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inital planning and start

 
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Dear all,

I hope you can help, I am a bit stuck, it just a case of getting started. I have been reading the java developers certification cram book for the past 3 weeks, but I still finding it difficult to get started

I thought I would start by trying to extract the information from the database and displaying it on the jtable

One of my questions is that do I load the database which is a flatfile in into memory or do I work straight from the flat file,

I have been given the schema and really not sure where to start,

I was thinking about doing UML diagrams or class diagrams. the tool suggested in the book is Argo but I have not used it before, still trying to get to grips with it, are the any other tools you would suggest?

I need some sort of structure, there is a lot of stuff to do but I need some sort of starting point to sink my teeth into , I hope someone can provide me with some advice.

Kind Regards

Jesal
 
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I think that it is easier to work directly with the flatfile. The reason for this is that you never know when the server/database will be shutdown, so you won't know when to persist in-memory data to file.

You could keep a copy in memory and then write to the flat file on every update/delete/create operation, but you will have to keep your data very organized so that the in-memory copy matches the flatfile.
 
jesal dosa
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thank you, you are right its better to do the search from the flatfile, that makes sense.

In the book i was reading it suggests using UML diagrams can anyone suggest a good tool they have used. i have currently looking at Argo Uml. Is it really worth doing class diagrams and will these be benefical? because it is not a requirement. Have any of you guys used uml for your project?
 
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I don't think it is benificial to spend two much time perfecting detailed UML class diagrams as you will not be submitting them anyway. I would recomend getting a notepad to sketch rough class diagrams and ideas down on a piece of paper in order to clarify what you want to do.

It doesn't always have to be a fancy piece of software someimes the old fashioned ways are very effective.
 
jesal dosa
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That seems right. The Exam cram(Alain Trottier) book i have been using suggests to do the project using a text file editor, but i really do not want to go that hard core. I have installed the Net Beans IDE and have been looking at that as the main choice for the development of this project are there any other suggestions? I have been doing some diagrams on pieces of paper, but i notice the IDE comes with a UML editor which i have looking into. I think it is seems fit for purpose and it lets you convert the class diagrams in to actual code. Also would this be problem for submission? As it says all code should be your own
 
Mark Smyth
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Originally posted by jeal dosa:
That seems right. The Exam cram(Alain Trottier) book i have been using suggests to do the project using a text file editor, but i really do not want to go that hard core. I have installed the Net Beans IDE and have been looking at that as the main choice for the development of this project are there any other suggestions? I have been doing some diagrams on pieces of paper, but i notice the IDE comes with a UML editor which i have looking into. I think it is seems fit for purpose and it lets you convert the class diagrams in to actual code. Also would this be problem for submission? As it says all code should be your own



There is no need to go medieval on it by using a text editor. I think it is fine to use an IDE such as net beans or eclipse for the purposes of development, as they are especially useful for code formatting to the java conventions etc.

I would stay away from all forms of code generation such as GUI drag and drop creation tools or UML code generators. I would imagine that if the assessor suspects that any of the submitted code has been auto generated he will probably fail you.

You should definately write all your code manually.
 
Cless Alvein
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If your IDE writes
public class MyClass {
}
for you, that is probably OK. Even code generated from a UML diagram is indistinguishable from hand-written code, and besides, it is just basic Java, nothing that you would not know how to do anyway. I think the only place where you must be careful is the GUI code, as WYSIWYG GUI makers produce very different code.
 
jesal dosa
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Thanks Guys i will keep that in mind. Thank you for your help.
 
Mark Smyth
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Originally posted by Cless Alvein:
If your IDE writes
public class MyClass {
}
for you, that is probably OK. Even code generated from a UML diagram is indistinguishable from hand-written code, and besides, it is just basic Java, nothing that you would not know how to do anyway. I think the only place where you must be careful is the GUI code, as WYSIWYG GUI makers produce very different code.




Unless it put in /**Generated by Netbeans*// comments or empty methods with todo comments that you forget to take out (I have no idea if NetBeans does anything like this but it would be something to be careful about)
 
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