More on Java

Back to Java.  I was working on writing a test servlet application to run on the new (really old) computer, and spent some time fighting NetBeans until I figured out what I needed.  What I was missing was the entire javax.* import information.  It was under Tools->Plugins.  Despite my best attempts, it’s still not working as I write this.   The Javax import is there, just not the servlet portion.   I will fight that later.

I think I learned a bit that I’d forgotten in my rush to get an app together.  The idea was good, but the idea was a little more complex than my mind could really wrap itself around.  Learning any new programming language generally requires spending a certain amount of time building junk programs that do little things.  Most of those programs aren’t really good for anything except building a bit of muscle memory and learning.

I think I also took a step back with the realization that I need to grind out a few programs here and there and make something work before I try something I want to sell.  If I can’t write the code for what I want to do in Java without having to fight Eclipse, or any other IDE, then I don’t need to be trying to write the code.  Because there is a knowledge gap, and that knowledge gap becomes obvious when you start developing more complex applications.

So I’ve decided to spend a bit of time every day developing junk applications.  Things that might be useful to me, but are otherwise useless.  Maybe the simplicity of a button class that realizes whether a Boolean has been switched.  Really simple, stupid stuff.  But then, opportunity often comes dressed in coveralls and looking like work.

Because, despite my best interests at self-sabotage, if I read 11 pages per day for the next year, I’ll be done with my 5,200 page sprint through physics, calculus, and artificial intelligence.  And when those 11 pages per day are done, it’s time to start practicing to perform.  But there has to be a sufficient knowledge base reached before I can even begin to put that sort of knowledge into play.

To put it simply, I should have the ability to design a user interface that looks like what I’ve imagined before I try and develop something that can think.  I shouldn’t be wondering how to program a button so when I click it the thing starts to work.