the missing link

**zahmed** · 07-26-2012, 10:57 PM

Hello every one, i am a structural engineer. For our day to day calculation almost all engineers have their own spread sheets, but now i want to make small calculation programs like i made in my TI-89 (texas instrument calculator) that is really when i first started to write a program.

any how i started to learn Java, bought some video tutorials as well, i have gone through and understood the basics like operators, variables, loops, etc and understood some basics of classes as well, i downloaded netbeans too. The problem is i am finding it hard to find the missing link that is need to actually make a program (like those .exe file thing)

can somebody suggest some tutorial which would guide in a step by step fashion for making a complete program ?

secondly does one need to be a software engineer to write some complicated programs ?

**awinston** · 07-26-2012, 11:03 PM

Here is a tutorial from Oracle that will guide you step-by-step through the process of creating, compiling, and running a simple java program with the Netbeans IDE: "Hello World!" for the NetBeans IDE (The Java™ Tutorials > Getting Started > The "Hello World!" Application)

**awinston** · 07-26-2012, 11:06 PM

As for your second question, I don't think you need to have any type of qualification or achievement in order to create a complicated program in Java. Dedication to learning and persistence are important.

**Tolls** · 07-27-2012, 09:44 AM

I'll have to disagree.
In the same way I could build a house if I had dedication and persistence, it would be a rubbish house.
Just because I can put up a flat pack shed...

**awinston** · 07-27-2012, 03:10 PM

I didn't mean that anyone with dedication and persistence of any kind can create a Java Program. If someone has dedication to learning the Java language and persistence in practicing his or her Java skills, then I would say he can probably create a complex Java program.

**Tolls** · 07-27-2012, 03:39 PM

At which point you would be a software engineer.
You won't manage that by simply reading a few books and cobbling together some apps.

**awinston** · 07-27-2012, 04:01 PM

Yes. My point was that someone shouldn't be discouraged from learning Java and trying to create complex programs just because he isn't considered a software engineer beforehand. Every software engineer has to start somewhere.

**JosAH** · 07-27-2012, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by awinston

Yes. My point was that someone shouldn't be discouraged from learning Java and trying to create complex programs just because he isn't considered a software engineer beforehand. Every software engineer has to start somewhere.

Yes, everybody has to start somewhere, but see what the markets do: they hire those people before they are fully qualified (read: haven't finished their studies yet and don't have any experience yet) and so they are cheap; no matter all the bragging those people write crappy software because they are (still) unqualified and they are on a tight deadline. And another piece of crappy software sees the light ...

kind regards,

Jos

**awinston** · 07-28-2012, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by JosAH

Yes, everybody has to start somewhere, but see what the markets do: they hire those people before they are fully qualified (read: haven't finished their studies yet and don't have any experience yet) and so they are cheap; no matter all the bragging those people write crappy software because they are (still) unqualified and they are on a tight deadline. And another piece of crappy software sees the light ...

So here is a dilemma...where can an inexperienced programmer seek experience in a low-risk environment? Are you suggesting internships, or do you believe it's possible to become experienced solely through study and independent practice?

**JosAH** · 07-28-2012, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by awinston

So here is a dilemma...where can an inexperienced programmer seek experience in a low-risk environment? Are you suggesting internships, or do you believe it's possible to become experienced solely through study and independent practice?

I think the second option can take you halfway; the ict industry is totally sick: they demand results in a too short time span without properly defined problems at extremely low prices; management has taken over the ict industry and we can all see what has become of it; and on top of it they can all put the blame on the software guys (whether experienced or not). All that scrum and agile and other voodoo is just a way to cover up the total lack of knowledge and is just another management game; they like those games because they lack any form of fundamental knowledge. Maybe science can be an option: that's were the ict industry came from (and should've stayed there a bit longer if you'd ask me); try to become a (junior) programmer with a scientific attitude but stay away from all that internet crap and outsourcing stuff and the scrum nonsense and whatever.

kind regards,

Jos