RE: Recommendations For Reading Material

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Wilt, Charles
> 
> Joe,
> 
> I've been meaning to ask.  What's the difference between WDSC: Step by
> Step and Eclipse: Step by Step?

Hi Charles!  Thanks for asking.  More gratuitous self-promotion!

Eclipse: Step by Step is an introduction to the Eclipse workbench, which
WDSC is built upon.  By itself, Eclipse is primarily a Java development
environment, with no real tools for web design or host interaction.  You
can get plug-ins for those features, but the base package is really more
of a plain Java IDE.

Eclipse: Step by Step, then, walks you through the basics of the IDE.
Concepts like "perspectives" and "views", how the workbench works,
splitting the screen for multiple editors, that sort of thing.  If
you've never worked extensively with an IDE, Eclipse: Step by Step is
the best way to be walked through how an IDE works.  Not to mention that
it's a pretty good introduction to Java programming -- by the time
you're done, you will have create a real, working database application,
all in Java.  The Step by Step books are designed to show you how to do
something productive, so that you can then build on the knowledge
yourself.

WDSC: Step by Step is all about WDSC.  Since WDSC is a web application
development tool with hooks to the iSeries, the book itself is focused
on creating a web application that uses RPG business logic.  WDSC adds a
significant number of powerful features on top of the base Eclipse
package, and WDSC: Step by Step walks you through those, and like
Eclipse: Step by Step, it does it with a real world example that you can
then extend for your own purposes.

I hope this explains the two books a little bit!

Joe