WGU trying to finish in 1 term - KET1 Java questions

redline5th

Hello guys!

I am not quite 2.5 months into my degree at WGU. I lack 20 credit hours so far.

I was just speaking with my course mentor and he has me worried! He claims it will take 3 months to complete the SINGLE java class KET1. Now I'm worried! He said the 2nd Java class is just as long. This puts me not graduating until next year almost.

How long do you find that this class took you? I am really worried about this as I do not have that kind of time as I need this degree for my job.

I purchased the book entitled "Java for Programmers", as during my research several of you recommended it.

Is there any other resources that you guys used? How did you approach this class and how long did you find that it took you to complete this class?

I am not a software programmer, so I don't have a lot of experience with Java. I do know some PHP and Javascript.

swild

That book is all I needed for both classes. I think I spent maybe 60 hours total on the 2 classes. I didn'y have any Java experience going into it, just some really old C++ experience. Just do the Taskstream, don't worry about the rest of the crap.

redline5th

So you were able to pass in 60 hours? Meaning if you spent 40 hours one week and half of another? (assuming you worked full-time). I work part-time, so I should be able to dedicate almost 30 hours in one week.

I took visual basic with my 2 year degree, so I do have some of that.

My mentor has me worried... he said "Our best students take a long time with this class, and honestly 2 months is best case scenario, but figure 3 months". I was thinking 3-4 weeks worst case scenario...

jmasterj206

Three months each seems like a bit of a stretch, but I could see it being possible if you didn't spend substantial time on it each week. KET1 took me about a month to finish and I am just finishing up KFT1 and that has taken me about 6 weeks. I had no Java experience.

Check out thenewboston java tutorials: Java (Beginner) Programming Tutorials - YouTube
Creating a gui in Netbeans: Java #N3 - Making a GUI in NetBeans - YouTube
Some people had luck with the Lynda.com videos: Java Training & Tutorials , but you have to pay.

I honestly find the two Java classes the worst put together classes I have run into. The Horstmann books they give you for the two classes are garbage. It sounds like a lot of students have been complaining about theses issues and they are looking for ways to improve this.

Drovor

Great information in this thread! I haven't started yet but already worried about these classes lol

Legacy User

geez now im worrying and im not even enrolled yet. I was thinking about using vtc.com videos for an quick overview on java. anyone who took those 2 classes would know if the java videos from vtc with help/accelerate progress?

swild

I replied to your PM but just so that everyone else knows, I spent about 8 hours on KET1 Task 1, 12 hours on KET1 Task2 , 1 hour on KFT1 Tasks 1,2,and 3 combined, and probably 36 to 40 hours on KET Task4. I decided to make a GUI instead of a command line program because they are easier for me to make and I didn't want to document all the necessary commands. I got a 4.00 out 4.00 on both of these classes.

And the Horstmann books ARE garbage. Java for Programmers by Deitel is the only book you need for both classes.

redline5th

Would you say that the success to your trimming time was in relation to the Java for Programming book instead of using the "garbage" books WGU offers? I did purchase this book and I got it in the other day. I haven't had time to read it much, but I believe that it will help.

I just couldn't get over my mentor saying that the class would take 3 months and 2 months at best..... .... is he just off, or what? 8 hours isn't bad. I don't see why it would take longer to complete a 4 hour class when I normally average 2 weeks on a four hour class.

I was thinking 2-4 weeks best/worst case, but then after my phone call today I was worried.

Granted I still have IWT1 and RIT1 to go before I can start on the Java.

demonfurbie

tagged for later

also you can get alot of java info just by looking around the web on fourms and youtube is great

swild

If you really don't know programming and choose to go through the Horstmann books and all the steps in the COS, yes 2 months is reasonable. However, all you need to do to pass the class is the TaskStream portion of the COS. If you find a better way to learn Java than the Horstmann books, then you will easily cut that down to 1 month. If you have beginner programming knowledge, Java is fairly straightforward to pick up as you go. I personally recommend using NetBeans just in case you run into any technical problems, WGU may be able to help. I personally don;t see anything wrong with NetBeans for this level of programming. There are other, better programs available, but this is well documented and pretty easy to fumble through.

If you want a 2nd resource besides the Deitel book, I would recommend the Java Complete Reference published by Oracle.

The way I did it was to create a basic GUI using examples from the Deitel book and then change that to make it do what was required, using other examples. Occaisonally, I would have to google a couple of things, but really not very often.


Oracle has documentation on EVERYTHING available on their website, but the examples can be quite obscure and hard to follow. That's where Deitel shines.

swild

Oops, wrong thread.

redline5th

So far KET1 hasn't been horrible. I've got task 1 done and will be starting on task 2 next week.

As of right now I lack 15 hours and if I can finish KET1 I will lack 11!

