Eclipse: Step by Step (Step-by-Step series) [Paperback]

Joe Pluta (Author)

Book Description

Series: Step-by-Step series | Publication Date: August 1, 2003

Written for novice programmers who need to learn Eclipse, the new integrated, open-source development environment, this book covers three areas that are of crucial interest—Eclipse, IBM’s Software Widget Toolkit (the SWT), and JDBC. Questions such as how to use the new Eclipse Integrated Development Environment; how to create a complete functioning application with Eclipse; and where to get the software, how to install it, and how to configure it are answered. Options that programmers would use in a real production to be instantly productive in Eclipse and the steps needed to take to create a program or modifying an existing program are addressed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With this book, I didn't have to teach my junior programmer Eclipse, saving my company ten times the book's cost." -- WebSpherePro Developer Tips newsletter

Get a copy of this book and you will be using Eclipse like an old ranch hand in no time. -- javaranch.com

About the Author

Joe Pluta is a designer of distributed architectures for the midrange platform. His company, Pluta Brothers Design, develops tools that allow iSeries users to incorporate emerging technologies seamlessly into their legacy systems, providing a direct path to new architectures. He moderates the JAVA400-L mailing list and is a member of IBM's JTOpen core team. He is the author of the “Weaving WebSphere” column at mcpressonline.com and is a regular participant in mailing lists and newsgroups on topics surrounding the iSeries platform and Java in general. He lives in Palatine, Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: MC Press, LLC (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583470441
• ISBN-13: 978-1583470442
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,751,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the novice, August 19, 2003

By 

Thomas Paul (Plainview, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eclipse: Step by Step (Step-by-Step series) (Paperback)

So you download Eclipse and start it up and stare at the screen in confusion. Or maybe you haven't even figured out how to start it up. Don't worry. Just get a copy of this book and you will be using Eclipse like an old ranch hand in no time. Many books for the novice claim that they will teach you something but they hit "magic happens here" moments that leave you lost. You won't find any of that in this book. The title of this book is "Step By Step" and that is exactly how this book teaches the subject.

The book assumes that you know nothing about the subject. After showing how to download, install, and start up Eclipse, the book takes a tour of the basic features that every programmer will need to know in order to code, test, and debug their programs. It starts by explaining what a "perspective" is in Eclipse terms and examining three of the most commonly used ones. The book then takes a look at a few simple Java programs, showing how to code and debug them. The programs let you take a look at the SWT (Eclipse's client interface) and JDBC. By the end of the book, even the complete novice developer will be using Eclipse without any trouble.

This book is geared for novice users and is not meant as a reference. The book does not cover any of the Eclipse plug-ins. If you are familiar with IDEs and don't feel lost when using them then this book is probably going to be too basic for you. But if you are new to IDEs and like a lot of hand holding then this book will help you to work comfortably with the product.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the horse's mouth, so to speak, July 21, 2004

By 

J. Pluta (Palatine, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eclipse: Step by Step (Step-by-Step series) (Paperback)

When we first envisioned this book, there was a specific target audience: successful IBM midrange programmers who needed to move from their comfortable environment of RPG and green screens to the brave new world of Eclipse and Java. And so I wrote the book with the idea that you might not know much more about Windows than how to turn your machine on. It may surprise people brought up with IDEs and the Internet, but there are thousands of programmers out there who have never heard of Open Source. To these people, the idea of downloading an IDE and installing it (not to mention Java itself!) is a potentially daunting task. And even if they buy an introductory book, the introductory books are written by people who don't know about life before the Internet, and who take things like WinZip for granted.

We wanted this book to allow ANYONE, regardless of their Java or PC knowledge, to be able to take advanatge of Eclipse. It's not a reference manual or an in-depth guide to Java architecture; the book description clearly says that. In fact, the description states in no uncertain terms: "training wheels for Eclipse".

And yet, unfortunately people still buy the book expecting something more, and get upset when it doesn't have it. I feel badly for their disappointment, but at the same time, I can't help but think they might have missed the point. I'm amazed that the phrase "broad overview" is used negatively, when that's exactly what the book is designed to be.

So I just wanted to be clear: this book is NOT for Eclipse experts. It is for people who want to learn about Eclipse in the quickest, least intimidating way possible. It was meant for professional programmers with years or decades of experience that just doesn't happen to include Windows and Java. You shouldn't feel inferior for not knowing the latest buzzwords, or for not having taken Java in college. It's a new world, and it's hard to get started. But with this book, you will.

Joe Pluta

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars unbelivable..., January 5, 2004

By 

Shianglin Wu (Dublin, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eclipse: Step by Step (Step-by-Step series) (Paperback)

As an profession software engineer for 15 years, I feel the need to update my review for new comers to the programming side of engineering... Learning is an long and expensive process, but no one should pay high price (this book is an example) to learn basics of installations, the meaning of menus and how a particular dialog box works, how to right click to bring up a context menus. These type of operations are everywhere on your computer, that you don't need to pay again to learn it. Just read the 'help' and following the tutorial should work for a programmer, or a programmer to be.

To get experience, one has to learn the proper way. One can't simply appreciate 'Agile software process' at the time beginning studying data structure, network theory and begain to use one of the major programming language. You learn step by step, but the meaning of 'step by step' doesn't mean you read such a book for using an IDE.

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totally unbelivable for such a book to be published and sold at this price. I am not sure what kind of programmer will need such a tutorial book for eclipse, had he/she ever learned how to program in school. But if you do buy it to get started, I doubt if you could ever get a programmer job.

For such a book, it may take a few Computer Science students a week from start to finish. If you need 3 pages of screen shot to tell you exactly how to click on a menu item, this is the book for you, and I'd suggest just read it at bookstore; you can finish reading in an hour and shop for a real Eclipse book.