Ibook for compiling java

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meefbeefmeefbeef
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
i'm a begining cs/bioinfromatics student. I need to get a mac for school. I'm tired of waiting for powerbook updates. my question is does the 900mhz g3 have enough gusto in it to handle compileing java apps. other than programming I will be doing basic e-mail, world processing, internet,and ITMS. weather java needs a g4 is beyond me?? ihave enough 12in powerbook ,but the screen is so small.



ANY INSIGHT WOULD BE MOST HEPFULL THANKS

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  • Reply 1 of 6
    purephazedpurephazed Posts: 33member
    depends what your programming.. my girlfriends brother does all his programming for the mac objectivec and java. and if most of your stuff will be for the mac then i would say yes you would need a g4... he uses a 800dvi and he wishes for more...



    maybe that helps.





    m2







    Quote:

    Originally posted by meefbeef

    i'm a begining cs/bioinfromatics student. I need to get a mac for school. I'm tired of waiting for powerbook updates. my question is does the 900mhz g3 have enough gusto in it to handle compileing java apps. other than programming I will be doing basic e-mail, world processing, internet,and ITMS. weather java needs a g4 is beyond me?? ihave enough 12in powerbook ,but the screen is so small.



    ANY INSIGHT WOULD BE MOST HEPFULL THANKS



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  • Reply 2 of 6
    yevgenyyevgeny Posts: 1,148member
    Your beginning CS projects won't be that hard and so they won't require a moster CPU to compile them. My beginning CS projects were compiled on Mac SE's. Any laptop you buy now will work for your intro projects. As far as long term usability goes, Altived is the wave of the future and not to long from now, all CPUs will support it (so it would be good for you to get it).



    Altivec does not increase compile speed. Nowhere in the process of compilation does a vector processor aid you with faster compile times. That isn't how compilers work.



    It has been 6 months since the last powerbook speed bump and they are getting due for a revision. Same goes for the iBooks. Apple likes to bump the specs right before the school year starts, so you should try your best to be patient and to hold out for the next speed bump.



    I think that your options are between a high end iBooks and the powerbook 12. I would probably go with the 12 powerbook, but you may want a larger screen (iBook 14). It is your call.



    my 2 cents
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  • Reply 3 of 6
    axelbaxelb Posts: 1member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Yevgeny

    Your beginning CS projects won't be that hard and so they won't require a moster CPU to compile them. My beginning CS projects were compiled on Mac SE's. Any laptop you buy now will work for your intro projects. As far as long term usability goes, Altived is the wave of the future and not to long from now, all CPUs will support it (so it would be good for you to get it).





    How about running Eclipse IDE on an iBook, is it realistically possible?
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  • Reply 4 of 6
    lungarettalungaretta Posts: 194member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by axelb

    How about running Eclipse IDE on an iBook, is it realistically possible?



    i code java for a living on my iBook (12" 500MHz 320MB ram) eclipse is dog slow (suprise suprise) and i generally find that vi and BBEdit sufficient for my needs.



    if you're the type that prefers a nice IDE to code under then IMO eclipse is the only choice and hence a PB is probably a wise purchase which gives you room to grow.



    as far as compiling, i use apache ant and it's dandy.



    having said that, i'm upgrading to a PB next week as i've had this machine for nearly 2 years and i feel i deserve a new one



    hope this helps.
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  • Reply 5 of 6
    baumanbauman Posts: 1,248member
    Well, I'm a second year Math/Physics major, but I took a beginning CS course last year. It was an intro to Java, and by the end we were creating simple programs with about 8-10 classes. I used my iMac G4 800 MHz, and I never even thought about it being slow. Granted, I wasn't doing tough stuff, but it was fine for me.



    I used BBEdit and the command line to get my stuff done. It worked really well once I got used to it.
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  • Reply 6 of 6
    moazammoazam Posts: 136member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by meefbeef

    i'm a begining cs/bioinfromatics student. I need to get a mac for school. I'm tired of waiting for powerbook updates. my question is does the 900mhz g3 have enough gusto in it to handle compileing java apps. other than programming I will be doing basic e-mail, world processing, internet,and ITMS. weather java needs a g4 is beyond me?? ihave enough 12in powerbook ,but the screen is so small.



    ANY INSIGHT WOULD BE MOST HEPFULL THANKS





    I had an iBook for a while, and I would honestly recommend something with better screen resolution for Java development.



    While the G3 is strong enough to run an IDE (NetBeans) and compile code, the 12.1" screen and low resolution don't let you fit everything on the screen very well.



    Grab a used PowerBook G4 15.4" with higher resolution.



    -M



    PS> Due to the screen real estate issue, I ended up going from iBook 12.1" 1024x768 to a Dell Inspiron 4100 with 14.1" and 1600x1200.
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