Java Tutorials Learning Paths

Are you a student trying to learn the Java language or a professional seeking to expand your skill set? If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the breadth of the Java platform, here are a few suggested learning paths to help you get the most from your Java learning experience.

New To Java

blocks The following trails are most useful for beginners:

  • Getting Started – An introduction to Java technology and lessons on installing Java development software and using it to create a simple program.
  • Learning the Java Language – Lessons describing essential concepts such as classes, objects, inheritance, datatypes, generics, and packages.
  • Essential Java Classes – Lessons on exceptions, basic input/output, concurrency, regular expressions, and the platform environment.

Building On The Foundation

building Ready to dive deeper into the technology? See the following topics:

  • Collections – Lessons on using and extending the Java Collections Framework.
  • Packaging Programs In JAR Files – Lesson on creating and signing JAR files.
  • Internationalization – An introduction to designing software so that it can be easily be adapted (localized) to various languages and regions.
  • Reflection – An API that represents ("reflects") the classes, interfaces, and objects in the current Java Virtual Machine.
  • Security – Java platform features that help protect applications from malicious software.
  • JavaBeans – The Java platform's component technology.
  • The Extension Mechanism – How to make custom APIs available to all applications running on the Java platform.
  • Generics – An enhancement to the type system that supports operations on objects of various types while providing compile-time type safety.

Cherish the Client?

client

If you want to focus on developing Java based desktop solutions and rich Internet applications, see the following topics:

  • Swing – An introduction to the Swing GUI toolkit, with an overview of features and a visual catalog of components. See below for a more comprehensive tutorial on Swing.
  • Creating a GUI with Swing – A comprehensive introduction to GUI creation on the Java platform.
  • Deployment – How to package applications and applets using JAR files, and deploy them using Java Web Start and Java Plug-in.
  • 2D Graphics – How to display and print 2D graphics in applications.
  • Full-Screen Exclusive Mode API – How to write applications that more fully utilize the user's graphics hardware.

Fervor Over Server!

server

If you are interested in acquiring skills important for middleware, server-side, or web application development, see the following trails:

  • JDBC Database Access – Introduces an API for connectivity between the Java applications and a wide range of databases and a data sources.
  • JMX – Java Management Extensions provides a standard way of managing resources such as applications, devices, and services.
  • JNDI – Java Naming and Directory Interface enables accessing the Naming and Directory Service such as DNS and LDAP.
  • JAXP – Introduces the Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) 1.4 technology.
  • RMI – The Remote Method Invocation API allows an object to invoke methods of an object running on another Java Virtual Machine.
  • Concurrency – The Java platform has APIs to help you develop multi-threaded programs.