Java questions which don't deserve their own thread, yet.

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Malloc Voidstar: May 7, 2007; Fuck the cowboys. Unf. Fuck em hard.

kimbo305 posted:

I'm getting the following cast exception from deep in the bowels of a library I'm using:

java.util.ArrayList cannot be cast to [B

Googling for "cannot be cast to [B" doesn't bring up much, and it doesn't help that Google doesn't accept like weird characters in literal strings.

Thanks to this weird error message, I can't tell whether it's my code's fault or some intermittent thing. I'm pulling out the data that was being processed when I ran into this and hope to be able to replay it tomorrow to see if it's repeatable.

But in the meantime, does anyone know what [B represents? Is it an internal primitive of some sort?

are you getting a line number reference, or is there any more info you can give?

# ? Apr 7, 2011 06:54

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# ? May 9, 2024 14:27

Contra Duck: Nov 4, 2004; #1 DAD

[B means byte array.

# ? Apr 7, 2011 06:56

kimbo305: Jun 9, 2007; actually, yeah, I am a little mad

Contra Duck posted:

[B means byte array.

e: forgot to thank you for the tip. It feels like so long since I've ever touched Java primitives, not surprised I couldn't remember any of the notation.

I dug out the source and it seems the offending line (from Jedis, a java lib for talking to Redis) is the second here:

code:

protected String getStatusCodeReply() {
    pipelinedCommands--;
    final byte[] resp = (byte[]) protocol.read(inputStream);
    if (null == resp) {
        return null;
    } else {
        return SafeEncoder.encode(resp);
    }
}

Digging deeper, it seems the read() there goes to a function that can return various types:

code:

    private Object process(final RedisInputStream is) {
        try {
            byte b = is.readByte();
            if (b == MINUS_BYTE) {
                processError(is);
            } else if (b == ASTERISK_BYTE) {
                return processMultiBulkReply(is); //<-- this returns List<Object>
            } else if (b == COLON_BYTE) {
                return processInteger(is);
            } else if (b == DOLLAR_BYTE) {
                return processBulkReply(is);
            } else if (b == PLUS_BYTE) {
                return processStatusCodeReply(is);
            } else {
                throw new JedisException("Unknown reply: " + (char) b);
            }
        } catch (IOException e) {
            throw new JedisException(e);
        }
        return null;
    }

At this point, I'm too burned out to keep digging out of curiosity, but I got what I came for. Is there a page that lists the [? primitive types, just for my future reference?

kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 07:59 on Apr 7, 2011

# ? Apr 7, 2011 07:05

Contra Duck: Nov 4, 2004; #1 DAD

kimbo305 posted:

At this point, I'm too burned out to keep digging out of curiosity, but I got what I came for. Is there a page that lists the [? primitive types, just for my future reference?

This covers them all: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jvms/second_edition/html/ClassFile.doc.html#84645

# ? Apr 7, 2011 07:15

Jam2: Jan 15, 2008; With Energy For Mayhem

lamentable dustman posted:

What are you trying to get out of it? If going for a CompSci degree does it take the place of 100 level courses? It seems pretty brutal but if you have programming experience it shouldn't be that bad.

Yes. I am going for a cs degree. This fall I will be a junior. While I have taken a poo poo ton of math and general requirements, I have yet to take a single programming course.

At my current school, I was informed that this course will only substitute the first intro to java course in the sequence. While s111 will cover algos and data structures, presumably in greater depth than my tier 3 college, the tier 3 college cycles 4 languages (java, c++, etc.) in the sequence to cover the material. With this course I will have only seen java, so the department won't give me credit for anything more than the intro java course.

However, I plan to transfer in the fall anyhow. Staying here is a backup plan. I guess my concern is the same anywhere i go.

Even if I don't get to skip ahead in the fall, I am dying to dive into programming so I can start programming independently. I'd like to be contributing to open source projects by December and be completely proficient in java, C, and python by next summer. If I wait until the fall to study this material, I feel like I risk setting myself back.

My reason for posting here is to ask, what will I be able to do by the end of this course? Will I be completely proficient in java or are there advanced concepts i still will not have touched by the end of the 8 cred course?

