Java is essentially a high-level programming language intended to allow programmers to write once and run anywhere (WORA). Being a high-level programming language, it has a strong abstraction from the details of a computer system, and it is much easier to understand and intuitively write.
At the same time, it is an object-oriented programming language, which makes it easier to modify the object’s data fields. These objects may contain data and code in the form of fields. As a result, compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without any recompilation. It was developed as a collaboration of James Gosling and Sun Microsystems in the year 1995.
It was initially called ‘Oak,’ taking inspiration from an Oak tree outside James’ office; it was later changed to ‘Green’ and then to ‘Java Coffee’ (from Indonesia), and finally to ‘Java’ in 1995. The essence of the same remains in the Java logo even today, with a coffee mug. (Gosling, 2016)
There were five primary goals that were kept in mind while developing the language. These included:
- Simple, object-oriented, and familiar
- Robust and secure
- Neutral and portable
- High performance
- Threaded and dynamic
Why Learn Java in 2023?
- Java is significantly advantageous over other languages and environments, which makes it suitable for computing almost every programming task.
- As it is easy to learn and easy to use, it is an important skill to add to one’s portfolio in 2023.
- Java is a platform-independent language and therefore has the ability to move from one computer system to another.
- Java is used by almost 9 million developers across the globe, and roughly accounts for about 7 billion devices.
- Java developers are sought after and hold high-paying jobs in the industry. An average salary of a developer using Java may range between $47,169 to $106,610 per year.
- It is also popular among developers as it is available under the Oracle Binary Code License (BCL) free of charge.
- It is very versatile as it is used across various mediums like mobile, desktop, web, etc.
Java utilizes Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) like Eclipse, NetBeans, IntelliJ IDEA, and so on. These provide various facilities like debugging, syntax highlighting, code compilation, language support, automated refactoring, etc. It does not matter if the person studies in high school or is studying in college. It is easy to code in Java. (Harkiran, 2022)
Notes for First-Time Developers
- It is overwhelming to know where to start learning to code in Java language.
- The internet of things is filled with a wide variety of Java courses and books, which causes a lot of confusion related to the choice of courses.
- It is subjected to constant change with a large number of releases and versions, which are very confusing if the courses are not updated regularly.
- It is essential to choose a good course at the beginning of the learning curve, which helps develop the foundation for coding.
The following is a list of 11 such courses that would help anyone learn Java online in the year 2023. The list has been developed considering a beginner about to begin coding for the first time and build his or her own applications at the end of it. Therefore, factors like the introduction of the language, credibility, updating of the course, and so on were used to create this list.
1. Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals Specialization – Duke University – Coursera
The course is developed projects, which gives a more practical and application-based discourse to Java. Learning by doing is an essential pedagogical philosophy that is constantly being utilized in the field of education. Coursera has a format of courses in which a person is taught in a reverse pyramid model wherein students are taught with a common starting point and eventually branch off into a broad variety of elements depending on the liking of the individual.
The courses have hands-on projects, which help build ideas about the language and give a more practical approach to the language. The course consists of 4 sub-courses which cover Object Oriented Programming in Java, Data Structure, and Advanced Data Structure and, at the same time, covers the mastering of the Software Engineering Interview Course.
It has a rating of 4.6 and has a set of four instructors, which leads to an in-depth understanding of the language and is recommended for beginners. At a suggested pace of 4 hours per week, this course may take up to 5 months to complete.
It is helpful to demonstrate work in the form of a portfolio, improving one’s skill tree, and resume.
2. The Complete Java Development Bootcamp – Learn the Part Inc. – Udemy
This course is one of the best courses for Java on Udemy, with a rating of 4.6. This course begins at the extremely basic level of downloading Java on one’s system. After that, the course is broadly split into two modules – Java Fundamentals and Java concepts like object-oriented programming and web development. In addition, this course offers workbooks and challenges to the practice and learn. These consist of simple problems that can be solved.
The course consists of 28 hours and is utilized by a number of major companies like Nasdaq, Volkswagen, Box, NetApp, and Eventbrite to teach their employees. This is a packed course for those people who want just one course that teaches them everything they need to know and learn about Java. The course is imparted by three instructors.
3. Java Programming for Complete Beginners – in 28 Minutes Official – Udemy
This course is one of the best short courses for Java on Udemy, with a rating of 4.5. Here, people are taught above 200 Java programs, including puzzles and exercises. The interesting part of the course is the fact that it also has the bonus of developing a Build Rest API using Spring, Spring Boot, and JPA.
The course develops a keen understanding of the subject, and after taking this course, it becomes comfortable to read and write Java programs. This course is well structured and thought out to fit a time stamp of 28 minutes, making it ideal for people who do not want to invest a lot of time in this. This makes it a great course for beginners and especially for working professionals who want to improve their portfolios and climb the professional ladder.
4. Java Tutorial for Beginners – Programming with Mosh – YouTube
This course is packed with a variety of tasks and methods of achieving mastery in Java. With a run time of 2 hours and 30 minutes, this course takes a deep dive into the entire process and thinking associated with the science of coding.
It is a free video and guides the viewer from level zero to solving complex puzzles and problems in Java. The segments inside the video make it possible for the viewers to skip to certain parts (43 parts) depending on their skill level, which is an added bonus to the video format. Furthermore, the video takes into account the learning capacities of individuals and therefore has a low-paced explaining technique.
