This course provides advanced training in developing software using the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, or J2SE.  It is intended for students with solid experience in structured and object-oriented Java programming, including use of the Collections API and exception handling.  The course software also includes an optional overlay of workspace and project files to support use of the Eclipse IDE in the classroom.  (This requires that the instructor be experienced in use of Eclipse and able to walk students through basic tasks in the IDE.)

The course is organized into five modules.  The first covers several general-purpose topics: using Java-5.0 generics, writing multi-threaded applications, the Reflection API and annotations, and network programming using sockets.  Then the course takes up the challenge of building multi-tier applications using the standard Java platform.  Multi-tier development most frequently uses the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition, or J2EE, and we have a wide range of courses in that area.  However it is quite possible to build lightweight multi-tier applications using only J2SE, and for some purposes the J2EE is moure trouble than its worth.

So the course looks at each of the traditional tiers and the J2SE APIs most suited to developing them: the Java Foundation Classes, or JFC, for building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for the presentation tier; Java RMI as a way of distributing Java objects in a separate business tier; and JDBC for the persistence tier.  A J2SE multi-tier application provides a comprehensive case study that illustrates multi-tier architecture, design patterns, and best practices, and also provides a few challenge labs.  Students will complete the course prepared to build distributed Java applications and to pursue JFC, RMI, or JDBC in greater depth.

Students must be experienced Java programmers, able to build, test, and debug complex applications using structured and object-oriented code designs, and familiar with the Collections API and Java exception-handling