# ? Apr 7, 2011 07:59

zeekner: Jul 14, 2007

Jam2 posted:

Yes. I am going for a cs degree. This fall I will be a junior. While I have taken a poo poo ton of math and general requirements, I have yet to take a single programming course.

At my current school, I was informed that this course will only substitute the first intro to java course in the sequence. While s111 will cover algos and data structures, presumably in greater depth than my tier 3 college, the tier 3 college cycles 4 languages (java, c++, etc.) in the sequence to cover the material. With this course I will have only seen java, so the department won't give me credit for anything more than the intro java course.

However, I plan to transfer in the fall anyhow. Staying here is a backup plan. I guess my concern is the same anywhere i go.

Even if I don't get to skip ahead in the fall, I am dying to dive into programming so I can start programming independently. I'd like to be contributing to open source projects by December and be completely proficient in java, C, and python by next summer. If I wait until the fall to study this material, I feel like I risk setting myself back.

My reason for posting here is to ask, what will I be able to do by the end of this course? Will I be completely proficient in java or are there advanced concepts i still will not have touched by the end of the 8 cred course?

If you are quite serious about that time-table, then that class would be a good start. Judging by the subject matter and timeframe, they might expect a lot more out of you than a normal entry-level Java class. Expect a lot of work, and a lot of catch-up work if you don't have much prior experience.

That said, if I were going into the CS program I would prefer this type of class over the usual entry-level stuff. The concepts listed will certainly help you with just about any kind of programming you'll need to do.

Also, you will not be proficient in Java after this, just somewhat capable. Actual proficiency with a language involves using that language actively and with all sorts of usage scenarios. You will still need to learn about and use Web-Applets, Android, and/or any other common Java environment. I only discovered half the cool and useful stuff in Java once I stared writing Android apps.

# ? Apr 7, 2011 08:31

epswing: Nov 4, 2003; Soiled Meat

Geekner posted:

Also, you will not be proficient in Java after this

That's an understatement...

http://norvig.com/21-days.html

# ? Apr 7, 2011 14:37

Jam2: Jan 15, 2008; With Energy For Mayhem

epswing posted:

That's an understatement...

http://norvig.com/21-days.html

Understood. I will view the experience as a way to get my feet wet in a challenging, structured environment. I assume my peers will be at a similar starting point with similar trajectories/ambitions.

My question is pretty much about rigor. I don't want to waste my time with a trivial introduction. This course positions itself as a challenging introduction. I am looking to you guys for an assessment of that.

# ? Apr 7, 2011 17:34

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

Jam2 posted:

completely proficient in java, C, and python by next summer.

To expand on what some others have said...

This isn't possible.

I know that it seems like it should be possible, but it's not. Learning the syntax of those languages is probably possible, but knowing the syntax is like 1% of being "completely proficient".

I started programming as a hobbyist around 2 years ago. I'm a pretty serious hobbyist. I'd say at least 10 hours a week of active coding. I can just barely forsee a time when I'd call myself "completely proficient"...in several more years.

Granted, I don't have a background in math or CS, but there's times where it feels like that's been an advantage. I see some horrible code from CS majors. (I've got plenty of horrible code out there too, everyone does, but I'm just sayin'...) I am very smart, but programming is hard and is one of those things that requires experience to learn.

Jam2 posted:

Understood. I will view the experience as a way to get my feet wet in a challenging, structured environment. I assume my peers will be at a similar starting point with similar trajectories/ambitions.

My question is pretty much about rigor. I don't want to waste my time with a trivial introduction. This course positions itself as a challenging introduction. I am looking to you guys for an assessment of that.

I have a hard time believing this course will be worth it. Without having taken it, I can't say for sure.

That's a lot of ground to cover in such a short time.

Thermopyle fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Apr 7, 2011

# ? Apr 7, 2011 17:41

Diametunim: Oct 26, 2010

Sound...How the gently caress do I make sound work? :suicide:

Sigh, I wish that's all I had to post. To elaborate I'm a fairly beginner (or what I believe to be beginner) programmer so bare with me. I'm currently working on a Super Smash Brothers project in CS 2 class (High school) and It's my job to get sound working. Problem is, I know nothing about threading or Java's sound API's. Can anyone recommend me a good book i can go buy or a tutorial I can follow on getting sound to play?

