Re: .NET Programmer Needs To Learn Java

From: kaeli (tiny_one_at_NOSPAM.comcast.net)
Date: 09/14/04 

Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 13:31:04 -0500

In article <41471c47$1@news.mcleodusa.net>, scorpion_53061
@nospamhereeveryahoo.com enlightened us with...
> Hello,
>
> I am a vb.net programmer. That being said I have been forced to conclude I
> need to learn java ...
>

Why?

As a junior-level Java programmer beginning in .NET, I'm being forced to
conclude that if I had a choice, I'd use .NET every time. Everything that
took me forever to figure out how to do in Java takes 3 seconds to do in
.NET.
Problem is, of course, that it doesn't work in Unix, and that's what I'm
stuck with.
Note that I'm pretty much a beginner in both languages and my background is
web apps and small command-line programs, so I was already used to
ASP/VBScript and C and am not really considering things that others might
consider when comparing the two. I'm just talking how easy it was for me to
do what I needed to do, quickly.
I'm asking because I'd love to hear some advantages to using Java that I
haven't thought of. I've been very frustrated lately. :)

> Some questions:
>
> 1. Is there a low cost way to learn, compile and develop for this langauge?
> (aka Visual Studio but not costing an arm and a leg like this platform)
>

If you are used to Unix apps, Eclipse is supposedly very nice. Lots of people
love it. I hated it.
If you are used to Windows apps (as I am), JBuilder has a free version that I
like a lot.

> 2. Can programs written here run on AIX 5.1 (non DB2 environment)? is there
> a specific install I need to do to make these programs work on AIX 5.1?
>

Beats the holy heck outta me, but someone else answered this one.

> 3. I believe they use .idx files for their database structure. Can Java be
> of use in reading, modifying and inserting data into these environments?
>

Anything you can find a driver for, it can read.
No nice ADO with datasources here. You have to actually go find a driver,
install it somewhere along your classpath, and set up a DB connection. You
*could* use JDBC/ODBC (closer to ADO), but by all accounts I've read, it
sucks.
The drivers, by the way, seem to be provided by the DB people. I had to go
get one from Oracle. It didn't come from Sun. The driver for Oracle is like
classes111.zip or something, so don't be looking for the same stuff you
download to make a datasource for .NET, 'cuz that's not it. :)

> 4. What is the java equivalent (if there is one) to ADO.NET?
>

There is none. At least nothing I've found. If someone knows of one, I'd love
to know about it, b/c ADO makes life a LOT simpler for me.

> 5. Am I looking at a huge learning curve?
>

If you've ever used C++ in a real OOP way, not too huge, probably. Otherwise,
IMO, yes.
I'm picking up .NET like *that*, yet I'm still having a hard time with some
aspects of java.
It took me 3 minutes to set up a DB connection to a point where I could
read/write to the DB with .NET. It took me over a week when I first started
with Java to get everything as I needed it, because I didn't have the right
drivers and so on.
So, I guess it depends on if you have help, what your background is, and so
on. 

-- 
--
~kaeli~
Kill one man and you are a murderer. Kill millions and you 
are a conqueror. Kill everyone and you are God. 
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

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