#5 - Parlez Vous Java?
One key step in learning how to develop is to choose your language. This can be damning if you do not spend time researching the application of the language you would like to use.
All languages are not useful in all scenarios. For instance, when writing for the web, one might use Java, JScript, or PHP. I doubt anyone would use something like Visual Basic for this application. Reading further into this idea, what are you wanting to write for the web? What do you want to be able to do? Answering basic questions like these will help you determine which language you should use, as well.
From a learning standpoint, whichever language you decide to take on will be the one you spend most of your time on. For your first language, it might be easier to take on a high level language, rather than a low level language, like C. You will want something that is as close to human readable text as possible, as it should help you understand syntax, logic, as well as specific nomenclature.
I have chosen to use Java as my language. I have experience programming in Java with a friend of mine, so I’m already used to some of the ins and outs. We were working on developing an Android application. While we never finished the app, I did get to spend a lot of time with the language. I developed an appreciation for it, and its capabilities. Sometimes, it seems like the sky is the limit for Java. It has its set backs, though.
// comments on Java and JScript differences
For anyone new to the Development world, Java is not the same as Java Script. They are two separate entities. They are both object oriented languages (OOP), but Java is a programming language, where JScript is a scripting language. This changes the execution of the target application.
Java runs the program within a virtual machine, whereas JScript runs from within the browser only. For a bit more information from Oracle, directly, check out this LINK.
// end of comments. Back to Activity.Main
Learning Java has been pretty simple so far. I have been using the Wikiversity pages mentioned in my previous blog post. While I have experience programming in Java, my friend was lacking in his explanation of the theory behind Java as well as the differences between things like variable usage. When I would ask him, “Why would we use that?” His answer would be, “I don’t know. You just do.”
Reading through Wikiversity’s info, it has enlightened me more on the usage of various aspects of the language as well as its nuances. As a supplement to this, practice makes perfect, so I have been writing short programs to test my knowledge of what I am learning. It is a relatively slow process, learning the ins and outs, but I will probably thank myself later for spending this time now.
In conclusion, choose your language up front but choose wisely. It may not be a huge burden to change your language later on in your learning process, but it’s a good idea to make wise decisions up front and waste less time.
As always, if anyone reads this blog and finds it entertaining or helpful, please let me know.
Sincerely,
The SysAdmin Dev Team