Develop Reference

Import .csv to RTC using JAVA

I am working on IBM RTC and I need to import a .csv file to RTC using JAVA. Is there a way to do this? If yes, can someone help me with the same.

Parsing CSV data is something that you definitely do not want to implement yourself, there are plenty of libraries for that (see here).
RTC offers a wide range of APIs that can be used with, see:
rsjazz.wordpress.com or
jazz.net
In that sense: you can write Java code that reads CSV data, and RTC has a rich API that allows you push "content" into the system.
But a word of warning: I used that java API some years ago to manipulate information within our RTC instance. That was a very painful experience. I found the APIs to be badly documented and extremely hard to use. It took me several days to come to working code that would make just a few small updates to our stories/tasks.
Maybe things have improved since then, but be prepared for, as said ... a painful experience.
EDIT, regarding your comment on "other options":
Well, I dont see them: you want to push data you have in CSV into your RTC instance. So, if you still want to do that, you have to use that means that are available to you! And don't let my words discourage you. A) it was some time back when I did my programming with RTC, so maybe their APIs are better structured and more intuitive today. B) there is some documentation out there (for example here). And I think everybody can register at jazz.net; so when you have further, specific questions, you might find "better" answers there!
All I wanted to say was: I know that other products such as jenkins or sonarqube have great APIs; and you work with that, all nice, easy, fun. You get things working with RTC, too. Just the path there, maybe isnt that nice and easy.
My personal recommendation: start with the RTC part first. Meaning: just try to write a small programm that authenticates against the server; and then push some example data into the system. If that works nicely for you; then spend the time on pulling / transforming the real data that you have in mind!

Convert compiled VB program to Java to use in Android app.

I have several VB programs that I wrote a few years ago in school. Is there any way possible to convert those programs to Java? Or would that it be easier to just rewrite it from scratch? My goal is to create an Android app that combines at least two of the programs into one functional app. This is purely a nonprofit endeavor; I'm a full time firefighter and am looking to put a free tool in the hands of my guys and other firemen who might want to use it.
I've been unable to locate the source code for the programs and have searched for an answer but haven't been able to find a definitive answer as most answers cover the source, not the compiled result. I've downloaded a couple supposed VB decompilers to see the results, but, in order to see the 'full' results, all the ones I've used require purchasing a 'pro' version. I have no problem paying for such a version, but I'd like to know if it's going to work properly before I do.

It would definitely be faster to rewrite them than it would be to devise a way of converting a VB program into Java code. Not only are the languages quite dissimilar, but VB's UI model is nothing like Android's, so it would likely be impossible (or at least impractical) to translate the UI code automatically.

Text to speech converter

I am going to create a Text to speech converter, which can be executed in both Windows, and Linux based systems. Can someone please help me answer the following questions;
What language should i use; Java, C++ or any other?
The program i am going to create should be able to read large chunks of data.
There should be good sound quality.
What are the libraries available to achieve this?
Please share your experiences as well.

Use the language you're most comfortable with. I learned the hard way when I tried to re-code my raytracer in C++, coming from a Python background. It took me weeks to get it to function...
Basically, you'll get frustrated by the nuances of a new language before you can get to coding something, so I suggest you stick with what you know.
That's independent of the language. Just makes sure to read the data in chunks (like 2048 kilobytes at a time). Reading a big file to RAM is not a great idea, as you can't be sure your end user has enough RAM (audio files can get BIG).
This is trivial. I can't help you program good sound quality. That's up to you.
There exist a few implementations of TTS for Linux, so that's all I can recommend. Look at Festival, as it is one of the ones you can actually understand.

Long time ago i had that same idea. I think it is not too complicated and can be done. This is how i would do it:
1- I would use Java, because it is platform independent.
2- If you are going to create an standalone application, it will be the local computer that will do the processing an not an application server, as in the case of web apps. Also i suppose that your program, will be used only by one user at a time. I think you will not have big issues with the amount data to process, if u implement some buffering mechanism.
3- The quality of the sound will depend in various factors such as: noise when recording,format, speed of the sound... Notice that many text to speech applications that exist on the web, the sound quality is ok, but you will never get the feeling that it is a real person, who is reading. (I recommend you a female voice, it sounds better).
4- Regarding to the libraries and another gadgets, this is what i think you might need:
-Java Standard Development Kit(To be able to work with java)
-A good IDE: There a many out there you can get for free. My favourite is eclipse but if you are a beginer with java, you might like to start with netbeans many people say it is more intuitive for learning.
-JLayer Mp3 library This will help you play the sounds in java.
-javax.swing Is a java library that is included in the development kit and allows you to create rich graphical user interfaces. Also if you are new to swing, i would recommend you a great swing IDE, called JFormDesigner, have a look at it, im sure it will speed your development alot(It is a great tool).
I hope my answers can give you some tips.
Update
I think it would be correct to mention also, that the only minimum requirement the users of your app will have in order to run the app is:
JRE(Java runtime enviroment)

This project of text to speech can be made using computer generated voice
so no problem of storing a database for each word and its pronunciation.
Just use the language in which u feel master to urself and apply the concept.....

I do not know anything about text to speech except that it's not easy. That being said, I suggest you stick with the language you are most familiar with. I'm sure Java and C can do it.

Good start for .Net and c++ to Java transition?

I know the .Net framework very well and know where to find things ie: StreamReader, StreamWriter, Graphics, etc, and I know Java has similar things. The syntax is different but quite similar to c++ which I have a lot of native c++ experience. Therefore, what would you recomend as a good starting point for tutorials and such. Thanks

In my new job, I quickly found myself working on a common library in C++, C# and Java. I had no Java knowledge and yet found it pretty intuitive to make simple mods to the Java code - the general C# principle that there is a framework class/namespace for most things you want to do, appear to hold in Java.
The thing that bothers me is that this MO would not teach me tricks and improvements in Java that are specific to that language. That's where I would like to see other answers to this question lead.
In the meantime: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_C_Sharp_and_Java
btw while I found C# and Java pretty congruent, I would not say the same about C++ vs Java.

