[Wylug-help] JAVA, J2EE, C++ and XML bluffing

[Roger Leigh]

Gary Stainburn <gary.stainburn at ringways.co.uk> writes:

> I've just applied for a job as a Software Developer Team Leader and need to
> know the above topics.
>
> I don't!!!!!
>
> Can anyone suggest a good learn everything in 60 minutes reference, or at
> least learn enough so that I sound as if I know what I'm talking about.

Most of the books on each of those subjects are huge bricks that will
take a month each!

For Java and J2EE, I can't help--I did have to evaluate using Java for
work, and while it includes a lot of functionality, I wasn't happy
with the language.  The book I used was by Deitel and Deitel, but I
can't advise you read it, because it was terrible.

XML: XML is very simple, but is surrounded by hype.  There's a lot of
extra bits I don't use/understand, like XPath and XPointer, but the
basic stuff is very simple.  I learnt the basics by programming with
libxml2 (and more recently using Mike Sweet's libmxml, an
ultra-lightweight parser/generator).  I borrowed a few books from my
local (Blackburn) library; ignoring the hype in them, they did manage
to convey the basic concepts.  IIRC it was XML for Idiots/Dummies--a
terrible book, but it did help a bit.  There are a good few online
articles, too; google should help here.  www.w3c.org also has the
specs, but they tend to be rather unreadable.

C++: I learnt C++ using "Practical C++ Programming" by S. Oualline
(O'Reilly) and "Teach Yourself C++ for Linux in 24 Hours" by
J. Liberty and Horvath (Sams).  The latter was a reasonable book--I
learnt the basics.  A better book would be "[More] Effective C++" by
Scott Meyers, which I haven't got yet.  I'm now nearly through reading
"The C++ Standard Library" by Josuttis.

To be honest, I don't think you'll grasp C++ in 60 minutes.  It took
me several hours a day over two months total to work my way through
the above two texts (cover to cover, doing everything), and that was
just the basic language, not the library.  Even after writing C++
every day for work over the last six months I can't claim to be an
expert--it's a huge and complex language which takes time to learn and
acquire skill in, and I still get tripped up by the subtleties
(e.g. templated classes can't contain pure virtual functions).


Good Luck!


Regards,
Roger

BTW, I'm not trying to be negative--just realistic--because there's
months or years of work to become skilled in each of the subjects.

--
Roger Leigh

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