Java Programming
by Jon Pearce
Chapter 2 Strings, Arrays, Numbers, Exceptions
Chapter 4 Polymorphism, Abstraction, Frameworks, and Kits
Chapter 6 Applets (The Obsolete Browser Problem)
Object-Oriented Programming in Java
Problems (under construction)
Introduction
Java was developed by Sun Microsystems. Sun hosts a gigantic web site devoted to Java products and news. The home page of this web site is located at:
Java takes the concept of freeware to a new level. Programmers can freely download the Java software development kit (SDK) at:
Downloading the IDE
Next, programmers will probably want an integrated development environment (IDE). There are many commercial products available, but one of the best (i.e., least worst) is Sun's Forte. The community edition can be freely downloaded at:
Downloading the Documentation
The home page for all Java 1.3 SDK documentation is located at:
There are many books about Java, but beginners can start by freely downloading the book The Java Tutorial located at:
Downloading Programs
Programmers may wish to skip the programming phase altogether. Several sites contain free programs that can be downloaded. These sites also have answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), discussion groups, gurus, and other useful features. One example is the Gamelan site located at:
Pure Object-Orientation
C++ programmers aren't required to write object-oriented programs. Most C++ programmers
Platform Independence
The term platform (also called a physical platform or a runtime environment) is commonly used to collectively refer to a computer together with its operating system. An abstract platform (also called a virtual platform) is a document that specifies the services provided by a platform without describing a physical platform that provides these services. This is done by describing the services purely in terms of the interfaces they present to application programmers (APIs). An application developed using an abstract platform can run on any physical platform implementation.
There are currently three abstract Java platforms: the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), the Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE), and the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME). Generally speaking, J2EE describes an abstract server platform, J2SE describes an abstract client platform, and J2ME describes an abstract PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) platform.