7 Great Resources for Java Beginners

“Learning never exhausts the mind.”

This historic saying by Leonardo Da Vinci made sense to me when I started learning Java programming language.

Reason? A lot of them!

To begin with, the Java programming language is easy enough to learn and has the greatest impact on the industry. So the question arises: “which course to choose to learn Java?”

This blog is full of information that you need as a newbie learner or aspiring Java programmer. Let’s start by listing the best Java practical courses you can choose from.

Practical Java Courses for Beginners

One of the main obstacles for a beginner is finding the best course that can benefit you. With dozens of online resources available, it’s quite hard to make a choice. In this part of the article, I’ll introduce you some really helpful online portals that provide the best java learning experience.

CodeGym

Say goodbye to old-school learning thanks to CodeGym for providing young and aspiring Java developers with a platform that delivers fully practical learning and gamification that makes learning benefitious and fun.

CodeGym offers 40 different levels and 1200+ coding challenges that provide fast learning and it is neither tedious nor boring. The entire learning process starts with basic Java syntax, then moves to OOP principles, Collections and Multithreading. In short, CodeGym course covers the entire Core Java (except for some of the features of newer Java versions for now) and even a little more.

You learn lectures, then solve a certain number of coding tasks, open the next lecture and so on, level by level.You submit each solution for review to a CodeGym smart validator. If something is wrong, the validator writes you hints and tips to move on.

Every time you complete a level, the next level is unlocked. Furthermore, there are several game-based tasks you can complete, a well-endowed programmers community to share and discuss ideas with, and some really cool features which you can get your hands on.

In terms of pricing, CodeGym has an entry-level access which is free. You can also use a game section and articles for free. The Premium subscription to the CodeGym course with all lectures and tasks charges $49/month and finally, CodeGym offers a Premium Pro subscription at the price of $99/month.

Premium Pro subscription adds several features: you can re-check your solutions (solve the same problem in different ways and check it multiple times using a smart validator), and also get access to an analysis of your coding style.

Codewars

Learning competitive programming could never be this much fun if it weren’t for Codewars! This online platform is based on a Japanese term called “Kata” which denotes a specific formation of fighters moments before they engage in a fierce duel.

On this platform you find the coding challenges presented in different levels. Upon successful completion of a challenge, you get honors and rewards which contribute in maturing your own profile. Apart from that, Codewars has a really cool community of experts so you can discuss problems and learn how to style your code.

Not just Java, you can learn 20 different programming languages and 12 new onboarded languages are also there to intrigue you.

The price is $9.99/month, to have access to the learning routines and other tutorials.

CodeChef

CodeChef is famous for conducting coding contests in which programmers across the globe participate to earn rewards and accomplishments. For newbies and aspiring programmers, this platform offers a lot of training sessions in which the freshies get trained to a level that they feel confident about jumping in any competition.

Who wouldn’t pick CodeChef even after knowing the fact that it is absolutely free of cost so don’t wait up and get cracking! However remember, it’s not a course, it is a platform to program and you should know your programming language at least a little bit even for a newbie’s challenges.

CodinGame

The moment you hit the URL, you will be redirected to the homepage from where, you will see a game-play and you will feel like you are a part of it. The next thing this platform will throw at you, is a dialogue box with a mission statement. Afterward, it will give you the code and will ask you to place it at an appropriate place so that your weapon in the game can get reloaded with ammunition to start firing at the enemy’s spaceship!

Apart from learning java, you get to choose from a total of 27 programming languages. Another important plus point of CodinGame is, it’s a platform where recruiters from different companies keep checking out the way you are performing. If your game is good enough, who knows you may get a seat in one of the fortune 500 companies as an accomplished programmer?

As well as CodeChef, this platform requires some programming knowledge from you.

UPD> The platform for developers to practice their skills is free for everyone. CodinGame for Work offers a free 14-day trial and after that, you can pick the Growth Package which is priced at $349/month, and then there is the Enterprise Package which is worth $249/month for a year’s subscription.

Theoretical Java Courses

Below, you will find some really resourceful java learning courses and securing enrollment in any of these courses, is absolutely worth your while!

The Complete Java Masterclass

With an excellent rating of 4.4 and has benefited more than 40,000 students online, the Java Programming Masterclass is a must-join course for you. It features 16-hours of on-demand video lectures, 20 articles, 43 downloadable resources and you also get a certificate upon completion of this course.

This course teaches you right from scratch starting with user inputs, variables, data types, arithmetic operations, control structures and slowly builds up your understanding leading up to object-oriented programming, otherwise known as OOP.

The price tag for the Java Programming Masterclass is $129.99.

Java Certification by Duke University

The reason why this course has become one of the in-demand courses is the fact that apart from teaching Java basics, it also gives you a complete insight into the latest industry trends including but not limited to cryptography, algorithms, programming principles, and some insight into the web-based languages as well.

On Coursera, you can get enrolled in this course at the price of $49/month. However, if you want to get this for free, you can apply for financial aid as well.

Java In-Depth: Become a Complete Java Engineer

With a rating of 4.5 and having 61,967 students as enrollees, this course features 66.5 hours of on-demand video, 27 articles, 291 downloaded resources, 15 coding challenges, assignments, interactive sessions and a certificate of completion at the end of the course.

For starters, this course gives you an in-depth understanding about the core and advanced concepts of Java. Along the way, you get to build a web-application on your own, under the supervision of your instructor and over the time, you get to polish up that application with the knowledge that you keep learning and eventually, there is a masterclass in which you learn about master exceptions, IO, collections, frameworks, generics, multi-threading and so much more!

This course is available at the price of $94.99.

Wrapping Up

Being here with us means that you are either a beginner programmer who is looking for courses to learn, or you are a professional who just wants to change the language.

This article has been compiled to meet the needs of every newbie who wants to get into the game. Learning should be interactive and fun so that you can move forward towards your goal.

Also published at https://medium.com/javarevisited/7-stellar-courses-for-java-beginners-242f0941f120