Thread: Greetings from Sunny^H^H^H^H^H Icy Pony Pasture, Virginia

Hi. I've been programming since the late 1960s, professionally since the 1980s, and using Java occasionally since around 2000. These days I do mostly Web coding in PHP, JavaScript, Perl, and whatnot; stand-alone apps in Delphi and C++; and lots of ad-hoc scripting using Bash and GNU tools, Perl, Python, and Tcl.

I've used Adobe Dreamweaver for years but I found it to be better suited to design than coding. I never use its WYSIWYG features, just the code editor and tools. It's okay but kind of lightweight as programmers' editors go, so a few weeks ago I got the latest version of Zend Studio. Getting used to working in Zend Studio reminded me that in the past I've used Eclipse to code for Android and Arduino. That old installation was long ago superseded so I figured it was time to update.

Now I've got the regular, non-commercial version of Eclipse set up to handle Java, C/C++, Python, and Tcl, and am ready to get back to experimenting with Java specifically.

My immediate goal is to write a few simple apps for Android, but I plan to try applying modern Java in other ways too. (So far all my Android work has been done in Flash/Actionscript targeting the AIR runtime, not really Android programming as such.)

That's me. Looking forward to meeting like-minded coders and designers, and this looks like a good, active forum for doing that.

Best,

Bethany

[eta] P.S.: The only commercial project I've undertaken in Java was an automated "printing press" to prepare PDF ebooks using LaTeX and make them available to customers for download. Worked pretty well but sadly the company went under; we were ahead of our time.

Hi, Norm. I've found that wherever I go, there are people with less experience and people with more. Sometimes I learn from those with less! You never know.

Once I've reoriented the little gray cells to think Java again, I'll be able to help some of the folks just starting out -- without engaging in the dreaded spoon-feeding, of course. For now I'll read and ask a few questions now and then.

Welcome Bethany,

Brilliant introduction and what an asset to have amongst the community.

Welcome to JPF

Thanks! Hope I'll be an asset in time. I've a lot of learning to do and this looks like a good place to help and be helped.

Welcome. I'm definitely in the "have less" category, also a hobbyist and wannabe <something?>, and I look forward to gaining from your years of experience.

Hi, Greg, and thanks. Whether I can offer anything of value, we'll see. :-}

On the not-terribly-valuable side, I've thought of another "way to count to ten" that's interesting -- and different -- enough to code in Java and post in the "500 ways" thread. If I can nail today's Website production goal I'll play around in Java this evening and post that.