Java Tutorial

[Darkness3477]

OK, I looked in the various stickied threads, and also made use of the search feature of this website, but I couldn't find any Tutorials that catered to my specific needs. Perhaps I need something different from everyone else, or perhaps I was searching for the wrong thing, oh well.

Anyway, I'm starting to learn Java and have been using the tutorials off of the sun.java.com website (Or is it Java.sun.com? I also get it wrong). However, I'm trying to look for a tutorial or a book that just jumps straight into some _BASIC_ programming without explaining all the junk about OOP and various other things. I just feel I learn things like that better if I have actually done a bit of programming. I've looked around on google and I can't really find anything very useful. So, maybe one of you guys could help out. If so, thanks.

Thankyou for any and all help that you can offer,

Maver

[lnostdal]

uhm, well - have you tried "hello world": http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutor...java/unix.html ..?

[Darkness3477]

Yes, yes. I've tried out that. I understand it and can do slightly more complicated things than that. I've ready quite a large portion of what is on the Java.sun.com pages and understood a good majority of it.

I'm just looking for some nice, simple, tutorials that'll teach me the basic syntax of the language and some other stuff without going into the intricancies of OOP, and other advanced Java subjects.

I'm not a total noob at programming, I've had experience with some pretty basic Python, C++ and vb.net (For school)... So yeah. I just need help finding a good tutorial to look at before I start using some books I downloaded (Thinking in Java), I'd use it now but they seem to be aimed at people with a little bit of programming experience. And mine is limited to declaring variables and spitting them onto a console; well in java at least.

[Tomosaur]

Be sure to have a copy of the Java API to hand, or at least a web-page with it open. Then, visit this page:

Clicky. That's my old professor's web page. It's very good for the Java basics, and it actually makes you work, rather then telling you how to do a million variations on Hello World.

[Darkness3477]

Hey, thanks. That looks like it'll be pretty darn helpful. This should get me closer to my goal. Which is to be able to make a very simple game (dunno if it'll be an applet or a standalone) and also to be able to program a robot. Which i need to buy...

Anyway, thanks again.

[Tomosaur]

No problem, good luck with your game (and your robot :O).

[pmasiar]

OK, I looked in the various stickied threads, and also made use of the search feature of this website, but I couldn't find any Tutorials that catered to my specific needs. Perhaps I need something different from everyone else, or perhaps I was searching for the wrong thing, oh well.

Anyway, I'm starting to learn Java and have been using the tutorials off of the sun.java.com website (Or is it Java.sun.com? I also get it wrong). However, I'm trying to look for a tutorial or a book that just jumps straight into some _BASIC_ programming without explaining all the junk about OOP and various other things. I just feel I learn things like that better if I have actually done a bit of programming. I've looked around on google and I can't really find anything very useful.

You are absolutely right, it is hard to learn java without OOP -- because java is not object-oriented - it is object-obsessed

IMNSHO you are much better off starting with simpler (and sneakily more powerful) language like Python. You can do lots of useful stuff without defining objects (possibly just using library objects), and switch to objects when you are ready and it makes sense.

Also, with dynamic typing of Python you are less focused on typecasting and more on that you need to solve.

Try learn python wiki - you will find online books, and also intro to data structures and simple tasks to solve.

By opinion of many, Python is excellent first language. After you understand basics (loops, procedure calls, lists etc) you can quickly learn another language where the same concepts are used (but just language syntax is different - usually more verbose).

Compiled statically typed languages like Java, C/C++ are optimized for computer performance. They make programmer to work extra hard to gain speed in execution.

Dynamically typed languages Like Python, Ruby, Perl are optimized for programmers productivity, and they make computer work extra hard at runtime to figure many things whic they do not bother programmer. They might be not as fast when running program, but they allow the programmer to write program much faster, and require less detail.

BTW Ubuntu includes Guido van Robot - learn programming using logo-like robot.

[Tomosaur]

Pmasiar, no offence, but can you please just give your Python evangelism a rest? The guy wants to learn Java - you're just going to confuse him and/or irritate him. Let him decide if he wants to continue with Java or not, then he can come back and ask about different languages.

[pmasiar]

Pmasiar, no offence, but can you please just give your Python evangelism a rest? The guy wants to learn Java - you're just going to confuse him and/or irritate him. Let him decide if he wants to continue with Java or not, then he can come back and ask about different languages.

no.

When answering questions sometimes in IMHO usefull to question unstated assumptions - if they are wrong, our answer might mislead in wrong direction.

Sun spent millions to hype up java. Lots of PHB's are still under spell of "java is the only language you will ever need" which is still regarded as true in management (my boss succumbed to it recently). I know I will not overturn the wave by myself, but I will die trying OK I will not die, i am learning java/Struts now, but to keep my sanity I promote Python to save innocent souls from the flames of hell

Original poster mentioned he has problems with OO obsession of java - and my advice was to learn non-OO language first, and then continue with java. He never explained he need java and java only. If Java is the only language he plans to learn, he is under spall - and if not, he may as well pick with some language more friendly to beginners, like Python.

Python is c-like enough than he will have no problem transferring most of the Python knowledge to java, and no objects upfront like java.

maybe we need to wait for opinion of the original poster if java is the only true language, or if he is open to other opinions - but we will never know if we never ask, no?

IMHO, YMMV.

[Tomosaur]

no.

When answering questions sometimes in IMHO usefull to question unstated assumptions - if they are wrong, our answer might mislead in wrong direction.

Sun spent millions to hype up java. Lots of PHB's are still under spell of "java is the only language you will ever need" which is still regarded as true in management (my boss succumbed to it recently). I know I will not overturn the wave by myself, but I will die trying OK I will not die, i am learning java/Struts now, but to keep my sanity I promote Python to save innocent souls from the flames of hell

Original poster mentioned he has problems with OO obsession of java - and my advice was to learn non-OO language first, and then continue with java. He never explained he need java and java only. If Java is the only language he plans to learn, he is under spall - and if not, he may as well pick with some language more friendly to beginners, like Python.

Python is c-like enough than he will have no problem transferring most of the Python knowledge to java, and no objects upfront like java.

maybe we need to wait for opinion of the original poster if java is the only true language, or if he is open to other opinions - but we will never know if we never ask, no?

IMHO, YMMV.

No he didn't, he said he couldn't be bothered reading about the theory behind Java, because he learns better using practical exercises. It's called kinesthetic learning, and it has nothing at all to do with programming language preference. He didn't mention any particular reason why he wanted to learn Java, just that that's what he was doing. As a matter of fact, he'd even stated that he has some experience with Python - so obviously he's already tried it and now he wants to start learning Java. There's nothing wrong with that, so you'd do better to actually read further than the first post before you go splurging all over python, when a python testimonial wasn't requested or even mentioned. I don't like reading about the intricacies of Java's OO, but that doesn't mean I don't like, or appreciate, Java. I just happen to have more interest, and learn quicker, by doing something rather than reading about it.