I have 3 months to go as of Monday, and all I lack is KET1, KFT1, capstone project, technical writing. It's a reality that it's getting closer. My mentor seems to think I won't do it in one term... Does it seem plausible to finih in one term?

swild

I posted my capstone in the my thread. Seriously doable in a single weekend. I would do tech writing next so that you can get it submitted to TaskStream. Then while you are waiting on them work on KFT1. I think it took 2 or 3 weeks after first submitting my tech writing to get a pass on it. almost all of that time spent waiting on TaskStream to grade it and get back to me.

If you are not having any trouble with KET1, then I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to finish this term. That being said, I wouldn't waste any time.

If it has taken you 2 weeks for Task1, I would expect another 2 weeks for Task2, then 4 weeks for KFT1, then 3 or 4 weeks for the capstone and tech writing.

redline5th

Well, it didn't take me that long. IWT1 and RIT1 took a week (5 papers and a PowerPoint) and task1 in KET1 took about 3-4 days. I'll start on task2 Monday.

demonfurbie

i got the gui done and exit button and now im stuck

any help would be great

techie2012

KFT1 took me about 6 weeks to complete. I had no prior Java experience, only a little Visual Basic from a few years ago. I used Java for Programmers and Head First Java Programming. I also used google search for any concepts I didn't fully understand..especially UML diagramming. My advice is complete task 1,2 and 3 as quickly as possible and begin working on task 4 as soon as you can..it was a beast. Good Luck!

themagicone

Programming and Web Development Help | DreamInCode.net

All I'll say is if you search for a specific keyword that has magic in it you'll find a LOT of help.

redline5th

Ok. KET1 done. It was hard but I made 4/4 on each of the projects.

I'm on technical writing and then I'll go to KFT1 while technical writing is being graded.

Any tips for KFT1? I hear it's a tough class.

I'm down to 11CU's. YES!

NoTime2Burn

redline5th wrote: »

Ok. KET1 done. It was hard but I made 4/4 on each of the projects.

I'm on technical writing and then I'll go to KFT1 while technical writing is being graded.

Any tips for KFT1? I hear it's a tough class.

I'm down to 11CU's. YES!

I think I am on the same track as you. I have the following classes left:

(4) KFT1
(6) ANV1 (Java certification)
(4) TWA1 (Tech writing)
(9) CPW5 (Capstone)

I'm on the IT-software emphasis track. I just started KFT1 this week, but don't have it in taskstream because of the campus events making mentors unavailable to approve classes. I will agree the reading material for this class is horrible. I've ordered the 8th edition of the Deitel book (I refuse to pay $130 because 9th edition is "current") and I'm hoping that will help. Polymorphism isn't too vague to me and I've overloaded tons of stuff before, but the "interface" (no, not GUI interface, the actual programmatical code "interface") is new and a bit confusing. I also do not like how we are to fend for ourselves in terms of figuring out UML. You'll see what I mean when you look at the COS.

I'm going to have my Mentor approve me for the tech writing Monday as the above advice sounds good to me.


Anyways, this brings me to the point of my post...Hey, for KFT1 you need to have a partner for some parts of the tasks. Do you have one? Want one? I have some experience in programming (C++ and a few others, but no Java prior). I finished KET1 task 1 in one (long) day and KET1 task 2 in two (normal) days. My point is, I'm in a rush to get through this stuff as well. I have 20 weeks left in my term, and I'm trying to finish all of the above before then.

If you are interested, please let me know. I can't find a way to send private messages on here, but you should be able to email me because I just opened it up on my profile.

NoTime2Burn

NoTime2Burn wrote: »

I can't find a way to send private messages on here.

I think I figured out why...

NotHackingYou

NoTime2Burn wrote: »

I think I am on the same track as you. I have the following classes left:

(4) KFT1
(6) ANV1 (Java certification)
(4) TWA1 (Tech writing)
(9) CPW5 (Capstone)

I'm on the IT-software emphasis track. I just started KFT1 this week, but don't have it in taskstream because of the campus events making mentors unavailable to approve classes. I will agree the reading material for this class is horrible. I've ordered the 8th edition of the Deitel book (I refuse to pay $130 because 9th edition is "current") and I'm hoping that will help. Polymorphism isn't too vague to me and I've overloaded tons of stuff before, but the "interface" (no, not GUI interface, the actual programmatical code "interface") is new and a bit confusing. I also do not like how we are to fend for ourselves in terms of figuring out UML. You'll see what I mean when you look at the COS.

I'm going to have my Mentor approve me for the tech writing Monday as the above advice sounds good to me.

Anyways, this brings me to the point of my post...Hey, for KFT1 you need to have a partner for some parts of the tasks. Do you have one? Want one? I have some experience in programming (C++ and a few others, but no Java prior). I finished KET1 task 1 in one (long) day and KET1 task 2 in two (normal) days. My point is, I'm in a rush to get through this stuff as well. I have 20 weeks left in my term, and I'm trying to finish all of the above before then.

