105. Migrating to Java 5
Version 5.0

This course shows Java-1.4 developers the new language features in Java 5, and, more importantly, illustrates best programming practices as they've been affected by these new features.  This is an accelerated course that assumes long experience with earlier versions of Java.  Students will leave familiar with various new bits of Java-5 syntax, and also with an understanding of the exciting new options they have for API design and general-purpose Java coding.

Prerequisites

  * Plenty of experience with Java programming using the 1.4 SDK is essential.

Learning Objectives

  * Take advantage of ease-of-use features including the simplified for loop, auto-boxing, and varargs.
  * Use and develop enumerated types, including those with their own state and inherent behavior.
  * Use generics effectively when coding to the Collections API.
  * Develop one's own generic types.
  * Use Java annotations as defined by other APIs, and develop one's own.
  * Understand issues of compatibility and migration in mixed 1.4/5 environments.

Timeline: 1.5 days.

IDE Support: Eclipse Galileo

In addition to the primary lab files, an optional overlay is available that adds support for Eclipse Galileo.  Students can perform all coding, testing, and debugging tasks from within the IDE.  See also our orientation to Using Capstone's Eclipse Overlays, and please be advised that this is an optional feature; it is not a separate version of the course, and the course itself does not contain explicit Eclipse-specific lab instructions.

Chapter 1. Ease-of-Use Features
    Goals of Java 5
    Simplified for Loop
    Variable Parameter Lists
    Formatted Output
    Static Imports

Chapter 2. Enumerated Types
    Native Enumerations
    Ordinal and String Representations
    Looping Over Enums
    Stateful and Behavioral Enumerations

Chapter 3. Generics
    Using Generics
    Generics in the Collections API
    Developing Generic Classes
    Auto-Boxing
    Convertability of Generics
    Wildcards
    Type Erasure
    Generic Methods
    What You Can't Do
    Strong and Weak Suits

Chapter 4. Annotations
    Annotations
    Aspect-Oriented Programming
    Native Annotations
    The Java Annotations Model
    What Can Be Annotated
    Annotations vs. Descriptors
    Java EE Annotation Examples

Chapter 5. Compatibility and Migration
    Compatibility: Compiler and Runtime
    Mixing 1.4 and 5 Classes
    Compatibility with Generics: Type Erasure
    Compatibility with Enumerations and Varargs
    Migrating 1.4 Code to Java 5
    Runtime Type Safety with "Checked" Collections

System Requirements

    Hardware, Minimum: 500 MHz, 256 meg RAM, 500 meg disk space.

    Hardware, Recommended: 1.5 GHz, 512 meg RAM, 1 gig disk space.

    Operating System: Tested on Windows XP Professional.  Course software should be viable on all systems which support a J2SE 5.0 JDK.

    Network and Security: Limited privileges required -- please see our standard security requirements at http://capcourse.com/Guides/Security.gen.html.

    Software Requirements:  All free downloadable tools.