[H-GEN] Debian and FireFox with Java

[Adrian Sutton]

> I am downloading the jdk-1.5.0 with the netbeans ide included has 
> anyone
> had any experiance with it I am thinking about learning java as a
> crossplatform language.

Choice of IDE is like choice of text editor - very religious.  My 
particular IDE denomination is Eclipse though the latest betas of 
NetBeans are much better than the current 3.6 version (which is just 
awful from a usability perspective).

If you were doing profession development you might also consider IDEA 
as it is very commonly recommended though personally I still prefer 
Eclipse.

If you're learning Java you may also want to look into BlueJ which was 
specifically designed for people learning Java (I have no idea what 
difference that makes in reality).

The key thing for Java is code completion that covers all classes on 
the classpath (particularly the standard libraries) and good 
refactoring options (though you probably won't use them until you know 
the language fairly well).

If you're learning Java reading the Java Tutorial is a must (actually 
is a must read for anyone using Java) - it's pretty obvious from 
http://java.sun.com I think.

Also, when learning Java try to develop and test cross platform so that 
you get an understanding of how platforms differ - most Java 
programmers are downright lousy at this.  If at all possible regularly 
test your product on a Mac as Mac OS makes a lot of different decisions 
to Windows whereas Linux is largely the same as Windows (the fact that 
the Mac OS JVM is implemented by Apple instead of Sun is also a cause 
of differences).

Also, feel free to ask me Java questions either directly or via the 
developers Humbug list.  I know there are a few experienced Java coders 
in Humbug that can help out.

> Kind Regards,
> Anthony Irwin

Regards,

Adrian Sutton.

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