If you are interested, please let me know. I can't find a way to send private messages on here, but you should be able to email me because I just opened it up on my profile.

An interface is basically a rubric for classes that implement it. When you designate that a class will implement an interface, you are promising that it will implement each of the methods defined by the interface.

So if I have an interface of CarStuff that includes the methods Honk(), Go(), and Stop() and the class Honda implements CarStuff, I must make sure that Honda includes definitions for Honk(), Go() and Stop() or my app will not compile.

The biggest advantage for interfaces (At least for C#, where I learned them) is that you can implement multiple interfaces, but you may only inherit one class.

Polymorphism basically says that if Honda inherits from Car, I can code a method to accept a Car object as a parameter and it will also accept a Honda object or even a Subaru object - provided Subaru also inherits from Car. However, this code would only have access to the methods and properties coded into the Car object. I know you didn't express difficulty on this subject but thought I'd clear it up for you just in case.

demonfurbie

does anyone know if on kft1 task 2 you have to make a gui

hiddenknight821

@demonfurbie: No GUI. I never did a GUI for all 4 tasks in KFT1. If I recall correctly, you only need to send the evaluation form for task 2 and move on to the next task.

demonfurbie

sorry i meant ket1

jmasterj206

You don't have to for task 2. You will get a 3 if you just use text, but it will pass.

NoTime2Burn

^^ just did mine about a week ago and I did the same thing. I did make it so you could supply the listings file via the console, or as a command line argument.

I'll take a 3 and enjoy my extra few hours over a 4 and the loss of them

NoTime2Burn

CarlSaiyed wrote: »

An interface is basically a rubric for classes that implement it. When you designate that a class will implement an interface, you are promising that it will implement each of the methods defined by the interface.

So if I have an interface of CarStuff that includes the methods Honk(), Go(), and Stop() and the class Honda implements CarStuff, I must make sure that Honda includes definitions for Honk(), Go() and Stop() or my app will not compile.

The biggest advantage for interfaces (At least for C#, where I learned them) is that you can implement multiple interfaces, but you may only inherit one class.

Polymorphism basically says that if Honda inherits from Car, I can code a method to accept a Car object as a parameter and it will also accept a Honda object or even a Subaru object - provided Subaru also inherits from Car. However, this code would only have access to the methods and properties coded into the Car object. I know you didn't express difficulty on this subject but thought I'd clear it up for you just in case.

Thank you for the info. I think I'm mostly confused with the examples from the chapter 9 on polymorphism. I've seen lots of examples and I completely understand them, but something about the rectangle measuring example trips me up. If the author didn't use poor programming practice such as

- Interface named "Measurer"
- Method named "measure"
- Instance of class Measurer named "aMeasurer"
- Instance of class Measurer named "measurer"

I think I could understand it more. I used to work at a software company where I sometimes would program little bits and pieces. If I used variable/class names like that, I would have been fired immediately.

I'm eagerly awaiting the Dietel book.

petedude

jmasterj206 wrote: »

You don't have to for task 2. You will get a 3 if you just use text, but it will pass.

Yep. I submitted a text-based program for Task 2, and it passed as well (after 2 tries!!). Just make sure you include all the requested docs. . .

petedude

NoTime2Burn wrote: »

Thank you for the info. I think I'm mostly confused with the examples from the chapter 9 on polymorphism.

Let me take a quick stab at this.

Polymorphism in Java terms basically means you can have multiple methods with the same name doing different things, but you have to somehow differentiate them. So, you could have, using a restaurant analogy:

MakeMyOrder(drink, what kind)

as well as

MakeMyOrder(meat dish, what kind, how well cooked)

and Java could tell by your parameter list which one you're after.

Let me know if that helps. . . or doesn't.

NoTime2Burn

Thanks again. Just spent the last few hours on the examples and I got them figured out. I have an obscene number of comments in them to help me understand what's going on, but that's between me and the compiler

Just to make sure I knew what I was doing I added a few extra classes and measured them as well. Then I added a new method to the interface, added it to all of the classes that implemented it, added some code to test it, and it all worked.




Once it's all up and running, it's pretty easy to see how it works, but the first few times requires lots of the MakeMyDrink() methods...




Thanks y'all for the help! I haven't seen the WFT1 task yet (I'm waiting on taskstream to be added) but curious on how much time the 4 tasks took relative to the two in KET1. Are we talking double the time since we have 4 tasks instead of two, or are each of the tasks much more difficult than the two in KET1 resulting in 6, 8, (or more) times the time required to finish KET1. I'm trying to get an idea of how quickly I can put KFT1 to bed...

madisonmiller

KFT1 took me about 6 weeks to complete. I had no prior Java experience, only a little Visual Basic from a few years ago. I used Java for Programmers and Head First Java Programming. I also used google search for any concepts I didn't fully understand..especially UML diagramming. My advice is complete task 1,2 and 3 as quickly as possible and begin working on task 4 as soon as you can..it was a beast. Good Luck!