"Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand." --- Martin Fowler
Please correct my English.
There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors
Bradley Clay wrote: Yea I am a NEWB!!! lol
Bradley Clay wrote: Also, should I read through the whole book first then go back and do the actual programming stuff or do everything as I go along?
Don't walk as if you rule the world, walk as if you don't care who rules it...
fred rosenberger wrote:For a beginner, the best would be notepad and a command line.
And the only way to REALLY learn programming is to do it.
Hauke Ingmar Schmidt wrote:[...] And the learning effect (the shock factor) is higher with less features. [...] in most cases I would not teach by using an editor and a command line.
Campbell Ritchie wrote: ..., not Notepad, which is good for some things but not for programming. Try Notepad++ and Notepad2,...
Don't walk as if you rule the world, walk as if you don't care who rules it...
There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors
Ninad Kuchekar wrote:Textpad is a good option too!
Campbell Ritchie wrote:.. They are much better for writing code, particularly if you find features like automatic indentation and bracket highlighting. They will even make keywords appear in a different colour from the rest of the text.
Bradley Clay wrote:So should I just find tutorials on writing Java code? That's actually what I want to learn. These IDE programs make it look confusing because when there is an error I don't know what is wrong, and I'm not really learning Java. I'm learning how to use the IDE. For example, I was doing the Hello world thing on Eclipse the other day and I put in "System.out.printIn" instead of "System.out.println" using an upper-case "i" instead of a lower-case "l". I was so confused because it looked like I typed everything correctly. I'm not looking for something tutorial to that level. That is a simple mistake I caught quickly. Are there any books for writing Java code, or any websites you can suggest? Thank you again.
David Newton wrote:
Hauke Ingmar Schmidt wrote:[...] And the learning effect (the shock factor) is higher with less features. [...] in most cases I would not teach by using an editor and a command line.
So you'd deliberately deprive people of the most effective learning mechanisms?
Campbell Ritchie wrote:Doesn't Eclipse have a different repertoire of compiler error messages from the Sun/Oracle compiler? The Eclipse errors are usually easier to understand.
Hauke Ingmar Schmidt wrote:But most of it is dead knowledge.
David Newton wrote:
Hauke Ingmar Schmidt wrote:But most of it is dead knowledge.
I disagree: the knowledge people get from working on the command line serves them well throughout their career. As you said--the specifics don't matter. But the overall mindset *does*.
You know what I am saying ?
Bradley Clay wrote:I am currently reading Beginning Programming with Java for Dummies. Yea I am a NEWB!!! lol I was wondering which IDE is best and easiest. The book uses JCreator Pro. I have also heard Eclipse is a good one. There is also a Dummies book for Eclipse which I may read. Any other suggstions on an IDE is greatly appreciated. Also, should I read through the whole book first then go back and do the actual programming stuff or do everything as I go along? Which would be better?
Campbell Ritchie wrote:Welcome to the Ranch Erik Gruber.
John Storta Jr. wrote:I tried using NetBeans and Eclipse for stuff and I always found they were hiding too much from me as I was trying to learn.
You know what I am saying ?
@$h!$h
John Storta Jr. wrote:I am surprised I have seen no mention of jEdit in this thread. I have used it for years and it is very good for all sorts of code. Not as rich as a full NetBeans/Eclipse IDE, but much better than Notepad.
Plus it is written in Java.
As for whether to use an IDE straight away or something less featured, I definitely recommend using plain old text editors like jEdit until you get into larger projects that need more management. I tried using NetBeans and Eclipse for stuff and I always found they were hiding too much from me as I was trying to learn. When you starting out you need to see every details so you know exactly what is happening. If the IDE hides it from you, then you might get functional code, but you do not really know what mistakes you made.
Only start using the IDE when you understand exactly what it is doing behind the scenes.
@$h!$h