Which compiler do I download?

Hello everyone, i'm new to Java and i'm alittle confused on some issues. For instance, I want to get the feel for programming in java before my next semester class, which is Object Oriented Design using java. But when i got to sun's website I see compilers for J2EE 1.4 SDK, and its talking about Java 2, etc. What is the difference between Java and Java 2? is it like C and C++? And what are some good resources to start learning java? I"m not new to programming, i'm pretty good with C++ so this souldnt' be that difficult. Thanks guys!
:afrog:

Java2 is Java, in version 1.2 or higher. Note that almost nobody uses Java 1.0 or 1.1 anymore, the majority uses Java 1.3 or 1.4.
1.5 is the newest (not sure if it's even left Beta stage).

Then there are the three flavours:
J2SE, J2ME, J2EE.

J2ME is the micro edition, for cell phones and such.

J2SE is the standard edition, that's what you want for most stuff.

J2EE is the enterprise edition, which is SE + web service, servlet etc. stuff.


What you want (since you're probably not going to use Java 1.5 in your class) is the J2SE 1.4 SDK.

Java has gone through 5 major versions (JDK 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, Java2 SDK or 1.3, and now 1.4). Each one is a later version of the other one, that's all.

You will most likely need J2SE 1.4. J2EE is good for enterprise or large-scale distributed commercial applications. There's also J2ME for tiny devices like Palms, cell phones, etc..

Good luck!!

I still have yet to download jdk1.5. The size of the new Java in a Nutshell edition scares me. :eek: