I really like Java. (The language, not the beverage...although I love the beverage too)

Having said that, let me state that Java is also the hardest language I've ever learned. I don't mean the syntax (it's a lot like C) but rather, the sheer depth of what it can do.

A huge quantity of my development time is spent on a project for a local company called Eluminor. The scope of this project is enormous, but the one thing that binds it all together is Java. Since I've worked on this project for quite some time (10 years...), I have had the opportunity to work on all of the major sections of it. I have learned through the process that it doesn't matter how much you know, you still know virtually nothing when it comes to development. Writing code for an embedded system does nothing to prepare you for creating an Enterprise Web Application.

Tonight I got something working for my little test Java application that I have wanted to for quite some time. Java Web Start. I can now click a link to an XML file on my web server and magically my application fires up on my desktop. (It still needs some work, 11 MB of JAR files is a little huge)

Here are a few links for the geeks out there:

JWS_White_Paper.pdf
developersguide.html

And this book has a single chapter that cleared it all up for me:


Here is his example of a Java Web Start Application:

Play The Simple Tile Game Now!