This weeks Giveaway

[Carl Trusiak]

This week we are giving away 4 copys of the book:"Learn Java with JBuilder 6"
And the best part, the Author, John Zukowski, will be on-line to answer your questions.
Lets all give John a warm JavaRanch Welcome! John has been with us several times before and is always a lot of fun

Thanks to the good people at APress for the books.
[ August 13, 2002: Message edited by: Carl Trusiak ]

[Cindy Glass]

Hi John - Nice to see you back again .
Personally I am just beginning to tinker with IDEs (VAJ at that) so I think that I will stay out of this conversation :roll: .

[Daniel Ng]

Will someone using an older version of Jbuilder (like Jbuilder 4) be able to use your book as a reference?

[chris coleman]

a question for the author.
is jbuilder able to deploy code to other servers besides borland's.

[Kevin Thompson]

Dear John,
I am currently in the stone age. All I ever use for a Java IDE is Textpad4. The reason for this is every time I have tried to get Jbuilder to work (I fought with version 3. Then 4. Possibly also version 5.) I tried the free stuff(personal version). I tried the expensive stuff(pro version)
I spent hours trying to "bring in my already exisiting code inventory". I finally had to give up. I later found out from sombody I was talking to at a user group, that "Oh! You need to get the "lib extension" files as a special download from Borland." Well, I did that. I still never got it to work.
So here is my question for you ==>
Is your book for people WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT JBUILDER AND CAN NOT SEEM TO GET IT TO WORK RIGHT NO MATTER WHAT? (that's me!)
thanks,
Kevin Thompson

[Reda Mokrane]

Hi!!!
Does the book has a web site I mean the errata page?

Thanks
[ August 14, 2002: Message edited by: Gabriel Mokrane ]

[Janet Wilson]

Howdy John!

[John Zukowski]

If I ask a question, can I win a copy of my book??? :-)
Regarding using the book with older versions of JBuilder, most of the book should be usable with earlier (and later) versions of JBuilder. For all pieces of the book, there is full source code, so if a particular wizard isn't available because it was introduced in a version that came after your own, then you can at least type in the code yourself. Not the best, but at least you can still use the book. The book does also include V6 Enterprise 30-day trial on the CD, so you can at least try that out. For V7 users, the last chapter is practically all wrong now as things like the Refactoring support have improved considerably.
Web apps created with JBuilder will deploy fine to other application servers.
Regarding the JBuilder-know nothings, in most cases the book should be okay for them. However, I do NOT discuss importing preexisting projects. Good idea/topic and perhaps something to add to an update or write as an article...
The URL for the book at Apress is http://www.apress.com/catalog/book/1893115984/ . I submitted a handful of errata but it looks like they haven't made it to the web yet. I'll have to check on this.
Thanks for the greetings...
J

[Michael Matola]

Originally posted by John Zukowski:
If I ask a question, can I win a copy of my book??? :-)

Nope. Nice try!
Welcome (back) to JavaRanch, John, and to the IDE's forum, our suddenly lots more busy corner of the 'Ranch.

[anup vachali]

John,
The title of your book suggest that this is a book to learn Java using JBuilder.
What does it offer for people who already know Java and want to use an IDE to simplify code generation (eg. for EJB, JSP etc..)? I have been using VCafe for about 2 years now and with its demise am looking for other IDE's... what will this book offer to me?
Thanks
Anup

[Kevin Thompson]

John:
Thanks for your response. Most java programmers I know are unemployed now(broke). I know for myself, I want the cheapest route for everything I do.
Question 01 - JBuilder "Personal"(free version):
According to Borland, the only verson of JBuilder "Personal" available for download is Version 7. Can I use your book with JBuilder Personal Version 7? Are you aware of some way to get the Personal Version 6? Their download site is here:
http://www.borland.com/products/downloads/download_jbuilder.html
Question 02 - It is like I just don't get it:
If this is true:
Most java programmers have an "inventory" of code they have worked on & devloped. This "inventory" can be quite extensive and represents possibly months/years of work.
If this is also true:
Nobody seems to know how to import this existing code "inventory" into any version/edition of JBuilder.
Then isn't this also true?:
HUGE allocations of time & energy are involved in cutting and pasting hundreds & hundreds of programs and attempting to re-compile the whole deal with JBuilder. People who can not devote this time, are unable to use JBuilder.
It is like I don't get it. The reason I could not get it to work, should be the same reason why 100% of other people can't get it to work. I guess when I think about my previous forays into IDEs it just seemed so frustrating. That is why my little Textpad4 is so inviting and refreshing.
thanks!
Kevin Thompson
[ August 14, 2002: Message edited by: Kevin Thompson ]

