The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Java

Video description

Welcome to this course on getting started with the Java platform! I’m excited to have you here. And by the end of the course, you’ll be excited to work with your new Java skills and all the opportunities those skills will open for you.

This course is exactly what you need if you want to learn Java at a nice pace, in an easy way, with a friendly instructor.

In this video tutorial, I walk you through the basics of Java and show you the ropes, step by step, in small easy-to-digest lessons, as if we were sitting side by side at a coffee shop, as I guide you along. There’s no pressure here, nothing crazy difficult and you have everything to gain. All it takes to become a Java developer is a bit of patience and persistence along with a willingness to try things out and keep working at them.

So... are you ready? Then I’ll see you inside. Let's do this!

Table of contents

  1. Introduction
    1. Welcome to the Course!
  2. Overview of Java
    1. Section Introduction
    2. How popular is Java?
    3. Who uses Java?
    4. Where is Java used?
    5. Why is the Java platform so popular?
    6. Why is the Java language so popular?
    7. Section conclusion
  3. Java Platform Components
    1. Section introduction
    2. Java’s acronyms and abbreviations
    3. Platform independence in Java
    4. How WORA (write once, run anywhere) works
    5. Key terms in Java you need to know
    6. Compiling a Java program with the Java compiler (javac)
    7. Running a Java program (bytecode) on the JVM
    8. Introducing the concept of an IDE
    9. Flow of compiling and running a Java program
    10. Section conclusion
  4. The Java Development Kit (JDK)
    1. Section introduction
    2. Steps to install the JDK
    3. Working out which JDK version to install
    4. Downloading the JDK
    5. Running the JDK installer
    6. Exploring the installation package contents
    7. Setting the JAVA_HOME environment variables
    8. Checking the environment variables have been set
    9. Verifying the Java compiler and Java virtual machine are installed
    10. Section conclusion
  5. The IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
    1. Section introduction
    2. Choosing an IDE
    3. Overview of IDE features for programming
    4. How the IDE does syntax highlighting
    5. How the IDE shows errors
    6. How the IDE helps you
    7. IDE feature: compiling source code
    8. IDE feature: Running the code
    9. IDE feature: Debugging programs
    10. The process of programming with an IDE
    11. Installing an IDE (Eclipse)
    12. Section conclusion
  6. Java Programming Syntax Basics
    1. Section Introduction
    2. Java Syntax: Classes
    3. Java Syntax: Method Declarations
    4. Java Syntax: Variables
    5. Java Syntax: Encapsulation
    6. Java Concept: Objects calling other Objects
    7. The Main Method of a Java Program
  7. Writing, Compiling, Running and Debugging a Java Program with the IDE
    1. Section Introduction
    2. Creating a new Java project in Eclipse
    3. Creating a package
    4. Creating a class
    5. Importing and Default Imports
    6. Autocomplete in the IDE
    7. Javadoc in the IDE
    8. Using the dot to reference different objects
    9. Method overloading
    10. Passing a parameter to a method
    11. Running your Java program
    12. Exploring the project structure after a build
    13. Refactoring to extract and create a new method
    14. Calling a method in Java
    15. Modifying a method to take a parameter
    16. How the IDE helps you fix your code
    17. How the IDE lets you preview code it will write for you
    18. How to pass a parameter to a method
    19. Debugging your Java program
    20. Suspending a program at a breakpoint
    21. Stepping into a method
    22. Inspecting variables in the live program
    23. Examining the call stack to see the steps a program took so far
    24. Stepping over a method
    25. The notion of scope and call stack method popping
    26. The power of a debugger
    27. Section conclusion

Product information

  • Title: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Java
  • Author(s): Matt Speake
  • Release date: December 2022
  • Publisher(s): Manning Publications
  • ISBN: None