Abm0raz's Journal: [ask a subset of /.] Beginners java programming

Ok, I'm taking the plunge. I'm leaving comfortable box that is C++ and VB and am going to try and learn JAVA.

My questions are:

      1. Where do I start? Keep in mind that I have *0* budget. I can't even buy a book, more or less an expensive IDE. Are there free things available (like F/OSS)? I prefer Windows environment, but also have a Debian box at home that's kinda beat up. Even if the stuff isn't free, recommend it anyways. I might be able to come up with the ability to get it.

      2. I'm a fairly advanced programmer already. I understand things like sorts, searches, OOP, loops, decision statements, stacks, queues, linked lists, variable types, pointers, etc. I'm not looking for a void main() {printf("hello world!/n");} type stuff. Some of those that played GalaxisOnline with us (planet FSoF RULED!) have seen some of my programming ability and level with the psuedo-browser I integrated into Excel.

      3. My main goal is to take a few of the games I wrote in VB and recreate them in JAVA. This is mainly just to show my different programming skills. I.e.: This is how I handle user input. This is how I call a database. This is how I move sprites. etc...

My big problem is that I will have been un(der)employed for a year on friday. I've gone on several interviews but most of my skills are outdated (VB6, and such) and I need to update.

Thanks for any help.

-Ab

Come on

[baldass_newbie]

Your skills are fine. Fret not. And look up (architect) and not just at programming.
My boss (who's been coding since 8-bit COBOL on punch cards) never even looks at what language someone 'knows'. You'll always learn new stuff. We're doing things we weren't doing 3 years ago and will be doing something different in another 3 years.
Having said that, in my mind, JAVA is C++ without memory issues, i.e. pointers and whatnot. See? Your done. Well not quite.
Here's a free book [mindview.net].
Here's a free IDE [eclipse.org] and some more [sun.com]

Re:Come on

[FortKnox]

What he said, basically. Thinking in Java is how I started (I was a C++ and perl coder when I learned Java). Totally worth it.
Eclipse I use at work (completely free), and when you are ready to do web work, I'd suggest checking the Jakarta project [apache.org].

Java has about as large of an open source community and projects as perl, so its completely free unless you want to do really advanced stuff, easily.

Re:Come on

[TechnoLust]

I third that motion. Eclipse is great and if you know concepts and things already, you can browse the API online [sun.com].

Re:Come on

[Abm0raz]

I agree wholely. I always tell people, "It doesn't matter WHAT languages I know, because I know HOW to program and I can pick up the syntax in no time at all." The problem is, the people doing the "scanning of resumes" around here aren't those that understand this fact. They see "Hey, our website is in flash and java, so that's what we need," and if my resume doesn't have "flash and java" on it, I don't get a call.

I'll try out the recommendations later tonight. I have to meet some people at 6 for an eve