[John Zukowski]

RE: If you already know Java...
The book does not teach anything about JSP or EJB. I barely scrape the surface on showing what you can do with the tool with these. It does show something with Tomcat and the EJB two way designer, but it is hard to go from little or no Java to full EJB. For someone purely interested in the EJB capabiliites of the tool, I wouldn't get my book. I saw the listing of an EJB JBuilder book on Amazon but I wouldn't hold my breath. It is supposed to be out in August, but the Swing JBuilder title from the same author was supposed to be put out in July and still isn't out yet.
Returning to the original question, it is a tough call on how much use the book would be. It takes you on the tour of the tool's capabilities while teaching you Java. If you know Java, it wouldn't necessarily be easy to just jump around to the specific pieces.

[Marilyn de Queiroz]

Kevin,

I've started a new thread for your question because it seems that it goes way beyond the "Welcome, John" that this thread is about.

[John Zukowski]

Marilyn,
I ummmm already answered the question you put in the other forum but I haven't answered the followup.
J

[Kevin Thompson]

Maryilyn - OK.
But Question 1 was about the book (from my point of view). If the book uses JBulder6, how do I get JBuilder 6 and use for more than 30 days? Is my only option to purchase it?
thanks!
Kevin Thompson

[Jason Menard]

This might be slightly OT, but what the experienced JBuilder community could really use is some really in-depth treatise of programming with those damn Borland DataSets (and DataModules, etc...). They seem powerful enough, but the documentation is sparse and rarely goes into enough detail of the nitty-gritty with those beasts.
I guess it would be safe to assume by the title that this is a bit outside the scope of this book. Any plans to tackle the advanced features of JBuilder and the Borland libraries in another book, perhaps? I could come up with a million-and-a-half topics suitable for such a book I'm sure.

[John Zukowski]

After the 30 days, the Enterprise trial is supposed to revert back to Personal, so you can use it forever.

[John Zukowski]

I've toyed with the idea of doing either a database version or an EJB version. I haven't convinced myself that the sales would be worth the effort.

[Marilyn de Queiroz]

Same forum. Different thread. Sorry, John. I was in a big hurry and neglected to transfer your answer. You are not limited to answering questions only in this thread. You can respond to any question/thread/idea you find in the IDE's and other tools forum. Here's one about JBuilder that nobody has answered yet, for example.
[ August 15, 2002: Message edited by: Marilyn de Queiroz ]

[Marilyn de Queiroz]

Hmmm. Now that I've slept a few hours, the above sounds kinda harsh. John, I'm glad you're here. I enjoy reading your writings and I have one of your books (not this one, of course).

I'm just trying to point out that the giveaway is for the entire forum, not just for this thread. Don't feel fenced-in.

[John Zukowski]

I've been trying to watch the active threads. No problem there....

[Kevin Thompson]

John -
Thanks for the information about JBuilder, and the info in the other thread about importing projects.
I reviewed Chapter 16 of your book, which was the free chapter posted on the publisher's site. I like the way you have a picture of each JBuilder screen as you go thru the process.
I sure hope I win this book! I would like to add JBuilder to my resume, and feel confident about using it from day 1 on a new job site. And of course, there is always something more I can learn about Java too.
thanks!
Kevin Thompson

[John Zukowski]

Thanks for the comments on the online chapter.
--
Hmmm.... perhaps an EJB/database version might be warranted....
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t272-s2120863,00.html