I know it's not really a simple process but I'm trying to start simple. All I'm looking to do right now is get a simple 1 minute song to play on our splash screen and loop and continue looping until the user presses enter and moves to the mode selection screen. The clip I'm trying to use is an mp3 that I pulled from youtube, I'm not sure if java can use mp3's? if not what file format do they need to be in? midi, wav's? Feel free to call me retarded if I'm not making any sense at all.

Thanks.

# ? Apr 7, 2011 18:03

Spraynard Kruger: May 8, 2007

Diametunim posted:

Sound...How the gently caress do I make sound work?

Sigh, I wish that's all I had to post. To elaborate I'm a fairly beginner (or what I believe to be beginner) programmer so bare with me. I'm currently working on a Super Smash Brothers project in CS 2 class (High school) and It's my job to get sound working. Problem is, I know nothing about threading or Java's sound API's. Can anyone recommend me a good book i can go buy or a tutorial I can follow on getting sound to play?

I know it's not really a simple process but I'm trying to start simple. All I'm looking to do right now is get a simple 1 minute song to play on our splash screen and loop and continue looping until the user presses enter and moves to the mode selection screen. The clip I'm trying to use is an mp3 that I pulled from youtube, I'm not sure if java can use mp3's? if not what file format do they need to be in? midi, wav's? Feel free to call me retarded if I'm not making any sense at all.

Thanks.

A quick Google lead me to the JLayer library and an example of how to use it to play an mp3.

Good luck! It sounds like quite an ambitious project!

# ? Apr 7, 2011 18:52

lamentable dustman: Apr 13, 2007; ððð

Jam2 posted:

Even if I don't get to skip ahead in the fall, I am dying to dive into programming so I can start programming independently. I'd like to be contributing to open source projects by December and be completely proficient in java, C, and python by next summer. If I wait until the fall to study this material, I feel like I risk setting myself back.

This won happen for all the reasons other guys said, it takes a while to get proficient in just one language. And honestly, if you had the motivation to do OS programming you would of been learning on the side already.

Diametunim posted:

Sound...How the gently caress do I make sound work?

Haven't used it in a long time, but you'll probably want to use the Java Media Framework

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/tech/index-jsp-140239.html

Mp3 Example here, threading and all (just don't follow his coding style, ughh): http://www.devx.com/tips/Tip/38856

e: Didn't realize JMF was so out of date, might want to try the JLayer one posted above

lamentable dustman fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Apr 7, 2011

# ? Apr 7, 2011 22:27

Internet Janitor: May 17, 2008; "That isn't the appropriate trash receptacle."

lamentable dustman posted:

(just don't follow his coding style, ughh): http://www.devx.com/tips/Tip/38856

Christ, is that Whitesmiths?

# ? Apr 7, 2011 22:35

Jam2: Jan 15, 2008; With Energy For Mayhem

lamentable dustman posted:

This won happen for all the reasons other guys said, it takes a while to get proficient in just one language. And honestly, if you had the motivation to do OS programming you would of been learning on the side already.

I am (learning on the side) and I do (have the motivation). If it weren't for my 150% college course load and research obligations, I would spend every waking minute solving Euler problems and writing programs. I had an extra credit assignment for a Calculus class. I used logmein to write a monte carlo simulation from my iphone. It ran on the first try. I actually didn't even know it was called a monte carlo simulation until my professor graded it and gave me feedback. I'm a complete newb, but programming comes naturally to me and I really enjoy doing it. I want to do this for a living, so all of these plans are being made with this goal in mind.

I understand the view that it is not possible to become proficient in under X years. While I appreciate that feedback (and I have accepted the reality), no one here is really in a position to judge my intent/motivation/capability.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 01:01

Contra Duck: Nov 4, 2004; #1 DAD

Jam2 posted:

I understand the view that it is not possible to become proficient in under X years. While I appreciate that feedback (and I have accepted the reality), no one here is really in a position to judge my intent/motivation/capability.

