Java = teh FUNN!!!!????/

[bob]

I've never programmed in Java. But let's suppose that I have some remote desire to make a Java-based web applet. Do any of you know of a decent online tutorial that will show me how to get started on that? You may of course assume that I have a computer science degree from a reputable university.

Along similar lines, how does performance of a Java applet game measure up to the same game written in Flash? I have noticed that some more advanced Flash games (homestarrunner.com stinkoman) can slow down considerably in my browser. Would Java be fast enough to support something like an old-school NES style game?

I really like C++ and don't mind Objective-C too much. Would I hate Java?

[George]

You may of course assume that I have a computer science degree from a reputable university.

Really?!? Where'd you get that?

Along similar lines, how does performance of a Java applet game measure up to the same game written in Flash? I have noticed that some more advanced Flash games (homestarrunner.com stinkoman) can slow down considerably in my browser. Would Java be fast enough to support something like an old-school NES style game?

Java should offer better performance than flash. Java can definately support the needs of an NES game on any computer manufactured in the last several years. I believe that Java applets exist that emulate nintendo. Also, most cell phones now run (limited) Java virtual machines; i.e., most cell phone games are implemented in Java.

I really like C++ and don't mind Objective-C too much. Would I hate Java?

You'll like parts and hate parts. You lose a lot of C(++)'s flexibility, all of its predictability, and a lot of performance in real-world applications. If you're lazy, than you'll like garbage collection, otherwise its a novelty that won't buy you much. The syntax is effectively a subset of C++; you can't define functions even for trivial tasks. The Java standard library (not called that) is much larger than the C RTL and STL, which is nice. And that library is mostly standard on all platforms (embedded systems and mobile phones being the usual exceptions). That means that certain functionality (threads, XML, etc) are cross-platform on Java while they aren't on C++.

On the whole, I consider Java to ba a sort of C++ Lite or C++ Jr. Its extensive standard library is really the only thing I like about it, and I don't like that enough to suffer the other annoyances.