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Java Developer Roadmap for beginners: So, how long does it take to learn to code in Java? Is it ten months, ten weeks, or a single day? On online forums, you could come across strange and unspecific responses to the question. Because it is entirely dependent on an individual’s learning capacity. Learning Java, on the other hand, will take no more than 3 to 12 months. Rather than encouraging you to pick what’s trendy, the main goal of this roadmap is to help you in determining what to learn next. You’ll discover a collection of technologies, tools, and libraries that you can use to become a Java developer in this section. You’ll be able to figure out why you prefer one tool over another if you use it.
Java Developer Roadmap
Many of you may have seen our earlier blog about the Java Developer Roadmap. Today, though, we’ll present a list of additional learning opportunities (as depicted in the graphic) that are extremely important. The roadmap lists all of the must-know, good-to-know, and actually important technologies, tools, and libraries to be aware of.
Let’s Start
1. Java Core
We spend time learning the language’s basic structure and syntax. You must now learn the fundamental aspects of Java, such as how to create a class with the main function, declare variables and methods, and use control structures. We’ll continue with datatypes and arrays, which are essential components of any programming language.
After you’ve mastered the fundamentals, you should concentrate on Object-Oriented Programming (encapsulation, inheritance, abstract classes, interfaces, and polymorphism), which is one of the language’s defining features. Make sure you spend enough time on this, as all other areas of Java are linked to Object-Oriented Programming in some way.
We’ll go over Data Flows and Exception Management next. This will allow us to read and write data from files while also allowing us to handle unexpected events or behavior in our code.
Generics are a type safety feature in Java, and while we are rare to use Generic types on a regular basis, Generics form the foundation of most Java libraries. As a result, it’s critical to have a strong understanding of how this functionality operates.
Finally, the last section of Java Core explains using Collections. Collections provide the capability for storing, iterating over, sorting, and retrieving items, all of which are commonly used in Java applications.
2. Practice
It is recommended that you complete a series of practical exercises that allow you to use all of the capabilities you have learned in order to better grasp the essential aspects of Java. Our recommendation is to look for Java interview problems and exercises and complete as many as possible. If you’re having trouble locating exercises that are appropriate for you, try the following: Calculating the Factorial Value of a Number, Fizz-Buzz, Palindrome, Implementing Quick Sort, and Calculating the Factorial Value of a Number.
3. Core Libraries
After completing the practice, we can move on to Java’s advanced core libraries. First and first, we must set aside at least a few days to study SQL (Structured Query Language) and practice on a database management system (we recommend PostgreSQL or MySQL). Following that, we’ll need to master JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) in order to connect our Java programs to databases for data retrieval. Threads (for parallel execution) and Network Programming are two other useful libraries given by Java (for making client-server applications and working with URLs).
Working with a UI library like Swing or JavaFX may be useful in some cases, depending on the kind of job you’re doing or want to do and how much time you have to spend learning Java.
4. Development Principles and Practices
We should concentrate on studying the principles and methods of software development at this level. This will help us in using the Java Programming Language accurately and efficiently. We start to learn about the software development concepts of SOLID, DRY, YAGNI, and KISS. Following that, we’ll concentrate on Unit Testing and Clean Code techniques. Finally, once all of these principles have been well understood and practiced, we can focus on the concepts of Code Review, Agile Methodology, Source Control (we recommend GIT), and Dependency Management (we recommend Maven) that software professionals use on a daily basis.
5. Web Applications
Because it contains the most study topics, this is probably the most difficult part of the learning process. We begin by learning about the nature of online applications, with a special focus on the client-server paradigm, as well as HTML and CSS, which enable us to create static web pages. While it is not officially needed at this point, most Java Developers learn the fundamentals of JavaScript.
We’ll continue with the fundamentals of Java Enterprise, which is a subset of the Java Development Kit (JDK) targeted on building web applications. We need to address the following things at this point: Servlets, Java Server Pages (JSP), Java Server Faces (JSF), filters, and web servers are all examples of Java technologies. We can also address SOAP web services and Enterprise Java Beans if we practice using an application server (such as Tomcat or Glassfish) (but more at a conceptual level as these libraries are less frequently used in modern software development).
We can start learning Spring when we’ve mastered all of the major principles of Java Web Development, with a focus on Spring Boot, Inversion of Control, Spring MVC, developing REST APIs with Spring, Java Persistence API (JPA), and Java Messaging (JMS). All of these are components of the Spring Framework, which enable rapid and highly simple web development (in comparison to normal Java Enterprise libraries and frameworks). Finally, we’ll look at how to use Spring Security to secure our web apps, with a focus on establishing security using Java Web Token (JWT) and OAuth2.
6. Functional Projects
By this point, you should be able to create Java apps from start to finish. You should attempt to develop small but somewhat sophisticated projects, ensuring that you go through all layers of an application, from the user interface to the database. Trying to construct a project from the ground up gives you a better understanding of how requirements function, how a project should be planned and built, and how each component of the Spring Framework fits into a comprehensive web application. We encourage that you give your full attention to each project, including Clean Code, Unit Testing, and Development Principles, in order to gain a deeper understanding of how they work. To better understand how these concepts fit in the context of web development, we propose that you construct each project with the utmost care, including Clean Code, Unit Testing, and Development Principles.
