With the start of the new semester I have a couple of questions.

1. I am taking a java programming course and as a final project i have to code a simple computer application. Do you guys have any ideas for a good application?

2. In my basics of network security class I have to write a two page paper every week on an article that relates to network or information security.. Do you have any suggestions for magazines that frequently write articles about network security?

1. Is this your first programming class?

2. How about Network Security Weekly?

1. Not Java?
2. Yup, that's a good choice. There's some mailing lists with a ton of good stuff too.

Don't listen to him. Java is just fine.

No, it really isn't. Java is a horribly designed language built to make great coders into mediocre coders.

@Laffer: What type of application? Gui? Cli? Networked? What are the requirements?

Any kind of application and the only requirement so far is to keep it simple.

Write a blackjack game.

Even I wouldn't touch Java.

But you admit you know nothing about programming, so your opinion doesn't matter.

Even I wouldn't touch Java with a 10 1/2 foot pole.

Speaking of how much Java sucks, has anyone tried out VS2010 and C# 4.0 yet? Amaaazzzzzinngggg!
Default parameters <3

What is java used for anyway? Has it been mostly replaced?

Java is most commonly used for waking people up in the morning; it's quickly being replaced with Espresso.

I still occasionally use Java for prototyping. It's not a terrible language. It reinforces object oriented principles like no other! (I find it sad how often I write procedural code in PHP simply because it's allowed and is simpler at first, and then go back and wish I had written reusable classes.)

Fixed.

In honor of the upcoming International Bacon Day (the Saturday before Labor Day),
I improved java
http://bacolicio.us/http://www.java.com/en/

Needs moar tactical bacon

It's used when you want a reasonable trade-off between speed + ease of portability. The JRE is 2 orders of magnitude faster than any dynamically interpreted languages like Python, and you don't have to worry about cross-platform quirks. You take all your .class files (make sure you when you compile that you target the oldest source-compatible version of the JRE for the widest support. If you don't need for-each and generics, target 1.4 or 1.3) and bring your program to another platform without any recompiling.

Admittedly, the standard GUI toolkits aren't great. AWT is archaic, and Swing is a pain in the arse, but that's what SWT is for.

What's SWT? I only ever used swing, and swing is confusing.

Standard Widget Toolkit. It's not a standard library, but it's available for most platforms. Swing isn't horrible once you understand it, but it's not newbie friendly.