to consider joining the AJUG mailing list (ajug.org).
Although it tends to have a "professional/enterprise" slant, the folks
there are usually helpful on the (now rare) occasion when a newbie shows
up to ask questions. They also have (or had) study groups but I don't
know if they're still active. Check the website.

Good Luck. If I can be of help, let me know.


On Fri, 2011-10-14 at 06:42 -0400, Ron Frazier wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> Those of you that have read some of my prior posts know I've been 
> threatening for some time to relearn programming after 16 years out of 
> the loop.  I discussed it here before, and we had discussions about the 
> various merits, or unmerits of different languages.  I really was 
> planning to learn C++, after you guys convinced me to not target C#.  I 
> have, sitting next to me, some of the best C++ textbooks out there, 
> including one by the inventor of C++.  The problem is, no disrespect to 
> the authors, that these things are BORING, and intimidating.  I mean, I 
> have to go through 400 pages of for next loops, if then's, and variable 
> setting, etc. to even get to putting a GUI hello world program on the 
> screen.  And, that's IF they even discuss GUI programming.  Now, I know 
> you have to learn the basics, and I know these things are foundational, 
> but I think this is the least enticing way to teach it.  Not only that, 
> programming desktop computers doesn't excite me nearly as much now as it 
> did a decade and a half ago when it was relatively new.  Embedded 
> programming interests me to a point, and I could do that in C++ 
> sometimes, but I don't necessarily want to be programming thermostats 
> and microwave ovens either.  Robotics interests me, but it can be very 
> difficult and expensive to develop your own robotics lab.
> 
> The other thing that interests me that I might be able to start 
> development for on my own, is mobile computing, specifically Android.  I 
> recently heard that Android is the most popular smart phone OS on the 
> planet.  And, it's pretty much the only game in town for non IOS 
> tablets.  The thing is, you program Android in Java.  So, I have to 
> choose between Java and C++ since I cannot really learn two languages at 
> once.  So, I've decided to jump over to Java, before investing lots of 
> time in C++, which I may come back to later.  By the way, my 
> introductory Java and Android books are just as boring as the C++ books, 
> but I guess I'll muddle through.
> 
> So, having said all that, do you guys have any thoughts on setting up a 
> cross platform Java development environment, learning Java, learning 
> Android, etc.  I'm thinking using the Sun / Oracle JDK on both Windows 
> and Linux, plus the Eclipse IDE, and whatever device emulators the 
> Android books recommend.  When I can, I'll get an Android tablet to try 
> things out on.  I have two good books on Android 2 from Apress.  They've 
> now come out with similar books on Android 3.  All of them say to learn 
> Java first though.  I think there will be a lot of Android 2 out there 
> for a while, so it might be fine to start with the books I have.  Any 
> thoughts and advice are appreciated.
> 
> Maybe, someday 8-( I'll see a GUI hello world that I created on a tablet 
> device.  The very large learning curve for this is intimidating and 
> frustrating.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Ron
>