I want to build an application!

yuloni

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deco_b

If everyone has access to a browser then I'd say create a small web application

What programming language you develop it in is up to yourself. For example Wordpress is written in PHP which would be easy enough for you to learn the basics for what you want to do.

Check out XAMPP
You can install this on your PC and start writing PHP fairly quickly

John_Mc

If you learn .Net, you can develop desktop, websites and distributed applications using the same framework and language.

There's plenty of tutorials and videos available, and it's free

http://www.asp.net

conor.hogan.2

Eh the same is true with Java and it is more widely used cross platform.

(Yes, Mono, but come on)

John_Mc

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Eh the same is true with Java and it is more widely used cross platform.

(Yes, Mono, but come on)

Eh, yeah I didn't suggest it wasn't did I?

conor.hogan.2

No, you did not.

amen

wow .Net, PHP, XAMPP, Java for solutions to a simple problem.

I'd suggest
1: Use Jscript. 2-3 lines will get you sorted
2: If you are using windows machines you could write a little windows scripting host (WSH). Again 2-3 lines
3: If using Unix(or some derivative) you could use a bash script

Both very simple, easy to use and setup. No need to learn about compilation, installing application packages.

A lot of languages come with built in functions to do this. The function is normally called DateDiff.

Try googling DateDiff JScript.

If you need a hand post back what you tried and any problems and we will try and help you out.

yuloni

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conor.hogan.2

Condi wrote: »

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Some people would disagree but I would warn you against .NET then, unless you have a reason to go with them.

Javascript not jscript at least.

TonyStark

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Condi wrote: »

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Some people would disagree but I would warn you against .NET then, unless you have a reason to go with them.

Javascript not jscript at least.

Agree, JavaScript is actually the best language to learn. Mostly because if you have a web browser you're good to go.

Colonel Panic

People are suggesting languages and frameworks and calling some restrictive when they're not, out without actually getting more info on what the OP wants to run the app on.

Overflow

If you went the .Net C# route it would be as easy as:

int days = new DateTime(2012, 3, 20).Subtract(new DateTime(2012, 3, 6)).Days;

the variable 'days' will hold an integer value with the number of days between the two dates.

Giblet

If you have a dedicated machince, you can install a WAMP stack or LAMP stack if you want to try linux. Install Apache2 + PHP, and develop either a PHP or JavaScript implementation of what you want, and allow the other users in the workplace to access it through their browsers. If you're on the same network as your users, you can easily give it a hostname like "DateAdder" or something. so the user types http://DateAdder into their browser, and they get the page. This way, you can centralise it easily. You could even go simpler and have a shared file on a machine which you set up a shortcut for each user which just runs a simple html page with some javascript, no server required.

I wouldn't even bother with a framework.

amen

I want to build a simple method of finding the duration between two dates and present it to the user on screen.

Thinking about this over night if you have MS Excel (or even MS Word)/Open Office Calc etc you could just write a simple macro and share it in work.

Quick, simple and easy.

Ludo

There are many "simple" ways to do it, but that is kinda pointless as a learning exercise for programming...

stevenmu

Condi wrote: »

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That's your first mistake right there , never ask what language to use on a programming forum, it's equivalent of going to a soccer forum and asking what team you should support.

For the scenario you have in mind, pretty much any language you can think of will do perfectly. Your best bet would be to try and come up with a list of the type of things you might like to be able to do going forward. Then see what language/platform works best with that, and then you can start with the type of simple scenarios you have mentioned and build your way up.


With that said, as a general recomendation I'd suggest that either C# or Java. Both have the widest support of the most modern programming paradigms*, both a very easy learn and will allow you to start with simple functional console apps, before adding more and tecniques and skills (like object orientated, gui, web apps/services, mobile apps, database access, networking, multi threading etc etc). The easiest way to decide between them is:
-Java: work across a wider range of devices and operating systems
-.Net: integrates better with Windows, Windows Phone, and other Microsoft Software (Microsoft Office etc)

One benefit to learning one or the other, is that they're both very similar, so you can easily change at a later point if needed.

SerialComplaint

amen wrote: »

Thinking about this over night if you have MS Excel (or even MS Word)/Open Office Calc etc you could just write a simple macro and share it in work.

