Working on Java with Kelly

Day 513 of 1000

Both Kelly and Christian have a class in the Java programming language this semester.  Christian has done a significant amount of programming already, so for him, the class it is more of a nuisance class than anything else.  Kelly has really only programmed in the R and SAS statistical programming languages.  She has never learned a general purpose programming language like Java or C++.  Shame on me.  She struggled with her first assignment and the teacher had made some draconian admonishments about not getting any help, so she did not want me to she her what to do.  That would have been OK if the teacher would have explained the stuff in any way that makes any sense.

So, I helped her with her first assignment.  I did none of the typing, but we walked through the programming assignment step by step, then went through another in-depth explanation of exactly what went on in the program as it ran.  I LOVED it.  Kelly has a knack for programming and picks stuff up fast, so it was fun.  The other thing that is an issue is that she has to write and run the programs over an SSH link from a Linux computer.  That stinks.  It would not be so bad if we had the computer set up right, but we do not and I will not be able to help much until I return from Arizona.  Right now, the way I help her is by cutting and pasting the code snippets into a gmail chat session and talking through it over the phone.

We have a different plan going forward.  I am going to show Kelly how to do several things.

1. Install Skype in Linux so we can share desktops and talk while Kelly is programming.
2. Install the Oracle JDK (Java Development Kit) so Kelly can develop and run Java programs on her computer before she SSH’s in to do it on the NCSU computer.
3. Install Eclipse so Kelly will have an IDE for Java program development.

As for myself, I installed the above stuff in Windows last night at the Prescott Valley Public Library so I could run programs as I helped Kelly.  Now, I have to think about how I am going to do the new Android GaugeCam application, in Java or C/C++.  I will probably stick with C/C++ because I will be able to reuse a bunch of libraries, but Eclipse looks like a great development environment for developing for Android.