[thelist] Java for Beginners (with emphasis on uPortal)

Hassan Schroeder hassan at webtuitive.com
Mon Aug 29 16:36:04 CDT 2005


> I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for Java resources 
> that would be helpful in getting me started on a track to developing for 
> uPortal. I'm a web developer, but my Java skills leave much to be 
> desired. I would like to dive into it, but I don't quite know where to 
> start learning Java, with a special emphasis on developing for uPortal.

Volkan posted some good pointers for tutorials, but not everyone
learns best that way. For instance, I learn by doing, screwing up,
reading the JavaDoc again and googling for error messages :-)

Your learning style may differ, but FWIW:

Start by developing a webapp or two: install a recent JDK + Tomcat
and get on the tomcat-user mailing list (more there to be learned
than Tomcat-specific stuff, for sure).  Make it something real --
build something you actually need. Since uPortal uses databases, you 
might as well install MySQL and use that in your own application; so 
join the java at lists.mysql.com mailing list too.

Read the Servlet spec. Really. Developing Java webapps is not just
CGI-using-Java; the container, e.g. Tomcat/Jetty/WebLogic/whatever,
provides specific capabilities. Understanding its role is critical.

After you do one or more of your own webapps, you can look at what's
involved in portlet development and see if it makes sense yet. Maybe
a good intermediate step is to install some framework like Struts or
Spring and see how that layers over the container. (Struts get used
under the hood of a lot of open source apps, so...)

There's a "portlets at yahoogroups.com" mailing list; you might also
get on the mailing lists for various other portals (Jahia, Liferay,
etc.) to build up some portal-specific background.

That's a start, at least :-)

HTH, and good luck!
-- 
Hassan Schroeder ----------------------------- hassan at webtuitive.com
Webtuitive Design ===  (+1) 408-938-0567   === http://webtuitive.com

                           dream.  code.




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