I think you don't really understand the size of a language like Java. Seriously, look at all of this. Ignoring the rapid pace at which new features are added, complete proficiency in these things alone would take DECADES. You might be able to become a passable programmer in the space of a year if you work hard but when you throw around terms like 'complete proficiency' you're demonstrating that you don't fully grasp the scope of what you're trying to achieve.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 04:51

Jam2: Jan 15, 2008; With Energy For Mayhem

Contra Duck posted:

I think you don't really understand the size of a language like Java. Seriously, look at all of this. Ignoring the rapid pace at which new features are added, complete proficiency in these things alone would take DECADES. You might be able to become a passable programmer in the space of a year if you work hard but when you throw around terms like 'complete proficiency' you're demonstrating that you don't fully grasp the scope of what you're trying to achieve.

Well, gently caress.

Jam2 fucked around with this message at 10:35 on Apr 8, 2011

# ? Apr 8, 2011 10:17

zootm: Aug 8, 2006; We used to be better friends.

Contra Duck posted:

I think you don't really understand the size of a language like Java. Seriously, look at all of this. Ignoring the rapid pace at which new features are added, complete proficiency in these things alone would take DECADES. You might be able to become a passable programmer in the space of a year if you work hard but when you throw around terms like 'complete proficiency' you're demonstrating that you don't fully grasp the scope of what you're trying to achieve.

Almost none of those are actually relevant to Java the language, though (not to mention the number of them which supersede other entries). Java is not especially complex to learn as a language, and most of the APIs are irrelevant to most people. Getting a good grasp of the the core language itself and maybe the collections libraries, as well as a good grounding in programming in general (learning another language is more important than learning most APIs, even if they're the ones you end up using), is more than enough to claim proficiency in Java as a language.

Working on some real projects (another important step) will give you experience with common APIs, but more importantly it will teach you how to learn about these APIs, because learning every API available to Java (especially given how many of the ones listed are often replaced with third-party alternatives) is a pointless and herculean task. Memorising APIs, especially those irrelevant to the tasks you plan to perform, is the very definition of a fool's errand.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 11:14

Jam2: Jan 15, 2008; With Energy For Mayhem

zootm posted:

Almost none of those are actually relevant to Java the language, though (not to mention the number of them which supersede other entries). Java is not especially complex to learn as a language, and most of the APIs are irrelevant to most people. Getting a good grasp of the the core language itself and maybe the collections libraries, as well as a good grounding in programming in general (learning another language is more important than learning most APIs, even if they're the ones you end up using), is more than enough to claim proficiency in Java as a language.

Working on some real projects (another important step) will give you experience with common APIs, but more importantly it will teach you how to learn about these APIs, because learning every API available to Java (especially given how many of the ones listed are often replaced with third-party alternatives) is a pointless and herculean task. Memorising APIs, especially those irrelevant to the tasks you plan to perform, is the very definition of a fool's errand.

To me, proficiency means being able to use tools available to solve problems and write good code as a valued contributor within an engineering team. It means being able to hold your own in a work environment full of experienced programmers. It means being able to bring something to the table. This is my three to four year goal.

If you guys dont want to call this profiency then feel free to replace the word with something else you deem more fitting. I don't want to argue about semantics. I'm here to learn.

Jam2 fucked around with this message at 12:59 on Apr 8, 2011

# ? Apr 8, 2011 12:38

zootm: Aug 8, 2006; We used to be better friends.

Jam2 posted:

To me, proficiency means being able to use tools available to solve problems and write good code as a valued contributor within an engineering team. It means being able to hold your own in a work environment full of experienced programmers. It means being able to bring something to the table. This is my three to four year goal.

If this is your goal then brushing up on your problem-solving and general software design skills is much more important than learning any given language or set of tools. If anything concentrating on a single toolset limits your "proficiency" in this regard.

The most important thing that new hires bring is a fresh perspective. The actual toolchain tends to be relatively easy to pick up on the job if you're in an anyway half-decent work environment. In particular there is almost no way that you can be educated in practical terms in the way that you describe without just working on things, preferably with others who are more and less experienced with you. As such, the initial plan you laid out (which I hadn't looked at; I was replying to replies to you) looks not unreasonable.

