USENET comp.lang.java mini-FAQ

JDMurray

For those interested in the Java programming language, but do not know about USENET,
I thought that I'd post the mini-FAQ from the USENET comp.lang.java.* newsgroups
as an introduction to the vast and ancient information repository of the Internet that is USENET.

comp.lang.java.help mini-FAQ

Before posting read Jon Skeet's "How to get answers on the comp.lang.java.*
newsgroups" at http://www.pobox.com/~skeet/java/newsgroups.html

Java FAQs and advice:
- Java/Javascript/Powerbuilder HOWTO (Real Gagnon) http://www.rgagnon.com/howto.html
- Java Glossary (Roedy Green) http://www.mindprod.com/jgloss/jgloss.html
- jGuru jFAQs (John Zukowski) http://www.jguru.com/jguru/faq/
- Focus on Java (John Zukowski) http://java.about.com/
- Java Q&A (David Reilly) http://www.davidreilly.com/java/java_network_programming/index.htm

comp.lang.java.help Set-up problems, catch-all first aid.
According to its charter, this unmoderated group is for immediate help
on any Java problem, especially when the source of the difficulty is
hard to pin down in terms of topics treated on other groups.
This is the appropriate group for end-users, programmers and
administrators who are having difficulty installing a system capable of
running Java applets or programs. It is also the right group for
people trying to check their understanding of something in the
language, or to troubleshoot something simple.

comp.lang.java.programmer Programming in the Java language.
An unmoderated group for discussion of Java as a programming language.
Specific example topics may include:

o types, classes, interfaces, and other language concepts o the syntax and grammar of Java o threaded programming in Java - sychronisation, monitors, etc. o possible language extensions (as opposed to API extensions).

The original charter said that discussion explicitly should not include
API features that are not built into the Java language and gave examples
like networking and the AWT. These days AWT belongs in clj.gui, and
networking (and many other APIs) are often discussed in clj.programmer.

Do not post binary classfiles or long source listings on any of these
groups. Instead, the post should reference a WWW or FTP site (short source
snippets to demonstrate a particular point or problem are fine). For some
problems you might consider posting a SSCCE (Short, Self Contained, Correct
(Compilable), Example); see http://homepage1.nifty.com/algafield/sscce.html
for more information.

Don't post on topics that have their own groups, such as:

comp.lang.java.3d The Java 3D API
comp.lang.java.advocacy Arguments about X versus Y, for various Java X and Y
comp.lang.java.beans JavaBeans and similar component frameworks
comp.lang.java.corba Common Object Request Broker Architecture and Java
comp.lang.java.databases Using databases from Java
comp.lang.java.gui Java graphical user interface design and construction
comp.lang.java.machine Java virtual machines, like JVM and KVM
comp.lang.java.security Using Java securely
comp.lang.java.softwaretools Tools for developing/maintaining Java programsDon't cross-post between these groups and c.l.j.programmer or .help -- it just
wastes the time of people reading the general groups.

Don't post about JavaScript; it's a different language.
See comp.lang.javascript instead.