[java] How does J# compare to Sun's java?

Quote:

I was just thinking about learning a little bit about Java and I already have J# so....

J# is not Java. If you look at the install directions, is says so quite specifically. J# - as I understand it - is a pseudo Java for Windows platforms only. If you want to learn Java, download the JSDK. If you want J#, go with the MS stuff.

Here is an interesting discussion about J#.

Thanks. That link explained it well.

I guess the Sun Java wont use the MS virtual machine for Java? I'm using W2k so it is the only one installed.

If you compile with a 1.1 target then the MS Virtual Machine can run it (for the most part). But there's no reason to do that. When you install the Java Development Kit from Sun it will install a runtime environment that you can (and should) use in place of the MS version.

Ok I read the FAQ and went to suns website. It looks like there is more than 1 SDK that can be downloaded. Im guessing this is what I should download from:

Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE)

there is

J2SE 5.0
J2SE 1.4.2

or am I in the wrong place. Sorry if it may seem like a dumb question but I am totally new to Java.

technically you should download v5.0, but a lot of people claim it has a lot of bugs, and prefer 1.4.2.

Quote:

Original post by ThoughtCrimminal there is J2SE 5.0 J2SE 1.4.2

Java 5.0 is the latest JSDK available, it's Sun's biggest update in years (I think). Among the new things are generics (think templates from C++) and improvements to Swing. Java 1.4.2 is the previous stable release before 5.0.

Peronally, I'd recommend getting the 5.0. Someone else might pipe in and fire off a rant about how Java 5.0 is broken - generics are crap, Swing sucks ass, ect, ergo get 1.4.2 'cause it ain't broke (search this forum) - but since you are a n00b to Java you probably won't be encountering any of that (if it's even there ...).

So, download the SDK, get yourself a good IDE (or go with the command line), and start coding. Remember that you don't need to specifically go to Sun's website to find Java documentation or tutorials - google usually brings them up first.

And if you encouter problems with the 5.0 SDK - if - you can always download the other.

Good luck.

Get Eclipse for an IDE. Once you get it setup and you learn the basics it'll be a big time saver. It's free, extremely popular here, and well...awesome. I originally tried going to Netbeans 4.0 because it was more similar to MSVC6 than Eclipse is, but after using both for a little it didn't take long until I switched to Eclipse exclusively and now I'll probably permanently uninstall NB.

NB has a *slightly* easier learning curve but I think Eclipse is worth it. (I think Eclipse is a little tougher simply because it has so many things you can customize.) NB 4 IS a beta so it may improve, but I had some issues with stability/debugging and I've seen no such problems with Eclipse.

there is no question about it. use eclipse.