Don't worry about "advanced concepts", just learn the concepts that people actually use and you'll end up as proficient as anyone.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 13:13

tef: May 30, 2004; -> some l-system crap ->

Jam2 posted:

My reason for posting here is to ask, what will I be able to do by the end of this course? Will I be completely proficient in java or are there advanced concepts i still will not have touched by the end of the 8 cred course?

to be frank, there will be intermediate and beginner concepts you won't have touched.

Jam2 posted:

To me, proficiency means being able to use tools available to solve problems and write good code as a valued contributor within an engineering team. It means being able to hold your own in a work environment full of experienced programmers. It means being able to bring something to the table. This is my three to four year goal.

It still takes relatively experienced programmers a month or two, to step up and contribute heavily to a large code base. Three or four years is a relatively modest goal to be able to work as a junior programmer within a larger team.

'and be completely proficient in java, C, and python by next summer'.

this will never happen. you might be able to write hello world in each of them, but that is not a level of reasonable proficiency.

'no one here is really in a position to judge my intent/motivation/capability.'

actually of all the people qualified to judge, you are the least qualified as you are yet to acquire the skills you desire and so know little about the amount of time and dedication it takes.

If you want to be a better programmer you should spend more time *reading code* than writing it.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 13:42

Contra Duck: Nov 4, 2004; #1 DAD

Jam2 posted:

To me, proficiency means being able to use tools available to solve problems and write good code as a valued contributor within an engineering team. It means being able to hold your own in a work environment full of experienced programmers. It means being able to bring something to the table. This is my three to four year goal.

If you guys dont want to call this profiency then feel free to replace the word with something else you deem more fitting. I don't want to argue about semantics. I'm here to learn.

It's a worthy goal, the only issue I had was with the word 'complete'. I've been working with Java for 12 years now and while I'd call myself 'proficient', 'complete' is something I know I'll never even get close to. Anyway this is all just semantics at this point and we seem to be in agreement so I'll let it go and conclude by wishing you luck with your degree

zootm posted:

Getting a good grasp of the the core language itself and maybe the collections libraries, as well as a good grounding in programming in general (learning another language is more important than learning most APIs, even if they're the ones you end up using), is more than enough to claim proficiency in Java as a language.

This I will discuss this though. To me that person is a good programmer who happens to have spent a weekend looking at Java*. The usefulness of Java doesn't come from the base language, it comes from the incredible variety of high-quality libraries and add-on features. Unless you have some working knowledge of important add-ons like Java EE and persistence APIs and know of a lot of the smaller ones, I think it's hard to claim that you have any sort of expertise.

_{* Just to clarify, that's not meant as an insult.}

# ? Apr 8, 2011 13:43

tef: May 30, 2004; -> some l-system crap ->

I mean how many java programmers actually understand the type of enum :v:

# ? Apr 8, 2011 13:44

epswing: Nov 4, 2003; Soiled Meat

Jam2 posted:

I am (learning on the side) and I do (have the motivation). If it weren't for my 150% college course load and research obligations, I would spend every waking minute solving Euler problems and writing programs. I had an extra credit assignment for a Calculus class. I used logmein to write a monte carlo simulation from my iphone. It ran on the first try. I actually didn't even know it was called a monte carlo simulation until my professor graded it and gave me feedback. I'm a complete newb, but programming comes naturally to me and I really enjoy doing it. I want to do this for a living, so all of these plans are being made with this goal in mind.

I understand the view that it is not possible to become proficient in under X years. While I appreciate that feedback (and I have accepted the reality), no one here is really in a position to judge my intent/motivation/capability.

Ahh you'll be fine. People love to look back and chuckle from their ivory towers about how hard it was to get where they are now. They're not wrong, but I wouldn't fret, they did it and so can you. I think you're only mistake here was using the word "completely" which you've already understood and retracted.

To me, a couple of the key attributes of a worthwhile programmer are intelligence and curiosity, and from across the internet it seems you might have both, so keep at it and have fun.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 14:16

zootm: Aug 8, 2006; We used to be better friends.

