Java Thoughts

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Here's the deal. I've been hacking Java since JDK version 0.98. (Ya RLY)

I really do know Java.

Trust me on this.

Over the years, I've paged in quite a lot of stuff into my brain. Hopefully, most of the bad crap has been paged out by now but it comes back sometimes, when I talk to people, randomly.

Surprisingly, there has been a massive proliferation of garbage API's in Java.

And here's the current shiat list. Consider it a public service.

Gratuitous, canonically bad ("none more bad") & utterly unnecessary Hibernate, Spring, EJB
Generally awful Struts, Ant, JSP, JSF/portlets
Brain damage Java Generics

Don't use it as Ken Arnold says (the pro-generics comments on that page are hysterically funny).

And now for the awesom-o stuff: ..the stuff that kicks ass and takes names.

  1. All the core java classes
  2. JDBC
  3. Servlets
  4. AWT, Swing (possibly), ImageIO
  5. Misc. other open source packages
Stuff that is frustrating yet fun. I hereby name it: Muddled Anarchy with Creative Possibilites (M.A.W.P).
  1. javascript
  2. Flash/Actionscript (books: flash journalism, essential AS2 | components: flash xchange)
    (tip: stay away (at least initially) from the way too-complex Actionscript3 (AS3), start with AS2 instead)

Learn the awesome stuff well. Refuse to work on any project that makes heavy use of any thing from the shiat list. You'll be happy.

If you understand all this, and need to hire a project manager/consultant/code-monkey, feel free to contact me
  1. My rates are commensurate with that of an experienced developer. They will depend on the size/scope of your project and my availability.
  2. Steep discounts offered (only) for non-profits and charities.