Any Java Programmers here?

[trekiej]

What is your view of Java?
What IDE's would you recomend?
Thanks.

[Caius]

What is your view of Java?

I think it's clumsy and bloated. I really don't like it, but that's probably because it was forced down my throat at university.

What IDE's would you recommend?

I've mostly programmed Java in a UNIX shell, with Emacs. But it seems NetBeans is one of the more popular IDEs.

Thanks.

You're welcome!

[Crumb]

I don't like it much... but for me it looks more "clean" than .net

I use Eclipse although I have used IBM RAD and it's great. Unfortunately it's quite expensive.

I haven't looked much at netbeans but IIRC it had better DB integration/plugins.

Eclipse is nice but its plugins usually suck pretty badly. E.g.: If you try to commit some file using the subversion plugin and the server is down it will show a message stating that there are no changes comparing the file with the server instead of showing a warning stating that there's no connection with the server.

Maven2 plugin also sucks IMHO. And Tomcat plugin could give you a pair of headaches

[bloodline]

trekiej wrote:
What is your view of Java?

What are you trying to achieve?

What IDE's would you recomend?
Thanks.

I like Bloodshed's DevC++ I think they do a Java version.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

trekiej wrote:
What is your view of Java?

Fantastic idea, sluggish on certain accounts (memory management, GUI libraries)

What IDE's would you recomend?

Eclipse. Netbeans is ok for gui building, but the source of these GUI's are not portable; you cannot compile a GUI of a netbeans project in another IDE.
Also, the GUI design program in Netbeans is rather limited.

Thanks.

You're welcome :-)

[Speelgoedmannetje]

Crumb wrote:
I don't like it much... but for me it looks more "clean" than .net

You have to get used to C#. It's more clean than java. With delegates, you'll be able to code your project more 1on1 to your design (no need for implementations with threading and observable/observer patterns).

[Trev]

I only write Java code when I need ColdFusion to do something it doesn't, like paged LDAP searches. (i.e. My view of Java is limited to the environments I support.)

Nothing wrong with Java as a language. Just make sure your runtime environment (JRE, application server, etc.) is stable and fit for your purposes.

We use Eclipse.

Trev

[trekiej]

Thanks alot to all.

I want to see if the Write Once Run Anywhere Pardigmn is any good.
I would like to make applications that could run in a browser or be stand alone.  I understand that Java has this ability.
I know that Python is abit portable (if it has been ported the platform of choice) and I do not know if C# is a Msoft only idea.

I do not know much about C++ portability, care to elaborate?

In the end I would like to write software for the Amiga/Aros platform and may do it from another machine.

Good day.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

trekiej wrote:
I understand that Java has this ability.

Basically, yes. But AFAIK some things like AWT are not completely platform-independent. Also, ppl can use platform dependent libraries in their software. Like joystick control is based on such.

and I do not know if C# is a Msoft only idea.

Well it is.. but there is a WIP to get .NET running on Linux. C# will then be a next step, naturally.

[Trev]

Java is portable, but you can't make assumptions about the capabilities of the JVM. For example, some environments lack graphic display capabilities; others lack network connectivity.

In theory, C and C++ source code is portable as long as you use standard libraries or libraries you know are available on the platforms you want to support. In practice, however, not every platform implements the standard libraries in the same way, so compiling source on a new platform usually requires some sort of porting effort. What usually kills modern applications is the lack of a GUI toolkit.

If you want to write for Amiga-like operating systems, Java is definitely not the solution. Stick to C (or C++ if you have access to a well-maintained compiler).

[Tripitaka]

I think it's clumsy and bloated. I really don't like it, but that's probably because it was forced down my throat at university.

LOL, I'm doing my BaSci(Hons) with Open University at the momment, LOOOOAAAADDSS of java.

[trekiej]

I wish I had a book on Zune/Mui.
I have downloaded the muldev.lha but still need to finish my c++.
I do have ami dev cpp but have not used it yet.
Thanks.

[nyteschayde]

Asking a site full of Amiga programmers, err I mean users, if they like Java is the same as asking for punishment. Java, as a language, is a good one. Most modern computers can run Java well enough to use it as a substitute for most types of applications.

Java 5 and 6 now has support for direct input polling (for joysticks, controllers and the like), OpenGL and OpenAL through some open source projects by Sun. Java 6 has hardware-accelerated translucent images. These things alone allow you to be in a postition to write decent games in Java.

As far as IDEs go; if you are not very proficient or if you just want great code completion Eclipse (free) or, my favorite, IDEA IntelliJ (commercial with a trial available) are great IDEs. If you know Java in and out a decent text editor like TextMate for the Mac or e-texteditor for Windows plus a decent set of JavaDocs will do you just as good.

If you have further questions or need support, PM me.

[avanham]

I use Java all the time and I really like it.  It certainly is not meant for every application (eg 1st person shooter games are a poor choice for Java development) but for creating a GUI based program it works great.  There are a few things that make Java my favourite language:

1.  There are TONS of books about java (several hundred, at least).  Compare that with, say, Python or Ruby (not to bash either of those languages) where the number of books can almost be counted on your fingers and toes.  If you are a hobbyist like me, this is a godsend.

2.  IntelliJ IDEA.  It is an amazing IDE that makes programing in Java much more enjoyable.  I recommend it over Netbeans, and especially over Eclipse (which I have never been able to figure out).

3.  The Java Forums at Sun's java developer site are incredibly rich.  Whenever I have a problem I check there first and often I find someone who has asked the same question and the answer proposed by someone else.

4.  Java has garbage collection.  If you have ever programmed in C++ (or C for that matter) then you know what a hassle dealing with memory allocation / deallocation is.  With Java you don't have any of these problems.

5.  Java runs on most of the platforms out there.  Programs I write on my Mac, work perfectly on PCs and Linux.  There are differences in how they look on those platforms, but they still work.

6.  Java is an object-oriented language.  This is pretty much a must for any language these days.

[uncharted]

nyteschayde wrote:
Asking a site full of Amiga programmers, err I mean users, if they like Java is the same as asking for punishment. Java, as a language, is a good one. Most modern computers can run Java well enough to use it as a substitute for most types of applications.

Couldn't have said it better myself.  Why is it always the most clueless that are the loudest and most opinionated? :headwall: