Basic Java Programming (TT2120)

Geared for experienced developers, Basic Java Programming for Developers New to OO, this hands-on, workshop-style course will provide you with an immersive learning experience that will expand your skillset and open doors to new opportunities within the ever-growing technology landscape. Mastering Java and its powerful capabilities will provide you with the competitive edge you need to stand out in today’s fast-paced development world.

Working in a hands-on learning environment led by our expert coach, you’ll thoroughly explore the foundations of the Java platform, essential programming concepts, and advanced topics, ensuring you acquire a strong understanding of the language and its ecosystem. The object-oriented programming principles taught in this course promote code reusability and maintainability, enabling you to streamline development processes and reduce long-term costs.

As you progress through the course, you will also gain familiarity with using an IDE, enhancing your development workflow and collaboration with other Java developers, enabling you to integrate seamlessly into new projects and teams. You’ll also gain practical experience in applying the concepts and techniques learned, solidifying your newly acquired skills and facilitating their direct application in real-world scenarios. You’ll exit this course empowered to create robust, scalable, and efficient Java-based applications that drive innovation and growth for your organization.

Course Outline

Please note that this list of topics is based on our standard course offering, evolved from typical industry uses and trends. We’ll work with you to tune this course and level of coverage to target the skills you need most. Topics, agenda and labs are subject to change, and may adjust during live delivery based on audience skill level, interests and participation.

1. The Java Platform
   • Introduce the Java Platform
   • Explore the Java Standard Edition
   • Discuss the lifecycle of a Java Program
   • Explain the responsibilities of the JVM
   • Executing Java programs
   • Garbage Collection
   • Documentation and Code Reuse
2. Using the JDK
   • Explain the JDK’s file structure
   • Use the command line compiler to compile a Java class
   • Use the command line Java interpreter to run a Java application class
3. Using the IntelliJ IDE
   • Introduce the IntelliJ IDE
   • The Basics of the IntelliJ interface
   • IntelliJ Projects and Modules
   • Creating and running Java applications
   • Tutorial: Working with the IDE (This course is also offered using Eclipse – please inquire for details and options)
4. Writing a Simple Class
   • Write a Java class that does not explicitly extend another class
   • Define instance variables for a Java class
   • Create object instances
   • Primitives vs Object References
   • Implement a main method to create an instance of the defined class
   • Java keywords and reserved words
5. Adding Methods to the Class
   • Write a class with accessor methods to read and write instance variables
   • Write a constructor to initialize an instance with data
   • Write a constructor that calls other constructors of the class to benefit from code reuse
   • Use the this keyword to distinguish local variables from instance variables
6. Object-Oriented Programming
   • Real-World Objects
   • Classes and Objects
   • Object Behavior
   • Methods and Messages
7. Language Statements
   • Arithmetic operators
   • Operators to increment and decrement numbers
   • Comparison operators
   • Logical operators
   • Return type of comparison and logical operators
   • Use for loops
   • Switch Expressions
   • Switch Expressions and yield
8. Using Strings and Text Blocks
   • Create an instance of the String class
   • Test if two strings are equal
   • Perform a case-insensitive equality test
   • Contrast String, StringBuffer, and StringBuilder
   • Compact Strings
   • Text Blocks
   • Unicode support
9. Fields and Variables
   • Discuss Block Scoping Rules
   • Distinguish between instance variables and method variables within a method
   • Explain the difference between the terms field and variable
   • List the default values for instance variables
   • Final and Static fields and methods
10. Specializing in a Subclass
    • Constructing a class that extends another class
    • Implementing equals and toString
    • Writing constructors that pass initialization data to parent constructor
    • Using instanceof to verify type of an object reference
    • Overriding subclass methods
    • Pattern matching for instanceof
    • Safely casting references to a more refined type
11. Using Arrays
    • Declaring an array reference
    • Allocating an array
    • Initializing the entries in an array
    • Writing methods with a variable number of arguments
12. Records
    • Data objects in Java
    • Introduce records as carrier of immutable data
    • Defining records
    • The Canonical constructor
    • Compact constructors
13. Java Packages and Visibility
    • Use the package keyword to define a class within a specific package
    • Discuss levels of accessibility/visibility
    • Using the import keyword to declare references to classes in a specific package
    • Using the standard type naming conventions
    • Introduce the Java Modular System
    • Visibility in the Java Modular System
14. Utility Classes
    • Introduce the wrapper classes
    • Explain Autoboxing and Unboxing
    • Converting String representations of primitive numbers into their primitive types
    • Defining Enumerations
    • Using static imports
    • Introduce the Date/Time API
    • LocalDate / LocalDateTime etc.
    • Apply text formatting
    • Using System.out.printf
15. Inheritance and Polymorphism
    • Write a subclass with a method that overrides a method in the superclass
    • Group objects by their common supertype
    • Utilize polymorphism
    • Cast a supertype reference to a valid subtype reference
    • Use the final keyword on methods and classes to prevent overriding
16. Interfaces and Abstract Classes
    • Define supertype contracts using abstract classes
    • Implement concrete classes based on abstract classes
    • Define supertype contracts using interfaces
    • Implement concrete classes based on interfaces
    • Explain advantage of interfaces over abstract classes
    • Explain advantage of abstract classes over interfaces
17. Sealed Classes
    • Introduce sealed classes
    • The sealed and permits modifier
    • Sealed interfaces
    • Sealed classes and pattern matching
18. Pattern Matching
    • Pattern Matching in switch statements
    • Pattern Matching and sealed classes
    • Record Patterns
19. Introduction to Exception Handling
    • Introduce the Exception architecture
    • Defining a try/catch blocks
    • Checked vs Unchecked exceptions
20. Exceptions
    • Defining your own application exceptions
    • Automatic closure of resources
    • Suppressed exceptions
    • Handling multiple exceptions in one catch
    • Enhanced try-with-resources
    • Helpful NullPointerException(s)
21. Building Java Applications
    • Explain the steps involved in building applications
    • Define the build process
    • Introduce build scripts
    • Explain the standard folder layout
    • Resolving project dependencies
    • Tutorial: Importing code Using Maven
22. Introduction to Generics
    • Generics and Subtyping
    • Bounded Wildcards
    • Generic Methods
23. Introducing Lambda Expressions and Functional Interfaces
    • Understanding the concept of functional programming
    • Understanding functional interfaces
    • Lambda’s and type inference
24. Collections
    • Provide an overview of the Collection API
    • Review the different collection implementations (Set, List and Queue)
    • Explore how generics are used with collections
    • Examine iterators for working with collections
25. Using Collections
    • Collection Sorting
    • Comparators
    • Using the Right Collection
    • Lambda expressions in Collections
    • Sequenced Collections

Bonus Topics / Time Permitting

1. Streams
   • Understanding the problem with collections in Java
   • Thinking of program solutions in a declarative way
   • Use the Stream API to process collections of data
   • Understand the difference between intermediate and terminal stream operations
   • Filtering elements from a Stream
   • Finding element(s) within a Stream
   • Collecting the elements from a Stream into a List
2. Collectors
   • Using different ways to collect the items from a Stream
   • Grouping elements within a stream
   • Gathering statistics about numeric property of elements in a stream