Java programming

[BuzzKillington]

I'm looking to start programming Android apps. My ultimate goal is to make a game but we'll see if it's achievable within a reasonable time frame. I'd pay to have it done but I'm afraid of someone running with it so I'm forced to learn java myself. lol

[NightrainSrt4]

You don't need an IDE. I spent my first two years with java using nothing but notepad/notepad++ and the console.

But aside from that or netbeans, there's also eclipse. I've been using it for android programming but I really haven't gotten used to it. It has a feel a lot like open source software, like GIMP. Things that should be intuitive, just aren't.

If you know another language, your probably don't need much more than looking through Sun/Oracle's website/documentation.

As for books, I think I started with Big Java. If you want GUI programming, another book probably has better examples, as I remember it being pretty sparse on that.

[BuzzKillington]

I don't know any programming languages atm. I know enough HTML to browse through it and edit it a bit but I couldn't write it from scratch... kinda like spanish... I can understand the gist of a conversation but I couldn't repeat it and make it make sense. lol

[dr.walrus]

I think a game might be a bit of a big project if you haven't done anything before.. can you tell us any specifics?

[Xpirate]

I used these videos for the basics. They are free:http://eclipsetutorial.sourceforge.n...lbeginner.html

We use Eclipse at work so the tutorial was pretty beneficial. I'm not using Java at work, but I want to learn it so I can be more marketable to other companies.

These videos cover important stuff like Junit and how to use the IDE.

Back in college I was just like these other guys and used the console and vi. I still use them if I have to, but I'd much rather have the IDE. It makes it easier to find stuff in the code when it is extremely poorly written in the first place.

Trust me, someday you may have to inherit some horrible code in your software development future.

[x88x]

Another good resource is the OpenCourseware courses.
MIT:
Intro to Computer Science and Programming
Intro to Programming Java


For an IDE, personally I prefer Eclipse because it's a full-featured IDE that I can use for just about every language that I know of. It does have a bit of a learning curve though. For a free, basic, drop in and go, IDE, if you're running Windows I would highly recommend JCreator LE. I originally learned on NetBeans, but I really just can't stand it.. JCreator is the one my college courses used and the best simple Java IDE I've come across. It doesn't do any fancy helpful stuff like others, but if you just want something simple to handle all the compiling and stuff for you, it's great.

Also, if you have any specific questions once you get started, feel free to ask around here. There are enough of us that code that someone should be able to help.

[dr.walrus]

I originally learned on NetBeans, but I really just can't stand it.. J

I do not know a single CompSci graduate that doesn't say this exact thing

Also, if you have any specific questions once you get started, feel free to ask around here. There are enough of us that code that someone should be able to help.

Definitely, we're all happy to help!

[BuzzKillington]

I don't wanna go into details but I wanna make a game with just a lot of text and multiple choice questions. Not really any animation that I can think of.

My current project is a tuning app that goes along with "Drag Racing." It's already up on the market but people are complaining it can't be moved to SD card even though I'm setting it up to.
I'd also like to revamp it and make it look classier but I'm having problems getting spaces between the buttons so even though there's a background, you really only see buttons. Also, the text in the app is editable which I didn't want it to be.

I have another app idea where I need to pull in google maps, gps and postable information.

I have tons of ideas but don't have the knowledge to build them myself. I'm scared to have them made and have the programmer run with my idea, not to mention I couldn't update the apps myself without knowing how to program so I'd have to keep going back and paying the guy to update.

EDIT: Almost forgot, I',m also having problems with version numbers... rather than being able to go v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, it's making me skip to v1, v2, v3, v4.

[Yeticorn]

If you need help with code review, I'm also here to help. Mainly a c# programmer, but I used Java back in the day. I would second the opinion of those who use Eclipse as an IDE.

[BuzzKillington]

Would anyone be willing to slap my app together to make it look more professional? I'm trying to learn myself but right now time is money.

Once I have the foundation I should be able to figure out how to update it hereafter. Something like a working UI with just "text here text here text here" where I should edit. I'd be willing to pay you for your time.

This is what it looks like now:

This is something how I'd like it to look:

The top button is blacked out/the rest have chrome, I was just testing how well they'd sit on the background. They would of course all be uniform.

I need it to be SD capable as well.