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On Thu, 2006-01-26 at 10:04 -0800, Ted Kosan wrote: |
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> I agree with another poster that eventually you will want to focus your efforts |
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> on J2SE 5.0 but for people just learning Java you should be fine learning the |
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> fundamentals on J2SE 1.4. |
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I agree. Learn the fundamentals any which way you desire. Don't worry |
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too much about which exact platform you are using for starting out. |
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> > Next up would be an IDE, is Kdevelop good for java or is netbeans a |
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> > good choice? |
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... |
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> |
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> This is where my opionin will usually differ with most people. My |
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> recommendation is that Java beginners should start with a Java editor and do |
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> all of thier development from the command line. The reason for this is that I |
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> think people do not truly understand how Java works until they understand how |
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> Java's runtime environemnt works at the commmand line level. |
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I think there is merit to this opinion. Using the command line teaches |
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you many things about the lower levels of a Java runtime that are |
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normally hidden with an IDE. It is GOOD that they are generally hidden |
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when using an IDE, as this generally increases productivity. However, |
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IDE's usually are NOT intended for learning (Josh's comments on BlueJ |
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notwithstanding, as I'm not familiar with the learning-focus of that |
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IDE, but it sounds interesting). |
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> As for which editor to use, I recommend using a Java-based editor instead of |
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> something like nano or vim because one is able to pick up a lot of Java-related |
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> information indirectly by using an editor that is written in Java. The Java |
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> editor that I recommend is JEdit. |
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Agreed. With something like JEdit you can even write simple |
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(Java-based) bean-shell snippets to extend functionality of the editor, |
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which also can be good as you're learning. |
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Enjoy! |
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~ Greg |