Contra Duck posted:

This I will discuss this though. To me that person is a good programmer who happens to have spent a weekend looking at Java*. The usefulness of Java doesn't come from the base language, it comes from the incredible variety of high-quality libraries and add-on features. Unless you have some working knowledge of important add-ons like Java EE and persistence APIs and know of a lot of the smaller ones, I think it's hard to claim that you have any sort of expertise.

I think you're mostly right asserting that. I just don't want people to think that it's a reason not to get out in the world and attempt to work in the field. There is little or no way to learn these APIs effectively other than just using them. And generally the good ones are easy to pick up as one goes.

Contra Duck posted:

_{* Just to clarify, that's not meant as an insult.}

Assuming it was me you were worried about insulting, I didn't take it that way. Sadly I am one of these people with way more knowledge about Java APIs than I want to have already.

tef posted:

I mean how many java programmers actually understand the type of enum

This is the true test of whether people grok generics, I guess.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 17:03

tef: May 30, 2004; -> some l-system crap ->

epswing posted:

To me, a couple of the key attributes of a worthwhile programmer are intelligence and curiosity, and from across the internet it seems you might have both, so keep at it and have fun.

I'd say that the following are more important:

Mastery of ones own native tongue

Being humble. Other people know more, think more and have solved problems you are yet to have. No-one likes to work with a dick, especially one who is right.

Programming is as much explaining things to people as it is explaining things to a computer.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 17:40

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

tef posted:

I'd say that the following are more important:

Mastery of ones own native tongue

Being humble. Other people know more, think more and have solved problems you are yet to have. No-one likes to work with a dick, especially one who is right.

Programming is as much explaining things to people as it is explaining things to a computer.

This is a good post.

I especially like the part about being humble. To be honest, in programming circles, smart and curious people are a dime a dozen. Being able to work with others doesn't always come so easily to the type of people who are attracted to programming.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 17:53

epswing: Nov 4, 2003; Soiled Meat

tef posted:

I'd say that the following are more important:

Sure, I'll agree that attitude is also a key attribute, but I don't necessarily think it's "more important than" intelligence or curiosity. If any of these three are lacking, you're not going to get very far.

vvv Edit: Yep, I was just referring to tef's post above _{(which I just quoted now)}

epswing fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Apr 8, 2011

# ? Apr 8, 2011 18:03

Thermopyle: Jul 1, 2003; ...the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. �Bertrand Russell

epswing posted:

Sure, I'll agree that attitude is also a key attribute, but I don't necessarily think it's "more important than" intelligence or curiosity. If any of these three are lacking, you're not going to get very far.

Yeah, I don't think we disagree.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 18:57

Paolomania: Apr 26, 2006

tef posted:

I'd say that the following are more important:

Mastery of ones own native tongue

Being humble. Other people know more, think more and have solved problems you are yet to have. No-one likes to work with a dick, especially one who is right.

Yeah try telling that to HR.

# ? Apr 8, 2011 21:14

tef: May 30, 2004; -> some l-system crap ->

epswing posted:

Sure, I'll agree that attitude is also a key attribute, but I don't necessarily think it's "more important than" intelligence or curiosity. If any of these three are lacking, you're not going to get very far.

actually no matter how smart you are or curious, if you're a dick to people, and can't write for poo poo, you won't get far. real software is written by groups, collaborating.

# ? Apr 9, 2011 06:55

tef: May 30, 2004; -> some l-system crap ->

Paolomania posted:

Yeah try telling that to HR.

Here I have a note for you:

I am writing to inform you that I am ending my employment at ButtCo.

# ? Apr 9, 2011 06:56

Jam2: Jan 15, 2008; With Energy For Mayhem

tef posted:

actually no matter how smart you are or curious, if you're a dick to people, and can't write for poo poo, you won't get far. real software is written by groups, collaborating.

A truly intelligent person is capable of effective communication.

# ? Apr 9, 2011 12:04

epswing: Nov 4, 2003; Soiled Meat

tef posted:

actually no matter how smart you are or curious, if you're a dick to people, and can't write for poo poo, you won't get far. real software is written by groups, collaborating.

