Thread: Any quick and dirty Java Programming Guides?

  1. 05-05-2008 #1
    indigo0086
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    Any quick and dirty Java Programming Guides?

    I'm going to be using java for a software engineering course I'm doing, I did my first three programming courses in java but haven't used it much since, I worked mostly in C++ and recently C#. I can probably figure it out from old notes and stuff and the syntax isn't really what worries me, just a guide that covers the important aspects of programming related to java: Inheritance, Polymorphism technical aspects of the language in brief, et al. I am reading one from the java.sun.com website but wouldn't mind more resources.
  2. 05-05-2008 #2
    laserlight
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    I can probably figure it out from old notes and stuff and the syntax isn't really what worries me, just a guide that covers the important aspects of programming related to java: Inheritance, Polymorphism technical aspects of the language in brief, et al. I am reading one from the java.sun.com website but wouldn't mind more resources.
    Personally, I found that the main thing I had to adapt to was syntax. Inheritance and polymorphism? Bah, Java does not have multiple inheritance and its interface construct is just special syntax to declare a pure interface. Polymorphism is easy since you do not have to take care to use pointers and references to avoid slicing, and do not need to think before declaring a member function virtual... since all non-static methods are effectively virtual anyway.

    Still, if you want a fun read, I suggest that you read Head First Java by Bert Bates and Kathy Sierra. It might be a little too easy for you, but it is funny.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
  3. 05-05-2008 #3
    indigo0086
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    One head first book is enough (reading head first design patterns, but using C#). I mean I can probably just wing it since it's been only about a year since I used java, and C# is pretty much like it from what I remember, but I like to know about the special features. Like C# is much cooler when I can use the lambda functions instead of delegates which I didn't know until I read a language reference (visual C# express docs programming guide). I just want to get a refresher without needing a large book.
  4. 05-05-2008 #4
    CornedBee
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    Take C# 1.0, minus delegates and operator overloading. Replace a few keywords: sealed with final, internal with nothing. There's no override or new annotation for functions. There are no out or ref parameters. No uniform multi-d arrays. No value struts. The primitives aren't objects.

    This pretty much gives you Java 1.4.

    Then read the guide to new features in Java 5 and you should be up to speed.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law
  5. 05-05-2008 #5
    indigo0086
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    I like C# a lot though I only ever used Java 5.0 and are familiar with C# 3.0 features (Linq & Lambdas). But most of it makes sense, just not sure what constitutes java 1.4
  6. 05-06-2008 #6
    indigo0086
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    Also should I bother with knowing much about Java 6.0?
  7. 05-06-2008 #7
    CornedBee
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    It's just library enhancements.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law
  8. 05-06-2008 #8
    indigo0086
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    ah. Welll I found my old "Big Java" book and can get back to where I left off.
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