JDK vs IDE
A topic arose recently in a course I am taking. The IDE Dr. Java, chosen by the instructor of the course, has a serious problem regarding Java SE 6 update 4. Since I have chosen not to curse my system with such a degrading piece of software, most of the problems I hear are just that- hearsay. Apparently Dr. Java cannot compile source code if the JDK is update 4. However, if update 3 is used then source files can be compiled. The question becomes, do you stick with the IDE or do you value the update of the JDK more?
I brought up this issue in a couple of forums and all that responded to my thread agreed that the Professor was making a mistake, but that dropping the IDE altogether, if the students have begun the course with it, might be a bad idea, for pragmatic reasons. Well, after four weeks in this course the Professor has not done things in the pragmatic sense, so simply choosing another IDE or reverting to a text editor would be the logical favorite. The fact that Java SE 6 update 4 fixes a number of bugs should be reason enough to completely forget the IDE and use a basic text editor or another IDE. But I recently found that the Professor has not severed his ties with the university he graduated from and wouldn't you know it- the IDE comes from that university's computer science department. Looks like old habits are tougher to break even with the highly educated.
Recently, I expressed my distaste for this course's late start, and it's my opinion that the students should use a text editor with the new JDK if they're totally new to the Java language. IDE's are a load of bad habits waiting to happen for a newbie, this is nothing new. But it strikes me as a problem of group think if folks in a class decide to choose their IDE over the JDK. Technically, you're not developing IDE software- what you're developing is software based on the JDK. You can develop the same software without an IDE, so why take the risk and go backwards using an outdated JDK when you can simply get the latest? It just doesn't make sense. The answer seems to be so obvious to me, and that's not to say I am holier than thou, just simply use the rules of deduction here. Screw the habits you've developed or the likeness you have for the way the IDE displays its code, if it doesn't incorporate the latest upgrade in the language it was developed for in the first place- junk it.
Recently, I expressed my distaste for this course's late start, and it's my opinion that the students should use a text editor with the new JDK if they're totally new to the Java language. IDE's are a load of bad habits waiting to happen for a newbie, this is nothing new. But it strikes me as a problem of group think if folks in a class decide to choose their IDE over the JDK. Technically, you're not developing IDE software- what you're developing is software based on the JDK. You can develop the same software without an IDE, so why take the risk and go backwards using an outdated JDK when you can simply get the latest? It just doesn't make sense. The answer seems to be so obvious to me, and that's not to say I am holier than thou, just simply use the rules of deduction here. Screw the habits you've developed or the likeness you have for the way the IDE displays its code, if it doesn't incorporate the latest upgrade in the language it was developed for in the first place- junk it.
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Programming
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