The course not only talks about the anatomy of a code but also how the code works in the computer and how the result or target is formed associated with that code. This, therefore, is a great course for both beginners and intermediate developers.
5. The Complete Java Programming Masterclass for 2023 – Karthikeya T – Karpado
This course is comprehensive and up-to-date to learn programming in 2023. The instructor has more than 15 years of market experience and therefore guides the viewer through navigating a career in this field and is especially helpful for people not having any idea where to start.
The course consists of quizzes, exercises, and assignments to make it more interactive and reinforce whatever one has learned. In addition, the application of the theory is particularly helpful in making codes more intuitive without many tutorials.
6. Java Full Course – Amigoscode – YouTube
This course is a free YouTube course having a time stamp of 3 hours and 35 minutes. The course was recently updated and therefore consists of the latest java language modifications. The course utilizes IntelliJ IDEA to develop code a goes at an in-depth level about the variety of tasks, errors, problems, and methods associated with Java.
It even has various bonuses within itself, and this helps the viewer with a vast understanding of the subject. It talks about coding at a very human level and relates classes and objects to a variety of day-to-day understandable objects. This course is, therefore, very helpful for everyone who is starting up on coding and does not know anything about codes as a whole.
At the end of the video, the instructor takes an example of a passport while utilizing complex code to achieve the desired result.
7. Java Programming – Neso Academy – YouTube
This course is spread over 129 videos, which talk about the benefits of Java and its anatomy. It gives an in-depth understanding of the language and starts with basic commands like displaying numbers and messages in Java. It also talks about programs and programming languages at the very beginning, which gives a clear idea about what one is getting into with the course.
Like the other courses, it gives a large number of tasks and programs to practice on the go and practice the methods taught through the course. From a logistic perspective, the course is well structured and gives a good understanding of which part talks about what and what to expect from each video. The overview of the summary is well organized and gives out a brief of each chapter, making it very easy to navigate for beginners. Such an organized structure in free video courses is hard to come around, and it is extremely good for beginners.
8. Java Fundamentals: The Java Language – Jim Wilson – Pluralsight
This course is perfect for understanding the concept of Java, Class, Object, Data Types, Threads, Files, Error handling, and other core Java concepts. The instructor Jim Wilson has an experience of over 30 years as a software engineer and provides insights on all-important concepts of Java required in building a career out of it.
The course provides an idea of the language and servers as seen in all Java-based development jobs like server-side development and client-side development, which even includes android apps.
It has a total duration of 7 hours and 41 minutes.
9. Interactive Java Tutorial – LearnJavaOnline.org
This course is in a website format and gives the viewer an interactive experience of coding with a learning-by-doing approach. The format of the website is simple. It comprises a number of chapters, which can be clicked on to learn about that aspect of Java. The course is divided into two sections. The first part deals with the basics, and the second part deals with the advanced topics. These can be viewed as per the skill level of the developer and help improve their sense of coding language.
As the developer can do most of their work and see the result on the site itself, it becomes a great medium of learning and consequently develops a sense of accomplishment in the mind of the user. It also consists of other tutorial links, which have other details about Java as a language. Thus, if one is interested in learning more, one can do so by means of these tutorials. The user can learn at their own speed, and it is completely free to use.
10. Java Tutorial for Beginners (Telusko) – YouTube
This course deals with a variety of elements like variables, assignment operators, switch statements, class and object theory, and many more essentials of Java Learning. Like the above-mentioned courses, this course also works around with a depth understanding of Java and its implications. It provides time stamps for every chapter taught in the course. However, those stamps are not embedded in the video, which makes it difficult to navigate through the video, as one has to pause the video to get to the descriptions to get into certain parts of the video.
The video accounts for a total of 12 hours and 22 minutes, which may seem long as it covers a large portion of every aspect associated with Java and has a large array of exercises and assignments. It is a highly updated video and therefore holds all the new modifications that Java has gone through with its development.
11. Learn Java from Scratch – Educative
This course consists of 11 chapters organized and developed to create a thorough understanding in the mind of the developer. It is interactive and consists of tasks made to test the skill of the developers. The course is focused and strategic about its learning curve and its methods of implications.
The course begins with a simple Hello World program. Then it proceeds onto concepts like conditional statements, loop statements, math, and logic in Java. It finally moves on to much more difficult concepts such as Inheritance, Generics, and Array lists.
This course helps one become an intermediate-level developer who can take up his or her own projects.
Conclusion
It is safe to say that there is a wide variety of courses present for learning Java in today’s date, which may make it confusing to choose from. However, a decent course with a sufficient categorization of chapters and a good summary may be helpful for beginners.
Therefore, it is clear that even the free courses have a vivid set of tasks and activities designed to develop an understanding of the language. Some courses may have a lengthy time frame among the list but overall explain the process much more thoroughly, while at the same time, some courses may have a shorter time frame but may have lesser content than the other.
It is, therefore, wiser to select a course that has a time stamp ranging between 1-2 hours so that it is balanced in both content and structure. At the same time, it is nice to have a good introduction to each course to give an understanding of what the course entails.
These may include a brief about the course, the industry standards, and the prospects of learning the course. This would give the beginners a good understanding of the course and what it entails.
