Benjamin,
I don't know if you have been "officially" greeted but if not, Welcome to the Ranch!
The
Java Tutorials is a great place to start learning about a lot of the basics that you've been asking about.
A few pointers about protocols we like to follow here:
1. When posting code snippets, please
UseCodeTags (<-- click) to make the listings more readable.
2. Please
UseOneThreadPerQuestion (<-- click) so that the topic doesn't wander from one subject to another.
3. Please try to
SearchFirst (<-- click). Sometimes people will be in the mood to give long answers like I did earlier but more often they will appreciate it when the person they are helping can
ShowSomeEffort (<-- click) first so that there's no need to go over the general knowledge type things.
Sorry if this kind of leaves you hanging but like I said, sometimes people are in the mood to give long answers and sometimes they're not. Go look at those tutorials I mentioned. They'll help you a lot.
See you around!