What are the dominant set of Java technologies right now?

[Shelly]

Hi Group,

I'm a windows/MFC/c++ programmer of several years. I've touched on java
repeatedly, but I've yet to work in a an actual Java shop.

Last time I wrote my own Java app, I used the javac compiler with no
fancies.

What are the Java technologies that experienced developers need to know
right now?



BTW, I keep seeing people say 'learn J2EE', but isn't that like saying
'learn Windows'?


Thanks for any info,


-Shelly

 

[Dave Glasser]

Hi Group,

I'm a windows/MFC/c++ programmer of several years. I've touched on java
repeatedly, but I've yet to work in a an actual Java shop.

Last time I wrote my own Java app, I used the javac compiler with no
fancies.

That's still the best way, IMO, but I would advise you to learn and
use ant as well.

What are the Java technologies that experienced developers need to know
right now?

BTW, I keep seeing people say 'learn J2EE', but isn't that like saying
'learn Windows'?

Not exactly. J2EE encompasses a huge set of different APIs, but the
core ones are Servlets, JSPs and EJBs. JDBC isn't officially part of
J2EE (it's part of J2SE) but almost all J2EE development will involve
JDBC in some way.

As far as what you should learn, the most marketable Java skills right
now, I'm guessing, are still the Servlets/JSPs/EJB/JDBC stuff. There
may be some demand for Java GUI development with Swing or SWT, but
that's probably a small part of the overall Java job market at the
moment. (I'd like to see that change.)

In any case, if you want to start developing with Java professionally,
you should thoroughly learn the core language, with all of its nuances
and obscure features, as a foundation on which to build your knowledge
of the peripheral Java technologies. If you already have an OO / C++
background, I would recommend _The Java Programming Language_ by James
Gosling. It's packs in virtually everything you need to know about the
core Java language without using 1000 pages to do so. It seems to
assume (unintentionally, I think) some knowledge of OO concepts on the
part of the reader, but with a C++ background you should have no
problem with it.

 

[Marco Schmidt]

Shelly:

I'm a windows/MFC/c++ programmer of several years. I've touched on java
repeatedly, but I've yet to work in a an actual Java shop.

Last time I wrote my own Java app, I used the javac compiler with no
fancies.

I recommend Eclipse <http://www.eclipse.org/>. It's available for many
platforms, it's free, it has all the necessary features and it worked
out of the box for me. I don't like having to invest large amounts of
time into learning development tools, and Eclipse worked for me very
well.

What are the Java technologies that experienced developers need to know
right now?

I support what Dave said in his answer. Let me add that applets aren't
important anymore. Just in case your last experience with Java was at
the time they still mattered.

Regards,
Marco