Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!news.glorb.com!npeer03.iad.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!feed-me.highwinds-media.com!border3.nntp.dca.giganews.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.earthlink.com!news.earthlink.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:03:50 -0500 Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:03:54 -0700 From: Patricia Shanahan User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5.0.2 (Windows/20060308) MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.java.programmer Subject: Re: Arrays in java References: <2323c0cd-d843-460b-b39d-d14be0928eff@googlegroups.com> <5bvrv7l6m37aha6n3ri5giatrarpeb6boe@4ax.com> <80b9a66d-0b65-435b-adbb-3e61c83c6a54@googlegroups.com> In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-ID: Lines: 30 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com NNTP-Posting-Host: 190.181.18.99 X-Trace: sv3-wd4/IlNHpL2b1gSEWXAQ3OUIjBXWG/1j142rEa6pghDK+P5fb/OWOqdinZoghb64yqVOvQlKoSNXjAs!yHgqN73Hz8CFSIOKqFQ6Z6TzAN5CXoB+wYReAjCKLdzsz0Nq/v27Ld1/QLnmFa+hWqQUxhKCkC4z!QMZYNCC44aM9Slg9Sgu+4D2MMvjZaOu321nFB/Bg5IKmSA== X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 X-Original-Bytes: 3052 X-Received-Bytes: 3193 Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.java.programmer:16076 Lew wrote: ... > I started using the JLS very early in my Java career, and it has never > given me cause to regret that choice. I feel the same way, but that is irrelevant because of my prior experience. Was the start of your Java career also the very first time you had ever attempted to write a computer program? Some colleges are using Java as the first language for their freshman computer science students, and teaching it as one of the first courses. That means there are teenagers trying to learn Java who have no idea what a formal grammar is, or how it works. > I also assert that it isn't anywhere near as impossible as all the fear- > mongers claim, except in some few parts. Regardless, I respect your > conclusions, even the ones with which I disagree. > > Bottom line, I go with something like glen herrmannsfeldt's idea, that > for each Java programmer there comes a time when it makes sense > to use the JLS. The earlier one knows that the JLS option exists, the > more power one has to exercise choice over gaining that next, > minimum level of Java programming capability. > I think the word "minimum" is where we disagree. I think one can become a very competent Java programmer without having read the JLS. Patricia