Best Java for Home Study

[Guest.Visitor]

For anyone who has learned Java as a home study course. With all the versions available, which is the best for home study? Sun Editions, IBM VAJ, Symantec VisualCafe, Borland JBuilder, etc. Many thanks.

[Guest.Visitor]

I've only used the MINDQ Java tutorial from IBM, so I can't comment on anything else. I do not have any complaints with MINDQ. Dave

[Guest.Visitor]

Hi I am now using the VisualAge for Java and find it great. I tried Borland Jbuilder and found it a little difficult. I bought the VisualAge book for under $50 and it was well worth it. I had simple programs created in less then a half an hour. Lots of luck Frank

[J.Pluta]

Take what I say with a grain of salt, because I actually teach VisualAge, but I think VAJava is an excellent tool for learning Java. There is a little extra learning curve because VAJ stores everything in its internal repository format, and you have to actually export the classes to a directory to use them in, say, WebSphere, but despite that little quirk, I think it's really powerful. Because it is repository based, any changes you make are automatically rippled throughout all of your packages, and all errors are immediately identified (for example, if you accidentally delete a method, any other classes using that method will immediately be marked as errors). Also, the repository idea makes it very easy to keep versions of code, and to recover from those inadvertant deletes (any deleted method can be recalled from the repository if needed). src="//www.zappie.net/java/_derived/index.htm_cmp_zero110_vbtn_p.gif" width="140" height="60" border="0" alt="Java400.net - Java/400 Freeware" align="middle"> Java400.Net - where the AS/400 speaks Java with an RPG accent Home of PBD2.0, the color=red>FREE Java/400 Client/Server color=blue>Revitalization Toolkit

[Guest.Visitor]

From my own experience, I am learning java, and it's been a long, ongoing process that has no end in sight (ha) by using JBuilder. I like this approach better just because you are forced to code everything (i.e., buttons, textfields, textareas, gridbags, etc..) that an IDE usually does for you. This makes the actual coding process a bit longer, but it really reinforces the java language rules and makes me remember them for future projects. VA Java is a great product for developing gui based apps because you can put them together really fast. However, in my limited experience, I've found that it's a bit of a nightmare trying to figure out just which option to select when it comes time to connect one visual component to another. Don Denoncourt said this in a session at COMMON, and I have to wholeheartedly agree: "If you already know JAVA, then VA for Java is the best tool to use. If you are learning JAVA, then it is the hardest.". You have another option that sits in the middle of the two. IBM's AS/400 Toolkit for Java has a new product called GUI Builder. This relatively easy to use tool lets you generate GUIs in a WYSIWYG environment like VAJ. When you have created your GUI look and feel, the tool will generate skeleton JAVA code for you and a PDML (Program Document Markup Language) which is different from PCML (Program Call Markup Language), because IBM loves acronyms I guess and wanted something different, that is easy to read and incorporate into your JAVA code. You still have to write most of the JAVA logic and understand the JAVA language to use this tool since it only generates skeletons for you, but it's still easier than coding a Frame or container object and adding buttons and text fields yourself. So...Use GUI Builder for quick GUI designing and JBuilder to work with the generated skeleton code...if you're just starting out. Or wait 6 months and download all the free code you'll ever need for any business environment from Joe Pluta's website. ha!

[Guest.Visitor]

No takers for Symantec VisualCafe or the Sun Jump Start/Foundation Editions? As a veteran RPG programmer, I am currently studying VB and would be starting from ground zero with Java. The best "learning" version is what I'm looking for. Thanks again.

[Guest.Visitor]

You might look at a book by Bechol (?). It does not assume you know C++ .

[J.Pluta]

I thought I'd break precedent and offer my personal opinion here . I am still adamantly against using any kind of GUI builder for true application coding in Java. I sincerely believe you should code your own user interface classes and use them rather than let a code generator create your code. In my opinion, Java's single most important strength (indeed, the most important strength of any true OO environment) is not inheritance and not polymorphism, but ENCAPSULATION. What encapsulation does is allow you to create classes that hide the workings of other classes. The code generators don't do that, or if they do, they hide the workings inside their own proprietary classes. Since the base Java classes are designed to be encapsulated (again, IMHO), they are far more complex than classes one would use in normal application development. In fact, the application developers (also known as "class consumers") should never have to worry about JButtons and JFrames. They should be using some much higher-level application classes, built by the "class creators". The class creators are the ones who have to learn the ins and outs of the various base classes. This is the one place where the code generators can come in handy. I use a GUI builder to see how the classes work, and then I write my own encapsulating classes. This way, I can tailor the needs of the application classes to my own environment, and reduce my application coding time. Encapsulation allows you to default the things that default in your environment, put things into .INI files or environment variables, all kinds of neat techniques. Remember, in any project, the bulk of coding will be done by application programmers (class consumers), who will be connecting the application-level widgets put together by the class creators. The application programmers need to do the same things over and over, and it's the job of the class creator to make that development as easy as possible. Ah well, enough ranting. src="//www.zappie.net/java/_derived/index.htm_cmp_zero110_vbtn_p.gif" width="140" height="60" border="0" alt="Java400.net - Java/400 Freeware" align="middle"> Java400.Net - where the AS/400 speaks Java with an RPG accent Home of PBD2.0, the color=red>FREE Java/400 Client/Server color=blue>Revitalization Toolkit

[J.Pluta]

The book is "Thinking in Java" by Bruce Eckel, and can be gotten here: href="http://www.codecuts.com/mainpage.asp?WebPageID=314">http://www.codecuts.c om/mainpage.asp?WebPageID=314 Great book, lots of information. The link above is for an indexed PDF file, which is very easy to use. The other option is HTML, which you can find everywhere these days. Here's a page of nothing but links to the book: href="http://www.mindview.net/DownloadSites/">http://www.mindview.net/DownloadS ites/ src="//www.zappie.net/java/_derived/index.htm_cmp_zero110_vbtn_p.gif" width="140" height="60" border="0" alt="Java400.net - Java/400 Freeware" align="middle"> Java400.Net - where the AS/400 speaks Java with an RPG accent Home of PBD2.0, the color=red>FREE Java/400 Client/Server color=blue>Revitalization Toolkit

[Guest.Visitor]

Joe as long as you found a soap box I guess I can MC passed out free copies of VA Java Professional 2.0. This was great. Once installed (no easy task mind you), I was able to start learning and experimenting. I recently tried to upgrade to VA Java Professional 3.0, but couldn't find the upgrade for less than $71. So much for the freebie. Dave