Starting with Java - sunday 2002-10-13 0623 last modified 2006-04-04 2300
Categories: Nerdy
TrackBacks Sent: None

I started writing a Java tutorial for beginners while I couldn't sleep one night. It's an incomplete and quick dump of that insomnia into words, requiring a good deal of editing and revision. If you know Java, let me know if I've made any mistakes (I just started learning the language in earnest about a month ago) or make some suggestions. If you kind of know Java, let me know if it confuses or helps your understanding. If you don't know Java, don't read it. It won't help you - yet. It remains to be seen if it will ever help, or if I ever finish.

Comments

[this is more ...

[this is more of an OOP comment than a Java comment, and a nit-picky one at that]

the concept you're calling "abstraction" might more accurately be called "encapsulation" (details of how a method is implemented are encapsulated behind the interface of that method, i as a user am freed from knowing or caring about the sordid details of how the encapsulated magic happens (as long as the interface delivers on its promises), yadda yadda yadda).

i suppose that encapsulation is a form of abstraction (the details of some actual work (i.e., the implementation) has been re-interpreted (as an "interface") from its concrete world (electrical switches & currents) to my abstract world (a button that degausses my monitor). but i think "encapsulation" is a more complete description of what you're illustrating here: not just abstraction of details, but complete hiding of details.

okay, i guess encapsulation and abstraction are exactly the same thing (if you put forward the argument of "how can details from a concrete world even exist in an abstract world", so complete hiding effectively happens anyway). i'd just be (slightly) careful, because the keyword "abstract" has a specific meaning in Java (to wit, abstract classes cannot be instantiated and abstract methods have only interfaces, with no implementation details); even thought the meaning is certainly related to the concepts you're presenting here, it could also become confusing.

Matt Libby on October 14, 2002 06:42 PM

You must login to leave a comment

TrackBacks

No TrackBacks for this entry.