7. System Design
We’ll concentrate on the requirements and specifications aspects of software development at this stage. We’ll learn how to gather specifications and requirements, then apply design principles to create systems that meet those needs. We’ll discover which technologies, frameworks, and libraries are best for performance, parallel processing, big amounts of data (either large volumes of insert operations or high numbers of reads), data warehouse and business intelligence, and security, among other things. We’ll also spend time in this phase learning and understanding the best practices for most of the frameworks and technologies we’ve encountered so far.
Identifying inputs and outputs for parts of the system, as well as developing the logical flows (and their constituent pieces) that go from the given input to the intended outcome, is a key aspect of system design. This method, together with non-functional requirements, has a significant impact on the created software system.
While there are many factors to consider, you will most likely have several years of experience working for a company by this point, and you will be more likely to focus on technologies and projects that are more appropriate for the company, leading to a form of specialization (if desired) in system design.
8. Web Service Patterns, Service Oriented Architecture, Domain-Driven Design and Micro-services
We upgrade our knowledge and understanding of web applications by learning the ideas and standards for Service Oriented Architecture, Domain Driven Architecture, and Micro-services after we’ve covered system architecture. Although these concepts are not considered industry or Java standards, they have grown in popularity over the last decade and are more likely to be employed in the firm you work for and the projects you work on.
Exposure to SOA, DDD, and Micro-Services usually necessitates learning about Cloud Infrastructure, Containers and Container Management (we recommend Docker, Docker Compose, and Kubernetes), Load Balancers, and API Gateways, at least on a conceptual level (we recommend Amazon API Gateway, Mashery and Nginx). You’ll need some hands-on familiarity with Feign Clients at the code level (we recommend Eureka with Ribbon from Spring Cloud).
9. Software Architecture
The next phase on the Java Road-Map is system architecture, which involves learning how to design big systems that may include several projects, each with its own set of requirements and specifications. The following areas of software development are covered by software architecture: utilized hardware, deployment, infrastructure, scalability, technologies, security, components, services, layers, and interactions of the constituent pieces of a software system.
At this point, we have a wide variety of options in terms of concepts and practices we can learn, but as with System Design, we are more likely to specialize in those practices and standards better suited for the company we are working for or the projects we are responsible for.
More Steps To Follow
10. Linux
For servers, databases, websites, and applications, Linux is a popular operating system. For developers, this makes the Linux command line extremely important. As a result, familiarizing yourself with Linux commands and ideas is highly suggested. Specifically, instructions that help in the administration of files, disk space, networking, and processes.
11. Git & Github
For managing Git repositories, Git and Github are commonly used version control systems and cloud-based hosting services, respectively. Both Git and Github provide valuable version-control features to developers, allowing them to continue working on the project without having to worry about breaking other portions. Essential concepts such as a master, branch, checking push or pull, and checkouts must be understood by a developer. A developer should also be familiar with commands such as git diff and git commit.
12. HTTP/HTTPS
The HTTP/HTTPS protocol is the foundation of the internet. And it’s important for a developer to understand the differences between them, how they work, the various HTTP methods, which is more secure, which port each of them utilizes, and what each one’s goal is.
13. Data Structures & Algorithms
Data structures are used by programmers to store and organize data. Programmers, on the other hand, utilize algorithms to alter data within data structures. You will become a better Java programmer as you learn more about data structures and algorithms and how they work. Linked lists, arrays, binary trees, stack, queue, graph, hash table, and dynamic programming techniques must all be familiar to you.
14. SQL
SQL is another important technical skill for a Java programmer to have. It is easy to troubleshoot backend issues with the help of SQL. For Java, SQL provides an API for accessing and processing data stored in databases. It helps in the setup of a connection via DriverManager, provides standard mapping for SQL types to interfaces and classes, and gives detailed database information, among other things. You’ll be able to understand the query database and stored procedures if you know SQL, and you’ll be able to determine if the problem is in the database layer or the Java layer. SQL is a skill that a programmer may learn quickly and apply for the rest of their career.
15. Design Patterns
Design patterns are the well-described solutions to a set of common problems in software. It provides an industry-standard approach to overcoming recurring problems. Using design patterns enhances reusability that enables robust code while reducing the cost of ownership of the software. Moreover, design patterns make the code easier to understand and debug. The design patterns of Java is divided into three major categories, i.e. creational, structural, and behavioral. So by learning about the different design patterns of Java, you will be able to determine which one should be used and when.
#Resources For Learning Java
Java documentation has all the information you need to make your project a smashing success. Refer to this link to navigate to Java Official Documentation.
