Should I learn Java?

Can some one give me some examples of what can be done with Java as a programming language?

Are there any pro's and con's against other languages?

I have the opportunity to take this as a Uni module next semester and wanted a bit of background. I also heard that it depends heavily on maths (as I imagine most programming does) what are the types of maths i should be comforatble with before even attempting learning Java?

 

I suggest c or c++ instead of java

I know many languages, and i have also tried java and can say, from my experiance and opinion, it is messy and junky.

Plus, that runtime environment you always need is annoying as hell.

If your looking to make desktop apps, learn c++ or C, if your looking to make web applets, learn flash.

 

Yeah graphic programming in Java requires some knowledge of geometry.

 

IS Java still around? This is different to Javascript isnt it?

 

Can somebody suggest me good sites for learning java ? like php.net for php

 

Java is a brilliant language to learn. Its very powerful and is also multi platform. This means it can run on PC, MAC, Linux etc etc. I wouldn't say you need to know Maths well to program. Obviousally maths will play a part but it all depends on what you want to do. Java is very popular right now and is alot easier to learn than C. C++ is actually on its way out whilst Java is on the rise.

 

Check java.sun.com .

 

Java isnt used alot these days. Its a bit of an old programming language. Flash has replaced it now.

 

there seems to be a bit of a divide between people who use it and say its on the rise and people who don't and say its on its way out. would you get the same with any language?

 

With Java you can do a lot more ( types of application) than other language /script (like flash ) . If you can master any programming language, you will get good job etc.

 

i have done Java before and I would personally go for c++ if you're going to learn java. You choose whats easy for you and what you think you will be comfortable with

 

Uh ... obviously a Sun employee.

Java is single-paradigm, so for smaller projects it requires far more work than other languages.

C/C++ is more powerful than Java, hands down.

Java's popularity is actually declining compared to its stance a few years ago.

It's easier to learn than C if you want to do Object Oriented stuff. It's not easier than C++. It's syntax is pretty much a direct clone of C++.

The whole "Java is multi-platform" bullet is silly. QT is multi-platform as well and a far more intelligent framework than Sun. KDE is entirely built in QT.

 

As an independant programmer, I must say I really like Java language, meaning the syntax and the logic. It is easy to learn.

But I must also say I hate Java when it comes to developing real applications. Why ? Because it's a LOT of configuration, for example for a webapp, you'll have to configure Tomcat and it is really annoying. This is the bad side of Java - if you're not gonna write a very big application which can take advantage of some really good ideas of Java, you'll be having a hard time understanding why the hell something doesn't work.

A simple example : to work with PHP, you need to install apache and php, and after that, you just place your php files in the apache www folder.
With tomcat, you have to create your app, build a war file, configure the context, deploy the war file, etc. And Ant or a similar tool is really handful, because it's too complicated to do it by hand.

 

What languages can you use to create apps for the Nintendo DS Lite or PS3?

 

java is damn good but what u want to do ?

graphics , any other apps then u need to go for core java in depth

if u want web apps then its some what tough to get good java hosting

but u can do lot of things in web side very well if u know java , jsp web oriented techs

 

c/c++/asm etc most of the low level languages. I coded a GBA app before with a devkit for fun but I can tell you from my experience that it's quite hard to code a game

That said, i'm a Java person but also know a bit .NET (c#) and c/c++

 

To be honest... depends what you want to do? Internet, low level control, business apps.. each has its 'best' language. Whats your starting point? To be honest teach yourself UML (or similar) & OOPS techniques and it doesnt really matter which language you specialise in, as these techniques form the backbone of most analysis/programming scenarios.

 

I agree with drax2006. You can start learning basic of programming not the language using language like c. Its great language to learn various programming elements . here you will get the change to concentrate on the logic rather than the interface. Its not problem to do the same in Java also .

 

Oh and btw, if you want to learn java i've started a forum for it here: http://tinyurl.com/68cjnw if you need any help, let me know

 

What exactly are you attempting to make? C/C++ will be better for desktop applications, and Flash/Actionscript will be better for online applets.