COMP 310	Java Resources

Having problems running Java, e.g. blocked by security settings?   See the Java Tips and Traps page!

This page is a collection of general resources on the Java language. 

Quick Links:

• JDK installation instructions  The Java JDK must be installed FIRST!
• Java Language
• UML Diagrams and OO Design Techniques
• Design Patterns
• GUI Programming
• Performance Profiling
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Java Tips and Traps  -- Problems?  Look here first!
• Java How-To's -- Solutions to various Java coding tasks.
• Distributed Systems
  • Server vs. Microservice Architectures
  • Synchronization of Distributed Data
• Misc. topics
  • Mixed data dictionaries and inter-module communications
  • Synchronous vs. asynchronous communications

The main site for Java is http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/index.html

The course always uses the latest version of Java, so be sure that you have updated your JDK!

Important Note for 64-bit System Users

Java support for applets (Java programs that run in web browsers) is problematic in 64-bit browsers, e.g. they will not run at all.   Installing a 64-bit JDK does NOT install Java support in the 32-bit browser in 64-bit operating systems.   Since the 32-bit browser is usually the default browser, this can cause problems in displaying the on-line demos for Comp310 and displaying applets in general. 

In Windows Internet Explorer 8, you can tell if Java is installed in the browser correctly by going to Tools/Internet Options/Programs/Manage Add-ins and seeing if the "Java(tm) Plugin 2 SSV Helper" is installed.

 To run applets in the usually, default, 32-bit browser, you must install the 32-bit JRE (you don't need the entire JDK), which you can obtain here:  http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

If you are having trouble running applets in the the 64-bit browser, e.g. it fails the verification below, try reinstalling the 64-bit plugin from the link above.

Windows 10 users running the Microsoft Edge browser:   Edge does NOT run Java applets, so you will have to switch to Internet Explorer to run the on-line demos in the class web pages:  On any page in Edge, go to "More Actions" and select "Open with Internet Explorer".

Click here to verify that Java has been installed correctly

Problems Running Java?

Java Language

• Documentation
  • Standard Edition 8 API documentation: http://download.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/
    • Top-level Java 8 JDK/JRE documentation: http://download.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/index.html
  • General Standard Edition documentation: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/documentation/index.html
  • Java Language Primer (Connexions module): http://cnx.org/content/m11791/latest/
  • Javadocs: Code commenting in Java
    • Sharing generated Javadocs
• Language Issues
  • What's new in Java 8
  • Anonymous, Inner and Nested Classes
    • Inner and Nested Classes
    • Anonymous Inner Class Techniques
  • Closures
  • Lambda Functions
  • Java Generics
    • Generic List Frameworks
    • Covariant and Contravariant Generic Relationships in OO Systems
    • Covariance and Contravariance of Hosts and Visitors
    • Narrowed sub-typing to reduce typing complexity and increase simplicity and robustness.
  • Threads -- including Producer-Consumer models and multi-thread synchronization
    • Cross-Thread Invocations onto the GUI Thread
    • Threading Issues
  • Dynamic Class Loading
  • Serialization
    • serialVersionUID warnings and auto-generation
    • Comparing Deserialized Objects
    • Transient Fields in Classes
  • No static Fields or Methods!
• Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
  • RMI connectivity issues
• Java How-To's   (Miscellaneous tips and techniques for common tasks)
• 
  

Java Development Kit (JDK) Installation

• Download and install the latest Java Standard Edition (SE) JDK ("Java 8" as of 8/21/15):     http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
  • If you have a 32-bit operating system, download the 32-bit version, referred to as "x86" or just plain "Windows".
  • If you have a 64-bit operating system, you can install either the 32-bit or 64-bit (referred to as "x64") systems.  
    • Whatever version you install, be sure to install the same version of Eclipse and any associated plug-ins!
    • Even on 64-bit operating systems, most browsers use a 32-bit JRE to run applets (on-line demos).    This means that in addition to the 64-bit JDK, you must ALSO install a 32-bit JRE (not JDK!) for the browsers to use.

