Essentials of Java X460.3 - Essentials of Java Goals and Objectives: This class provides an introduction to the fundamentals of the Java language and how to build Java applets and applications. It is targeted at experienced developers who want to develop Java solutions and deliver them as standalone or Internet applications. It covers the mechanics of the language, appropriate usage, object-oriented design through Java, and the Java APIs. After taking the class a student should be able to create Java applications and applets, understand and debug Java solutions, and have good judgement about the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the language. Instructional Methods: This is a 30-hour class with 10 weeks of 3-hour sessions. Students are expected to spend from 5 to 10 hours of work outside of the class per week. The bulk of the work will be programming assignments and a final project. A take-home midterm and in-class final exam will round out the grading. Lecture notes: These notes are at http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~wolfe/java. I will be keeping them up to date as we progress, will fill out the lecture notes weekly, and will post assignments and solutions. We will typically follow these notes in class. Textbook: Core Java 1.1, Vol. 1-Fundamentals, Cay S. Horstmann, Gary Cornell. Available at Stacey's, Amazon.com, or most local bookstores. Instructor: Michael Wolfe wolfe@cs.stanford.edu Currently Vice President of Engineering at startup Kana Communications. Prerequisite: Experience designing and programming software using a structured language such as C/C++, Pascal, or Visual Basic. Exposure to Internet technology and object-oriented design is desirable. Grading: Weekly Programming Assignments = 40% Final Project = 30% Exams = 30% Intended Audience: Software engineers who are experienced in developing applications using structured languages such as C or Visual Basic who wish to learn to take advantage of the powerful new language Java to build industrial-strength applications and WWW sites. Class Outline: Week 1: Class introduction and survey. Introduction to the Java language. History. Goals. Controversy. Hype vs. reality. Java applets and applications. Client applications. Server applications. WWW browser based applets. Platform-specific Java vs. platform-independent Java. Bytecode vs. native code. The Java vitual machine. Goals of the core Java APIs. Propriety extensions by Microsoft and Apple. Differences between Java and C/C++. Survey of Java resources. Javasoft. Gamelan. Java-dedicated sites. Assignment: Install and test a Java development environment. Build and deploy a simple Java applet. Build and deploy and simple Java application. Week 2: The Java development cycle. Spec, design, and plan. Choice of appropriate tools. Compile and test. Java fundamental types. Numeric types (int, short, float) Boolean, conditionals. String. Statements, expressions, and blocks. Operators. - +, -, /, &&, || Assignment: A simple command-line program with some string manuipulations. Week 3: Constructs. if, else. for. do/while. switch/case. Arrays Declaring a new array. Accessing array elements. Array restrictions. Array alternatives. Packages Finding the right package. Browsing package documentation. The import statement and CLASSPATH. Class methods. Public and private. Static, non-static. Return type. Arguments. Assignment: The "guess a word game", using packages, strings, methods, and other basic constructs. Week 4: Defining and using Objects and Classes. What is a class? Example classes. How to design classes. The new construct. Week 5: Classes Encapsulation. Methods. Constructors. Inheritance. Subclasses. Private, protected, and public. Assignment: Designing and building classes and using them in a program (the banking assignment). Week 6: Inheritance Motivation. Design. The 'extends' keyword. Interfaces Motivation. Design. Method interfaces. Variable interfaces. Subclassing interfaces. Exception handling. introduction to catching exceptions. try, catch, and finally. more error-handling methodology in future class. Week 7: Graphical toolkits The AWT. Elements of AWT. Mention of JFC. Event models. Defining a simple UI using AWT. Week 8: More about events. Applets Deploying Building your own Dual applet/applications Week 9: Java IO package File I/O. Streams. More console I/O. Java.Net package Basic socket I/O. Client and server networked applications. Basic WWW I/O. Threads Motivation. Examples. Defining. Using. Synchronization. Week 10: Final project due. Project presentations and demos. Where to go from here. Additional UCB Extension classes Applying Java professionally. Individual study. Catalog Copy Essentials of Java X460.3 Java has been the most rapidly-adopted software development tool of all time, and the hype and momentum behind the language continues. Java is both a programming language and a development platform. It can be used to develop industrial-strength standalone client or server applications as well as small �applets� which can be delivered via a Web browser. This course attempts to give the student a solid grounding in the capabilities of the language, its most appropriate uses, and several Java object-oriented design paradigms. We start with a survey of what Java can do and in which circumstances it is an appropriate tool. We then investigate the Java object model and the syntax of the language. We will also introduce the basics of the Java APIs, including the Java Foundation Classes, the Abstract Windowing Toolkit, Networking, I/O, and Java Beans. We will also investigate how Java can be used as an Internet programming platform and how it can be used to enhance WWW sites. Instructional methods include weekly lecture, lab exercise, and programming assignment. Students will need access to an operating system for which the Java Development Kit 1.1 has been released, including Windows 95, NT, most flavors of UNIX, and the Macintosh. Prerequisite: Experience designing and programming software using a structured language such as C/C++, Pascal, or Visual Basic. Exposure to Internet technology. MICHAEL WOLFE, M.S., is the Vice President of Engineering at software startup Kana Communications. He has been teaching computer science and developing real-world systems for 10 years at Stanford University, Goldman Sachs, and Internet Profiles. E-mail: wolfe@cs.stanford.edu 10 evenings � San Francisco: Computer Lab �, UC Extension Downtown, 150 Fourth St., Sixth Floor (near Moscone Center at Howard)
