Oracle Blog´s: Updates to Oracle JET MOOC

Before JavaOne/OpenWorld this year, we ran the first session of the Oracle JET MOOC (massive open on-line course). The aim was to prepare a large number of developers all at the same time about enterprise JavaScript in the context of Oracle JET, i.e., Oracle's free and open source JavaScript platform. The MOOC is on-line, self paced, three weeks, and focused on 10 YouTube clips per week for three weeks, with many homework tasks, quizzes, and a certificate of completion at the end. We ran the second session after JavaOne/OpenWorld and have started the third session today. In the process, thousands of developers have been introducing themselves to Oracle JET.

Since the time when we put the MOOC together in August, quite a few changes have taken place and we've tried to update some of the parts of the MOOC as a result. If we were to be really thorough about it, we'd need to re-record absolutely every part, which is not really doable. So, here's an overview of all the changes and where parts of the MOOC are impacted.

• Oracle JET Releases. Oracle JET 2.1.0 and Oracle JET 2.2.0. When we put the MOOC together, Oracle JET was at version 2.0.2. In the meantime, both 2.1.0 and 2.2.0 have been released. Read about 2.1.0 here and about 2.2.0 here. To ensure that the latest version of Oracle JET is always downloaded via "bower.json", we've changed the hardcode "2.0.2" in the GitHub samples to "latest", which will mean that in some cases you'll see different libraries and different versions of libraries in the YouTube clips than you'll see in your own code when working with Oracle JET templates.
• Composite Component Architecture. The biggest impact of the above releases on the MOOC is the introduction of the Composite Component Architecture introduced in Oracle JET 2.1.0. Read about there here in the Oracle JET Cookbook. That topic was already mentioned in the MOOC, in Lesson 3, Part 1, where we look at integration with 3rd party components. However, the code sample for that part has been updated to include all the code samples from the Cookbook dealing with composite components. Go here to look at that code sample.
• Oracle JET Templates. A big impact on the MOOC is that the "Oracle JET QuickStart Basic" wizard in NetBeans IDE now uses the "navdrawer" template. Read about that here. Some parts of the MOOC have been updated so that, especially at the start of the MOOC, you're not confused about the difference in the code you'll see being generated when you work through the tasks and the code you'll see in the YouTube clips. In Lesson 1, part 1, 7, 8, and 9 have all been reworked a bit, so that you see "navdrawer" code in the YouTube clips, in most cases. However, the code on GitHub continues to use the earlier templates and so on, so that, if you want to have the old structure and so on, in case you want that for reference or to understand something you're seeing in the YouTube clips, just use the code in the GitHub repos.
• NetBeans IDE 8.2. NetBeans IDE itself has seen a new release since the initial release of the MOOC. In most of the MOOC, NetBeans IDE 8.1 is used, though in some of the updated parts, the latest release, which is NetBeans IDE 8.2 is used. The only difference is that in NetBeans IDE 8.2, you do NOT need to install the Oracle JET Support plugin, since that is now a standard part of NetBeans IDE. If you are using NetBeans IDE 8.2, do NOT go to the Plugin Manager and do NOT search for the Oracle JET Support plugin. Instead, simply use the "Oracle JET QuickStart Basic" template in "Samples | HTML5/JavaScript", which you will immediately find to be available.
• Hybrid Oracle JET Generator for NetBeans IDE. The generator in NetBeans IDE for hybrid mobile applications, which is used in Lesson 2, Part 10, has been rewritten. That part of the MOOC will be updated during this week. Read about the changed generator here.
• Samples on GitHub. There are several new and updated samples in the Oracle JET MOOC GitHub repository. For example, Part-001 now contains all the code shown in the related YouTube clip, Part-012 contains a lot more data visualization samples, including usage of ojThematicMap, Part-014 contains the complete MovieFactory sample, Part-021 contains all the composite components from the Oracle JET Cookbook, and Part-022 includes samples for integrating with the Application Container Cloud.

Some other parts of the Oracle JET MOOC may be changed/updated during the coming weeks, though the above points are the main areas where the differences lie between the original MOOC as published in August and the current status of Oracle JET and the MOOC itself.