Notes for Mac users:

JDK 1.8 issues:

• Java ver 1.8 may not be installed in the Mac OS, but JDK1.8, which will also install the JRE, is available as a download from the above Java download links.
• JDK 1.8 requires at least "Mountain Lion" OS 10.8  -- If you do not have this....upgrade!
• Instructions from Oracle:  JDK 8 Installation for OS X
• After installing, Eclipse may not automatically recognize that the 1.8 compiler and JRE are installed.   Please see the instructions here.

Other potential issues:

• The Java JDK is pre-installed on OS X, though perhaps not the latest version available directory from Sun/Oracle. See, for instance, Apple's FAQ's on Java: http://developer.apple.com/java/faq/
• OS X, if 64-bit capable may have both 32-bit and 64-bit JDK's installed, but the default is to run the 32-bit version.   See, for instance, http://developer.apple.com/java/javaleopard.html
• Java updates are part of the OS X updating mechanism but are not automatically updated.
• ApApple does not make Java download available to the general public.  You have to be a registered Apple developer to get some Java downloads.

Notes for Linux users:

• Instructions from Oracle:  JDK 8 Installation for Linux Platforms

UML Diagrams and OO Design Techniques:

• Class Diagrams, aka "UML Diagrams" -- static relationships between classes
  • Connexions module on UML diagrams: http://cnx.org/content/m11658/latest/
• Design Process:
  • Design Process Overall Guidelines
    • API Design and Evaluation Considerations
  • Use Case Diagrams -- User-centric, implementation-independent view of the system in terms of what is being done.
  • System Block Diagrams  -- Decomposition of a system in terms of decoupled modules.
• Sequence Diagrams -- Time-dependent interactions between objects.
  
  • https://creately.com
    • The Basics & the Purpose of Sequence Diagrams (part 1) (part 2)
    • Beyond the Basics of Sequence Diagrams (part 1) (part 2) (part 3)
    • 10 common mistakes to avoid in sequence diagrams
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequence_diagram
  • http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/sequenceDiagram.htm
  • http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/3101.html
  • http://www.tracemodeler.com/articles/a_quick_introduction_to_uml_sequence_diagrams/
• Component-Framework Systems -- Decomposition of a system into an invariant framework controlling variant plug-in components.
• Diagramming Tools: (for tools integrated with Eclipse, please see the Eclipse Resources)
  • Creately.com  -- Free on-line tool that makes most types of diagrams.
• Industry Buzzwords -- Common busswords and acronyms that you may encounter in industry and what they mean.

Design Patterns:

• Connexions Lens on Design Patterns:  http://cnx.org/lenses/swong/design-patterns - a list of all the Connexions modules on Design Patterns
• Quick links to some of the Connexions modules:
  • Abstract Factory Pattern
  • Adapter Pattern
  • Command Pattern
  • Composite Pattern
  • Model-View-Controller
    • How To Make Mini-MVC's Inside a Main MVC
  • Null Object Pattern
  • Oberserver-Observable Pattern
  • State Pattern
  • Strategy Pattern
  • Template Pattern
  • Union Design Pattern  (see also: http://cnx.org/content/m11796/latest/ )
  • Visitor Pattern
    • A nice article written by a Rice almuni.  (the broken "alma mater" link in the article is referencing the above Visitor Pattern link.)
• Portland Design Pattern Repository -- descriptions of the standard patterns plus some new ones.

GUI Programming

• Java GUI Programming Primer
• Setting the behavior of closing a frame
• Animations in Java
• Tool tips:  All JComponent's have a method called "setToolTipText(String text)" that will cause the component to display a pop-up text message when the mouse is held over that component.  This is very useful for giving the user information on what that component is for.
• Cross-Thread Invocations onto the GUI Thread
• Dynamically Modifying GUIs

Performance Profiling

Sometime you need to investigate how well your program is running in terms of speed, threads and memory usage.  A "profiler" is needed to do this and can be invaluable in both debugging difficult problems such as performance issues, memory leaks and excessive thread usage, as well as for focussed performance optimizations.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• NASA WorldWind Java SDK
• Libraries in Java

© 2017 by Stephen Wong