1.) Java IDE
An integrated development environment (IDE) is software for building applications that combines common developer tools into a single graphical user interface. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools and a debugger.
| Name | Download Link |
|---|---|
| Eclipse | Download Now |
| Apache NetBeans | Download Now |
| BlueJ | Download Now |
| IntelliJ IDEA | Download Now |
| Codeenvy | Download Now |
| JDeveloper | Download Now |
| JBoss Forge | Download Now |
| JCreator | Download Now |
| My Eclipse | Download Now |
2.) Best Websites to Learn Java
- Coursera (Paid Courses)
- Codecademy
- w3schools.com
- Programiz
- Tutorials Point
- Udemy (Paid Courses)
- Treehouse (Paid Courses)
- Java Lessons (Paid Courses)
- Geeks for Geeks
- Studytonight
- Java Beginners Tutorial
- Progate
- javatpoint
- Oracle Java Tutorials
- Sanfoundry
- Java Examples(Great source of Java Coding Ques)
3.) Java Coding Practice Platforms
4.) YouTube Channels for Java Developers
- Java (Oracle’s YouTube channel)
- Thoughts on Java (Hibernate tutorials)
- Derek Banas
- Programming with Mosh
- Edureka
- Telusko
- freeCodeCamp.org
- The New Boston
- Spring Developer
- NightHacking
- Neso Academy
- Simplilearn
5.) Best Courses to Learn Java
| Course Name | Provider | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Java Programming for Complete Beginners | Udemy | Click Here |
| Java In-Depth: Become a Complete Java Engineer | Udemy | Click Here |
| Object Oriented Programming in Java | Coursera | Click Here |
| Java Programming Masterclass covering Java 11 & Java 17 | Udemy | Click Here |
| Java Fundamentals | Pluralsight | Click Here |
| Data Structures and Algorithms: Deep Dive Using Java | Udemy | Click Here |
| Basics of Java with Data Structures and Algorithms | Coding Ninjas | Click Here |
6.) Java Books
| Book Name | Author | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Head First Java | Kathy Sierra & Bert Bates | Buy Now |
| Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies (5th Edition) | Barry Burd | Buy Now |
| Core Java Volume I – Fundamentals | Cay S. Horstmann | Buy Now |
| Java – The Complete Reference | Herbert Schildt | Buy Now |
| Head First Object-Oriented Analysis Design | Brett D. McLaughlin, Gary Pollice & David West | Buy Now |
| Java Generics and Collections | Maurice Naftalin, Philip Wadler | Buy Now |
| Java: Programming Basics for Absolute Beginners | Nathan Clark | Buy Now |
| Think Data Structures: Algorithms and Information Retrieval in Java | Allen B. Downey | Buy Now |
| Thinking in Java | Bruce Eckel | Buy Now |
| Cracking the Coding Interview | Gayle Laakmann McDowell | Buy Now |
| Effective Java | Joshua Bloch | Buy Now |
7.) Java Frameworks for Web Development
| Name | Resources |
|---|---|
| Spring | – Tutorials – Learn Spring Boot Tutorial – javatpoint – Spring Boot Tutorial – Full Course [2021] (Video Tutorial) |
| Hibernate | – Learn Hibernate Tutorial – javatpoint – Hibernate Tutorial – HowToDo InJava – Hibernate Tutorials : Java Code Geeks – 2021 – Hibernate Full Course – Simplilearn |
| JSF(Java Server Faces) | – JavaServer Faces (JSF) Tutorial – JSF 2.2 – Java Server Faces for Beginners – Build a DB App |
| Struts | – Struts Tutorial for Beginners – Struts Framework Tutorials – CodeJava.net |
| Play | – Play Framework Tutorials : Java Code Geeks – 2021 – Play Framework Tutorial |
| Spark | – Documentation – Spark Framework – Spark Java Tutorial (Video Tutorial) |
| Google Web Toolkit | – GWT: Tutorials – Learn GWT Tutorial – javatpoint |
| Codename One(Open source cross-platform mobile development framework) | – Tutorials – Video Tutorials |
8.) Java GitHub Repositories
- Java a course for beginners
- Java Design Patterns
- TheAlgorithms/Java
- Awesome Java
- Java8-tutorial
- spring framework
9.) Java Project Ideas
| Project Name | Source Code |
|---|---|
| Currency Convertor Mini Project | Click Here |
| Airline Ticket Reservation System | Click Here |
| OnlineBookStore Website Using Java | Click Here |
| Snake Game | Click Here |
| Online Examination System project | Click Here |
| Speech To Text Conversion using Java API | Click Here |
| Inventory Management System | Click Here |
| Hospital Management System | Click Here |
| URL Shortner | Click Here |
| Chatting Application | Click Here (Video Tutorial) |
| Creating an Online Quiz Application Using JSP Servlet | Click Here |
| Course Management System | Click Here |
| Simple Food Order System | Click Here |
| Tic-Tac-Toe Game | Click Here |
| Smart City Project | Click Here |
10.) Best Hosting Platforms for Java Projects
11.) Blogging Platforms where you can read and get Updates about Java
If you want me to add anything, feel free to post your suggestion in the comments box. If you enjoyed learning and find it useful please do like and share so that, it reaches others as well 🤝
Happy Coding…..☺️
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