Hello everyone, I am starting from scratch to learn java to be able to code in jforex. My worry is that what i need exactly to learn from general purpose java to be able to start coding my EA in jforex. Would a source like this one be enough? http://www.amazon.ca/Sams-Teach-Yourself-Java-Hours/dp/0672330768 Thanks
You need to know Java if you want to write heavy EAs. For very simple EAs you don't need to know Java provided you know any other programming language. In that case you'll catch up pretty fast, because you can find some example code on their forums and also ask for help, but if you want to write something more complicated, you will have to learn Java and that ain't a piece of cake for someone who hasn't coded anything at all.
I have coded a very simple program ( not the hello one!) today. Although the extreme simple program has nothing to do with trading, i liked the feeling of imaging/designing an object and make it alive and responsive. Hope it will continue this way.
Another book to start is more basic Murach (series -editor) Java SE or more detailed Schildt Java the complete reference. Look it up on Amazon. I think that there are many free learning tutorials too since Java is open source now hosted by Oracle. With programming is like with car driving - you cannot learn it from the book only. You have to drive. Please keep in mind that programming live trading application is really demanding (both time and skill) even for professional programmers.