Just as Eclipse is one of the greatest breakthroughs in programming since the graphical user interface, this book may be the greatest breakthrough you will experience in learning a new programming environment. The systematic, step-by-step approach will get you started in the least amount of time possible, and will give you a tremendous foundation to propel you into the future of programming.

If you have any programming experience at all, this book will teach you how to use Eclipse in the most effective way, systematically guiding you through each screen, telling you what to type, which buttons to push, and walking you through building your first application in Eclipse. Where you go from there is up to you!

You will be able to use this book even if your only knowledge of Java is how to spell it. However, that doesn’t mean that Java programmers can’t benefit! Even experienced developers can make use of this book, since it covers three areas that are of crucial interest these days: Eclipse, IBM’s Software Widget Toolkit (the SWT), and JDBC. If you’ve wanted to see a working application using any of those technologies, then this book is for you.

Each step has a checklist of tasks to perform, and each task is documented with screen shots and editorial comments. Nothing is assumed, nothing left to your imagination. There is no magic in programming, except maybe knowing where to start, and that’s where this book comes in. Once you’ve finished it, you will understand the subjects well enough to continue learning more on your own.

Written for applications developers on all levels, this book will teach you:

• How to use the new Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and IBM’s Software Widget Toolkit (SWT) and JDBC
• How to create complete functioning applications with Eclipse
• Where to get the software, how to install it, how to configure it
• Options you will use in real programming to be instantly productive in Eclipse,
• What steps you need to take to create a program or modify an existing program

About the Author

Joe Pluta has designed distributed architectures for the midrange platform for over twenty years. Joe’s company, Pluta Brothers Design, develops tools that allow iSeries users to incorporate emerging technologies seamlessly into their legacy systems, providing a direct path to new architectures. Joe moderates the JAVA400-L mailing list and is a member of IBM’s JTOpen Core Team. He is also a regular participant in mailing lists and newsgroups on a wide range of topics surrounding the iSeries platform and Java in general.