What did I just say. If you're lacking in any of those, you're not going to get far. I can obviously come back with "it doesn't matter how great your attitude is, if you're not intelligent and curious, you won't get far."

So I'm not sure why you posted.

# ? Apr 9, 2011 18:27

RitualConfuser: Apr 22, 2008

I have a bunch of files that need to be processed. Right now it's being done serially. I want to setup a queue of items to be processed then have a pool of worker threads dequeue the items and process the associated files. The question I have is, is there a standard way to wait until the queue is empty and all of the worker threads are idle? After all the files have been processed there is an analysis stage that requires all of the processed files which is why I need to block or wait for a callback before moving onto that stage.

e: Looks like I can do this via a CompletionService by using poll(), and then Future.get(), until there are no more Future objects.

RitualConfuser fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Apr 9, 2011

# ? Apr 9, 2011 19:40

tef: May 30, 2004; -> some l-system crap ->

epswing posted:

So I'm not sure why you posted.

'more important than'

really, programming doesn't need that much intelligence or curiosity to write. you are not an artist, and most programming is glorified typing. I mean, seriously we're in the java thread here people.

you are akin to telephone operators of the turn of the century, laboriously plugging poo poo togerher and subsequently replaced when a more effective interface is found.

and as for getting far:

I know many programmers in industry who are not geniuses or curious about programming, and yet they seem happy enough making yet another skin for a database :-)

the reason I posted is that you are wrong and have a childish, romanticised view of programming as a career. hth.

tef fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Apr 10, 2011

# ? Apr 10, 2011 17:15

epswing: Nov 4, 2003; Soiled Meat

So because I'm saying that a worthwhile programmer should have intelligence and curiosity on par with attitude, I have a childish naive view of programming?

Sorry but you're probably one of those dicks you were talking about earlier.

# ? Apr 10, 2011 17:29

tef: May 30, 2004; -> some l-system crap ->

epswing posted:

Sorry but you're probably one of those dicks you were talking about earlier.

Programmers are frequently arrogant jerks. I am sorry I had to spell things out to you but if you read my earlier posts before replying to them I might not have had to be so cruel :-)

Simply put the idea that a career (in java) requires intelligence & curiosity, is quite ironic, because java is designed for the mediocre tasks in programming, a simple way to write business logic without having to understand much in the way of resource management :-)

(you may also want to notice that i am yet to break out an ad-homiem, unlike yourself.)

edit: time to move goalposts

tef fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Apr 10, 2011

# ? Apr 10, 2011 17:38

epswing: Nov 4, 2003; Soiled Meat

tef posted:

Programmers are frequently arrogant jerks.

Not in my experience...

tef posted:

Simply put the idea that a career (in java)

Who said anything about java. We happen to be in the java thread, but I haven't based anything I've written on that language.

epswing fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Apr 10, 2011

# ? Apr 10, 2011 17:40

Paolomania: Apr 26, 2006

tef posted:

Programmers are frequently arrogant jerks. I am sorry I had to spell things out to you but if you read my earlier posts before replying to them I might not have had to be so cruel :-)

QED

# ? Apr 11, 2011 16:22

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# ? May 9, 2024 14:27

mcw: Jul 28, 2005

Paolomania posted:

Yeah try telling that to HR.

I understand what you're saying, but here's another way to view tef's comment:

Your resume is what gets you an interview. Personality plays a very small role, if any, in this regard; HR primarily cares about numbers. How many years of experience do you have with X technology, and is that greater than or equal to the number on the requirements we got from the IT manager?

But once you get the interview, those numbers don't mean much. The hiring manager will ask you questions like: If you find a bug in a production program and you know it's going to be a major problem unless it's fixed by tomorrow morning, what do you do? What they want to hear is that you're going to talk to your manager to work out a battle plan that takes into account the needs of each other department that might be affected. That doesn't have anything to do with which programming languages you know, and how well you know them-- it just shows that you're going to be a valuable employee that won't get your boss in trouble with the Vice President the next time there's a problem in production. And the sort of experience you need to know how to handle such problems can be gained with IT experience of almost any kind.

# ? Apr 12, 2011 04:04

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The Cavern of COBOL > Java questions which don't deserve their own thread, yet.

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