I want to learn JSP, XLST, Struts, Ant, Antenna, J2ME, JMS, Swing, Servlets

[jkoorts]

Hi all,

I just finished a course in learning Java - the programming language,
but would now like to learn JSP, XLST, Struts, Ant, Antenna, J2ME, JMS,
Swing, Servlets.

I have no idea in what order to learn these things as i have no idea
how they all fit together.

I also want to learn J2ME and order the following books:

Beginning J2ME: From Novice to Professional
J2me in a Nutshell
Trade paperback User Interface Design Guidelines for J2me Midp 2.0

My Question is, what books would you recommend i order to learn about
the other stuff, and also in what order should i read them. i mean
should i learn struts before jsp or the other way around?

cheers
jk

 

[dingbat]

Hi all,

I just finished a course in learning Java - the programming language,
but would now like to learn JSP, XLST, Struts, Ant, Antenna, J2ME, JMS,
Swing, Servlets.

Too much - learn these in smaller chunks. As always, it's a good idea
to learn around "a project" rather than just technologies in isolation.

Pick J2ME or "web Java" and go down one route - they're really quite
distinct.

Ant is simple and good to learn beforehand as it will be useful to you
within other projects and techniques.

XSLT is quite separate and really not related - leave it to one side,
or pick it up if you need it.

If you're aiming at the J2EE path (where most of the work is) then I'd
suggest a good grounding in Java, Design Patterns, Ant, webbage (HTML,
CSS and HTTP), some lightweight JSP (no tag libraries), then Servlets
and re-visiting JSP with proper use of tag libraries and a good
structure, then Struts. Then thing about Swing et al.

I like the "Head First" books from O'Reilly at present - esp. "Servlets
and JSP" and the one on deign patterns. Be careful with J2EE books in
general - the older ones can be misleading.

 

[jkoorts]

thanks dingbat,

I'm actually going down the J2ME route, writing apps for mobiles and
mobiles talking to webservers.

I'm busy reading Professional JSP wrox book. It already talks about
servlets which is great as i had no idea what that was. Thanks for the
tip - struts and swing then goes last for me.

cheers
jk

 

[dimitar]

If you are going the J2ME way, I'd recommend after you've covered the
Java language features, take the time to read the specs for the profiles
you are going to use CLDC, MIDP, iDEN and whatever extensions the vendor
has to offer.

There is not so much you can do in the build files, but you should know
how to use Antenna. Especially useful is the preprocessor. Consider the
following idiom for conditional compilation:

class MyClass {

private static final boolean DEBUG_MODE =
//#ifdef DEBUG
true;
private static final boolean DUMMY =
//#endif
//#ifndef DEBUG
false;
//#endif

private myMethod() {
if (DEBUG_MODE) {
/* do the debugging stuff; this code won't
be included in the release build. */
}
}

Another thing which will help you a lot is to read the JVM spec and Bill
Venners's 'Inside the JVM'. In it's especially important in J2ME to have
an idea which constructs how much space occupy in the bytecode and in
the runtime heap.

hope this helps,
Dimitar

 

[Andy Dingley]

I'm actually going down the J2ME route, writing apps for mobiles and
mobiles talking to webservers.

That's both routes. Java that runs _on_ the phone is radically different
to Java that runs on a web server and serves content _to_ phones. The
first is J2ME, the second is half of J2EE. Don't confuse them, you'll
get horribly mixed up -- I'd strongly suggest you just learn one or the
other, until you're fairly experienced.

 

[Danno]

Well, here is my suggested learning tree:

First learn java, learn it like you've never learned before! When
you learn it, learn it in conjuction with ant. Let ant do the work for
you. Schedule yourself for Sun Certified Java Programmer Certificate.
An employer may like the cert but don't count on it, this is for
yourself. The studying will help you learn java. I wouldn't go past
that until you pass.

You can then learn different things, my suggestion is to start off
with a good base. I would pick up books on Basic XML and XML with Java,
SQL and JDBC, Hibernate (would be nice), Version Control, Unit testing
(Junit, TestNG). Since those things are involved in just about
everything a java programmer does.

From there the world is your oyster. If you want to learn web stuff
you can learn Servlets, JSP, and a Web Framework (hundreds out there) .
If you want to learn more about Enterprise you can learn JMS, EJB, etc.
You can learn J2ME for mobile devices. You can also learn Swing for
Desktops apps. Lots of great stuff to learn.

 

[jkoorts]

Thanks guys this helped a lot!

I'll get the XML books, MIDP stuff, and get Certified.

 

[Darryl L. Pierce]

I just finished a course in learning Java - the programming language,
but would now like to learn JSP, XLST, Struts, Ant, Antenna, J2ME, JMS,
Swing, Servlets.

Let me guess, and you want to do it all in a hurry, yes?

I have no idea in what order to learn these things as i have no idea
how they all fit together.

I also want to learn J2ME and order the following books:

Beginning J2ME: From Novice to Professional
J2me in a Nutshell

Don't bother with this. I've thumbed through it and didn't feel it was
worth the money.

Trade paperback User Interface Design Guidelines for J2me Midp 2.0

My Question is, what books would you recommend i order to learn about
the other stuff, and also in what order should i read them. i mean
should i learn struts before jsp or the other way around?

For JavaEE topics (JSP, JMS, Servlets), pick up the Wiley book _Java 2
Enterprise Edition Bible_. This should give you a decent introduction to
those things. For Struts you can get by with either O'Riley's book or
the Wrox book (I have both and enjoyed the latter). XSLT is covered in
any good XML book. Antenna you can learn via the documentation that
comes iwth it. Swing has a ton of books, none that I can recommend off-hand.

 

[David N. Welton]

Don't bother with this. I've thumbed through it and didn't feel it was
worth the money.

It didn't seem like a bad introduction if you already know a thing or
two about coding. What other resources would you recommend?

--
David N. Welton
- http://www.dedasys.com/davidw/

Linux, Open Source Consulting
- http://www.dedasys.com/

 

[Darryl L. Pierce]

It didn't seem like a bad introduction if you already know a thing or
two about coding. What other resources would you recommend?

Jonathan Knudsen's book was an excellent introduction to the MIDP. Also,
"J2ME Enterprise Development" by Hague and O'Connor was excellent,
though it was MIDP 1.0.