Re: [gentoo-java] Startup advice

[Greg Tassone]

On Thu, 2006-01-26 at 10:04 -0800, Ted Kosan wrote:
...
> I agree with another poster that eventually you will want to focus your efforts
> on J2SE 5.0 but for people just learning Java you should be fine learning the
> fundamentals on J2SE 1.4.

I agree.  Learn the fundamentals any which way you desire.  Don't worry
too much about which exact platform you are using for starting out.


> > Next up would be an IDE, is Kdevelop good for java or is netbeans a
> > good choice?
...
>
> This is where my opionin will usually differ with most people.  My
> recommendation is that Java beginners should start with a Java editor and do
> all of thier development from the command line. The reason for this is that I
> think people do not truly understand how Java works until they understand how
> Java's runtime environemnt works at the commmand line level.

I think there is merit to this opinion.  Using the command line teaches
you many things about the lower levels of a Java runtime that are
normally hidden with an IDE.  It is GOOD that they are generally hidden
when using an IDE, as this generally increases productivity.  However,
IDE's usually are NOT intended for learning (Josh's comments on BlueJ
notwithstanding, as I'm not familiar with the learning-focus of that
IDE, but it sounds interesting).


> As for which editor to use, I recommend using a Java-based editor instead of
> something like nano or vim because one is able to pick up a lot of Java-related
> information indirectly by using an editor that is written in Java.  The Java
> editor that I recommend is JEdit.

Agreed.  With something like JEdit you can even write simple
(Java-based) bean-shell snippets to extend functionality of the editor,
which also can be good as you're learning.

Enjoy!

~ Greg