If you work in eclipse/netbeans/intelliJ it may actually be a no-brainer. Guess at a class name, start typing it and hit ctrl-space (for eclipse, others vary). Regardless of which package it is in, it will find all the classes that match and list them for you faster than you could look them up anywhere else.
The other really nice thing to have on hand is the javadocs for the SDK you are working with--you can code effectively with nothing else. They are online (just search for JDK 6.0 or whatever version) or they can be downloaded from the same place you get the JDK.

The javadocs are your friend - once you figure out some of the main packages in java.*, it's easier to know where to look for specific classes / functionality.
Once you're writing some code, buy Effective Java - it's full of tips for the language, and is just a good programming book.

Most effective server side programming language for web development?

This is more a question of pros/cons between PHP and JAVA.
Iv been doing research, and iv narrowed it down to those two.
And in consideration, id like to go into mobile app dev...So thats +1 for Java.
Time taken to learn the language is not an issue...Just would like to know which is the most effective between the two languages mentioned above.
And on a slight note. Can Javascript work with Java? And what is the real advantage of that?
All answers are appreciated, thanks in advance.

I'm sorry, but PHP and Java are not the only choices. Ruby on Rails and Python's Django framework are both excellent tools for web development. While I haven't used it, Groovy's Grails framework is also very highly reviewed (largely by ex Java programmers). In certain (admittedly obscure) circumstances it's even advisable to do something off the wall like write a CGI program in C. It all depends on what you're trying to do.
Mobile app dev shouldn't influence your choice here, because no matter what web framework you're working with a mobile app is a whole new ball of wax.
So, here's the deal: asking people to compare PHP and Java really won't get you any meaningful answers -- you don't have the background necessary to understand what we'll say. You really need to figure out what you're trying to do before you choose your tool. It's like saying "I'm thinking about building a house, should I use a screwdriver or a hammer?" Here is what I would advise:
Go learn to program. Pretty much any language will do, but I'd suggest something nice like Python or Ruby. Spend a few months getting comfortable with programming first.
Pick a project. Make it something simple. When you know what your project is, pick a tool to use to complete your project. This may involve asking another SO question.
Rinse and repeat. Complete many projects. Once you've finished 5 or 10 web projects you'll be in a position to compare different tools. The more tools you use, the better. I'd suggest you do one in Ruby on Rails, one in PHP, one in Django (a python framework), and maybe even one in Java with JSP.
Once you've got that base of experience come back and ask this question again. You'll actually be equipped to understand the answers. Of course, once you've got that experience you won't need to ask the question because you'll already know the answer.

The one you know.

Some feedback:
Mobile app dev is not necessarily just web development.
Javascript is the language of choice on the web browser and works with PHP, Java, etc. on the server.
In general, one language is not more effective than another.
Seriously, judging by your post, I would advise you to start learning PHP and Javascript.
You already have a web browser so you can start writing javascript now.
As for PHP just install XAMPP from http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html and after a double click you'll be ready for web development.
After learning what its all about you'll be able to then check out Java and see if it is more effective in what you are trying to do.

Your question really indicate you need to learn alot about web development and programming in general, so I could answer your question but.. I'd recomend you go read up a little.

And in consideration, id like to go
into mobile app dev...So thats +1 for
Java.
How is that +1 for Java? We're talking about server-side languages.. you're not running your server off a phone are you? Sure, you can use Java to build apps in addition to running your website, but that's a different story.
Time taken to learn the language is
not an issue...Just would like to know
which is the most profitable at the
end of all the training.
Neither language will make your site more profitable, but you may be in higher demand with different companies depending on what you know.
And on a slight note. Can Javascript
work with Java? And what is the real
advantage of that?
Well... yes, but that's almost a nonsensical question. You use Java or PHP to produce the HTML that gets sent to the client, and then your JavaScript manipulates that. It's completely unrelated to what language you use server-side.
#comment: I can't really say which is more worth learning. I suppose Java is more versatile in that it has more applications outside the web. PHP is supported by more web-servers though (AFAIK), so you won't have trouble if you need to work on a different server.
I can't fairly recommend one over the other though. I've only used PHP for web, and Java for non-web. I like PHP because it's easy to pickup, easy to use, and all sorts of stuff is built into the language without any includes or anything. Has a big community, so there's lots of scripts you can download. One might argue that it's also a mess of a language, but as long as you aren't all uppity about that sort of thing, it's not really a problem. Java OTH... I don't know. I'm not a Java keener, that's all I'll say :)

Most of the answers here should be able to direct you towards your answer though I would just like to say if you are going to learn a programming language to make Web Apps learn Java, not because this will be the best tool for the job, each job is different, but knowing a full fledged language you will be able to quickly adapt to other languages.
You don't learn a language, you learn the concepts behind programming, then apply them to different languages.

I think you need to outline the context of your question. For example, if you are looking to get a job in IT, then the language that is most asked for in job ads is the one you want. If on the other hand, you have an application in mind that you would like to write, then you need to tell people (without giving away the details) what type of application it is so that they can tell you the most suitable languages/APIs to for that area.
But remember this - there is no such thing as a super programming language that is the best for everything. Each language is suitable for a range of tasks in a range of contexts, and is usually awful for everything else. Without the context of where the language will be used, no-one can tell you which is better.

Stop trying to kill two birds with one stone. There are different tools for different tasks. You can write mobile apps with Java but you can't write web apps with it. You'll have to use a server-side programming language such as PHP, Ruby on Rails, Django (Python), etc.