Quick, simple and easy.

It's not even a macro - a simple formula would do it.

If you want to learn programming, by all means do it on your own time, but don't reinvent the wheel.

yuloni

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Giblet

Launching the on screen keyboard won't work, so you might need to have it on screen before hand, but you have a limited domain, so maybe a date picker or simple number editor popup. Everything there should be possible in HTML and JavaScript, just ensure you can use JavaScript in your profile settings for the domain. (Some admins might disallow JavaScript on Intranet)

amen

I hope to run it on one of the many Windows based terminals terminals throughout our production areas.

This is a problem. If I was in charge of your IT infrastructure I would not allow non IT people to install software or run web applications on production machines without the software going through and audit and testing.

Why ? Because if the production machine stops working and production is held then I don't want to be explaining it was because some person installed new untested and unverified software.

yuloni

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deco_b

Did you decide what to go with? I've always used Java commercially and have been using the Spring framework for the last year now which is something you could consider. It has a bit of a learning curve though

amen

In these times there is no room for auditing or testing - we just have to do it. If it fails, we go back and fix it.

A bit off post but and you won't like this but this is just all the more reason not to be adding new software.

No audit, no test. I bet there is no regular backup and even if there is I bet there is no regular restore to ensure it works.

What happens if there is a factory fire ? Can you recover all your software and run off site? Do you have all the source code ? If you are looking after email servers do you have all the software versions so you can restore?

irishdude11

amen wrote: »

A bit off post but and you won't like this but this is just all the more reason not to be adding new software.

No audit, no test. I bet there is no regular backup and even if there is I bet there is no regular restore to ensure it works.

What happens if there is a factory fire ? Can you recover all your software and run off site? Do you have all the source code ? If you are looking after email servers do you have all the software versions so you can restore?

Did you read the OP where he described the program he wants to create? The program is very trivial, the computation can be done in one line in some languages. Then all that needs to be done is to drag two textboxes, a button and a label onto a form in a GUI editor. Outsourcing or auditing something like this that can be put together in two minutes is overkill.

TonyStark

Condi wrote: »

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Yikes rethink your approach. Perceived redundancy is not disaster recovery.

yuloni

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Aswerty

I think I'll try java applet in a web page. That way I can host the file on one of our servers and it makes it easier for updates and maintenance. Java seems to be the favoured option here and stevenmu compares it above as similar to C. If I can get familiar with one language and pick up a similar one fairly easy afterwards, that's definitely a plus.

While applets aren't all that popular these days they aren't a bad client side technology to start on and Java Enterprise Edition is a more than decent server side technology to start out with.

Also Java and C are nothing alike (except that they're both programming languages), it is C#(C Sharp) that is very similar to Java. C came first then C++ and most recently C# whose designers drew on a number of languages including Java in creating it.

The Corinthian

Condi wrote: »

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LOL. Whenever I hear this sort of thing I can pretty much guarantee that there was no room for auditing or testing during the boom years either.

I do miss the fly-by-night charm of business in Ireland sometimes.

yuloni

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The Corinthian

Sorry, I wasn't really getting at you or your company; more a general comment about business practices in Ireland. It made me smile.

Having worked with lots of Irish, British, American, Italian, German, Swiss, Russian and French firms over the years, I'll have to say that the cowboy culture is by far strongest in Irish businesses. It can be fun and refreshing at times (especially if compared with the Germans or Swiss) but when something goes wrong, boy what a clusterfsck.

Anyhow, sorry about the OT postings. A simple Java servlet based app is a good approach, BTW.

[Rasta]

I'm doing java in college, 2nd year right now. I found it easy to get into, and got the hang of it quickly.
I find it very useful for making simple applications (made a quick program to automatically pull specific links from webpages etc etc).
The only thing that bugs me about java are GUIs, maybe its just me, but I haven't found an easy/straightforward way of creating a clean design(if there is multiple components).

From my experience, I would suggest learning Java, because its relatively straightforward, and the API is a godsend for beginners(like me).
I looked into c, javascript and php recently and realised once you understand the fundamentals of one programming language you can easily make use of other ones(with a little bit of practice).