New to Java

[BruceG]

Hey there, I need to learn Java and I need to know what development software I should download. I have VS6 (with J++) but I also need to look at the non-MS Java stuff. It is my understanding that the stuff from Sun is free (is that correct? as I said I am new to Java so I am not up on that whole scene).
The topics I need to learn are:
Servlets and JDBC
Java Graphics
AWT Event Handling
Applets
JFC (Swing)
Java Network Programming
Java Beans

If someone can point me in the right direction on how to get started with this stuff I would be eternally grateful.

[Dillinger4]

Im not sure of the exact link off hand but you want to goto sun's site and download the latest jdk (i think that it is 1.3) and set it up. As for the topics you have to learn the only thing i can say is books.

[BruceG]

Thanks. Yes, there's no denying that books will be involved; I just wanted to make sure that I could get everything I needed from Sun's site.

[Dillinger4]

Oh yeah you can get everything from sun's site but the question is what IDE are you going to use? Right now im using JCreator which i like alot since it is written in C++ is is pretty fast. I still want to give FORTE (which you can get for free on sun's site) a chance when i get more memory.

[BruceG]

Yes, that is a concern - what development environment to use. What are the ones commonly used, who makes them, and what do they cost? You mentioned JCreator (who makes that?) and Forte from Sun. Are there other commonly used ones?

[Dillinger4]

Im pretty sure most people use JBuilder from Borland. Another person on this site told me about JCreator which you can get a free also.

[BruceG]

Thanks for the tips.

[tcullen]

I fairly new to it and use JBuilder4 Enterprise edition easy to use & good for publishing it also covers everything your studying. The problem with other java ide's is there not all pure java where as jbuilder is

[Dillinger4]

The problem with other java ide's is there not all pure java where as jbuilder is

The problem with FORTE is that it is written in Java and that is what makes it too dam slow. JCreator is good because it is written entirely in C++.

[Cudabean]

Somebody mentioned in this forum previously, but it's importance bears repeating: In order to program in Java, you need to learn to read the javadoc generated documentation. This generated documentation comes in the form of interlinked web pages. They are generated automatically by a program called javadoc that reads through the source code and picks up on the code syntax and specially formatted comments interspersed in the code.

The second suggestion that will make your world easier is, once you start coding and developing classes, use the javadoc program to generate the documentation for those classes. Later, when you want to use your classes, you will be able to look back at this generated documentation and know exactly what you need to do to use your classes. *Plus* the pages will be in the old familiar javadoc format.

Here is the javadoc generated documentation for jdk1.2.2:
http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.2...api/index.html

You will notice that every third party package that you might consider using uses javadoc as well.

Be aware that javadoc will help you 99% of the time. It's only occasionally with highly complex packages that you will need to seek out some supplementary documentation to get you going.

cudabean

[zmerlinz]

a good book that you might want to invest in is one that is written by Ivor Horton, i can't remember what it is called, but i can tell you that it is red and there is a picture of him on the cover

[zmerlinz]

ah i have found it

here is the link for you

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...040858-6293425