[1705] in java-interest
Re: Java How-to Guide
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Thu Sep 14 17:00:04 1995
From: "Elliotte Rusty Harold" <Elliotte@blackstar.com>
To: java-interest@java.sun.com
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 10:19:15 EST
Reply-To: Elliotte@blackstar.com
Cc: elharo@inch.com
>
> A very rough analysis of the mailing list traffic indicates that
> there are more than ten people out there "just listening" for every
> one of us who actually posts something. My guess is that there is a
> LOT of interest in the answers to basic how-to questions.
I've thought so too. After some thought I've decided to write a java
FAQ-list/Tutorial combination. Why me when there are clearly people
who are much more qualified than I? Primarily because I'm willing to
do it. This is by no means meant to preclude others from doing it as
well. However I do have the time, the interest and some experience
with technical writing.
I suspect I'll make this a pure HTML FAQ list (perhaps with a text dumped
version available as well) since anyone with an interest should have
access to a Web browser. I'll announce a URL shortly.
Why am I interested in doing this? It's often said that you never
really understand anything until you teach it. I'm going to endeavor
to learn java and understand it by teaching it. The result should be
interesting at least. Since I'm very new to java and clearly do not
yet understand the language, I'll have a perspective on the issues that should be
helpful to newcomers.
Will I make mistakes? Absolutely. I hope people here and elsewhere
will correct me gently and help lead me on the path to true java
enlightenment when I err. And if they aren't so gentle, well, I've developed a
pretty thick skin after years of Usenet.
I think I'll begin the list with a simple collection of available
resources, and a few words about mailing list etiquette (i.e. don't
cross-post to java-interest and hot-java-interest). Then I'll
probably write something about the available ports and required
software and hardware and such.
I may or may not write something about using prewritten java applets
for animation and the like.
The next part is where this gets really interesting. My tutorial in how
to write java is going to reflect the programs I'm actually writing.
As I learn to do a Hello World program, I'll write about Hello World.
(OK, I've actually already gotten beyond Hello World but not much
beyond.) How fast the FAQ list grows will depend in large part on how fast my
skills grow. You'll get to watch me learn, make mistakes, correct
mistakes and so on.
There may be an advantage to this approach. People who want to learn
java will be coming from almost identical places as am I. I always
hate having to write down or talk down to people and I don't do it
very well. Similarly I find it frustrating to try to communicate with
people who are way beyond me (as obviously some people on this list
are). Right now I am at the level of the lowest of the low (Well,
maybe not quite. I do have a lot of experience with traditional
procedural programming in C, Fortran and other such languages.) This
means that I can write for people without much prior experience
without boring myself or, hopefully, my audience, to tears.
Finally I'll reiterate that I'm not trying to prevent anyone else or
any other team of people from taking on a similar project. I hope
you do. I'll probably learn from waht you do, and you'll learn from
what I do, even if it's only to learn the sorts of things novices are
confused about. And of course not everyone shares the same learning
style so while some people may enjoy my approach to java I am sure
others will find it dense, incoherent and ultimately
incomprehensible. More choices are better.
Ultimately I'm doing this because I think java is very, very cool and
I am convinced I need to learn it sooner rather than later. I think
this project will propel my java knowledge forward, and if it does
that I'll consider my project a success. If I can help a few other
lost sould to climb out of the pit with me at the same time, so much
the better.
--
Elliotte Rusty Harold Black Star Publishing Co., Inc.
elliotte@blackstar.com 116 East 27th Street
elharo@escape.com NY NY 10016
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