OOP in Java

[smurfy]

Hi everyone ;
Thanks to Dani, there are lots of links provided around the topics like this.
I am a single Java programmer, writing short java programmes in Eclipse. However, i need to work with others and produce long but managable java codes. Briefly my ambition is :
1.Creating some class diagrams according to UMLxx rules.
2.Writing some dependent Java classes with interface classes, abstract classes etc

So which learning path i should better to follow or not to follow ?? Please give me a couple minutes to answer this, complete answers will be more appreciated.

PS: Already have a UML-Java converter framework which must be a 50 days trial as i remember.

[stultuske]

ehm ... if you are a Java programmer, you should be able to perform all these tasks without thinking twice. if you don't: this is basic Java. maybe a refreshment course can help you up.

don't depend on UML-Java converter software. in the end, one bug in that thing will crash your application (or produce wrong results), which you might not be able to fix, since you might not find the problem, which might get you fired.

[smurfy]

Thank you Stultuske. If u don't matter i would like to see the other ideas from java geeks then i will return.

I am a single Java programmer, writing short java programmes in Eclipse. However, i need to work with others and produce long but managable java codes. Briefly my ambition is :
1.Creating some class diagrams according to UMLxx rules.
2.Writing some dependent Java classes with interface classes, abstract classes etc

So which learning path i should better to follow or not to follow ?? Please give me a couple minutes to answer this, complete answers will be more appreciated.

[JamesCherrill]

What you are describing is a large and complex area, so you will need multiple projects to make real progress.
My advice is to start with small simple steps. Pick a simple project from the Projects for Beginners thread, and work through the UML class diagrams all the way to working code. There are many people here who will review and comment on your progress as you go. I doesn't matter much what the project is (although an MVC structure will give you some decent classes and relationships) - it's just something concrete to make a start with.
Working with others on a joint project is the ultimate goal, but unless you have already developed some relevant skills you will find it hard to get a team to welcome you.
Good luck!
J

[stultuske]

there is no difference between working alone on a project, and working in a team, at least not in the code you are supposed to write. saying that you are "a single Java programmer, writing short java programmes in Eclipse" tells us nothing. it says nothing about your actual experience and knowledge.

"long but managable java codes", this is what is called "contradictio in terminis" ... the longer code is, the less managable it 'll be. (it also won't be as good.) code shouldn't be long, it should be as short and clear as possible.

the most important differences between working alone on a project, and working in a team, is being able to split up tasks, and be able to agree on (and use) a good versioning tool.

so, you need to create UML diagrams of your analysis. for this, you'll need to know UML. so, study UML. http://www.uml.org is a good place to start.

you have to write some java classes with "interface classes", abstract classes, ...

what do you mean by "interface classes" ? interfaces, or graphical user interfaces (JFrame, ... )
either of which, they are both basic Java. if you don't know how to write Java classes, or abstract classes, you should start learning the very basics of Java. Either take up a good book, or go through the official tutorials.

There is no difference between writing code based on an analysis in plain english and writing code based on uml, as long as you know how to read uml, you'll be just fine.

[JamesCherrill]

stultuske & I usually agree, but maybe not this time.
In my opinion, real projects end up with a lot of code, and structuring that is the single most important skill in software. Working in a team forces you to define a good structure with clearly separated and defined responibilities and public interfaces for all every module.
UML class diagrams force you think about modules, classes, and their interfaces, and to document those in a standard formal way. "Plain English" may be a first step towards the UML, but it's no substitute.
Do all that and, in the end, writing the code is the easy part.

[smurfy]

Thanks geeks you are the halves of a big green apple ! If you please please don't mind i am eager to see the following answers if there are any then i will return.

Hi everyone ;
Thanks to Dani, there are lots of links provided around the topics like this.
I am a single Java programmer, writing short java programmes in Eclipse. However, i need to work with others and produce long but managable java codes. Briefly my ambition is :
1.Creating some class diagrams according to UMLxx rules.
2.Writing some dependent Java classes with interface classes, abstract classes etc

So which learning path i should better to follow or not to follow ?? Please give me a couple minutes to answer this, complete answers will be more appreciated.

PS: Already have a UML-Java converter framework which must be a 50 days trial as i remember.

[stultuske]

JamesCherrill: I totally agree that in a real project, you'll end up with (at the very least) thousands of lines of code.
but when I read this:

i need to ... produce long but managable java codes

This looks to me like: I need to create classes that each are thousands of lines of code, or, even worse, methods that contain many lines of code.

decent projects exist out of thousands of classes, with their own (managable-sized) methods that exist to perform a clearly described (single) task. so none of the code should be "long", there just should be so many classes and methods, that there is a lot of code.

[smurfy]

I've just see Sultuske's latest post. To make things clear for u , i didn't want to say thousands of lines spaghetti code. We are discussing how to make good programming in a step by step approach.

[smurfy]

Stultuske, one last point : If you made reverse engineering to all your experience in java object oriented programming could you tell me what did you see in a few steps ? I really interest in it just like JamesCherrill's inspiring explanation.
Then all stars are yours