Description
Great Java: Level 1 will teach you the fundamentals of Java, from the basics of compilation through methods, objects, and the key concepts of good programming. By the time you're through these lessons, you'll be programming, and programming well.
Throughout the course, you'll progressively learn to code and compile programs, work extensively with text, and declare, convert, and cast between data types. You'll also read files, get user input, and build arrays, including multi-dimensional arrays. Finally, you'll move into objects, modeling your data and behavior into core Java structures.
When you buy Great Java: Level 1, you get access to an entire video library of lessons-including lessons that aren't available yet! Here's the scoop: we're continually adding new sections in Level 1 that take you further into Java. We're also updating existing lessons and creating new ones in response to your questions, along with special "challenge lessons" that will test your skills. All of this is yours with Great Java: Level 1.
Table of Contents
-
1.
Check Your Version of Java
1 minuteLearn how to check your current version of Java, and make sure you've got the version required for this course. -
2.
Download and Install Java
2 minutesJava is a free download, and in this lesson, you'll learn download the right version of Java, and get it installed on your system. -
3.
Get the Java Tools Working
1 minuteJava comes with a lot of tools, but you just need to learn how to use java and javac to get started. -
4.
Set Up Your Environment
1 minuteTurn a few windows into a productive, code-friendly programming environment that's just right for you. -
5.
Bookmark the Java API Docs
2 minutesJava's a complicated language. In this lesson, you'll make things easier on yourself by bookmarking the Java document set for easy (and frequent) reference. -
6.
Create a Java Source File
4 minutesEverything in Java begins with a .java source file. Get your hands dirty and write your first source file in this lesson. -
7.
Compile a Java Source File
3 minutesComputers don't understand your source file. In this lesson, you'll convert your source file to something the computer does understand: byte code. -
8.
How Java Works
1 minuteWhat's really going on with your source file, that .class file, javac, and all these other commands? You're ready to see the big picture, and this lesson is the key to how Java works. -
9.
Run a Java Program
2 minutesYou've written a source file, and you've compiled that file into something the computer can understand. Now, it's time to run your program for the first time. -
10.
Challenge: Take In A Number
2 minutesTime to get involved. In this challenge, you'll improve your code to add more interactivity. -
11.
Solution: Take In A Number
4 minutesLearn how to solve the "Take in a Number" challenge. -
12.
Challenge: Higher or Lower
3 minutesIt's up to you again. Now, you've got to add conditional statements to your guessing game, and give the user more feedback about their guesses. -
13.
Solution: Higher or Lower
5 minutesMake sure you've got your ifs, elses, less-thans, and greater-thans in the right place in this solution to the "Higher or Lower" challenge. -
14.
Loop with while
6 minutesSometimes you need to do the same thing twice... or three times... or more. Take control of your program flow with while loops. -
15.
Create Code Blocks with Braces
4 minutesThere's more to organizing your code than spaces, tabs, and carriage returns. Curly braces let you take complete control over grouping and sectioning off your code. -
16.
Challenge: Hot or Cold
1 minuteIt's one thing to watch someone else branch their code; now it's your turn. Add additional branching to your guessing game, and add further control and interactivity to your guessing game program. -
17.
Solution: Hot or Cold
3 minutesWork through the solution to the "Hot or Cold" challenge, and get your ifs/elses and whiles in order. -
18.
Your Program is a Network of Roads
2 minutesAs your programs get convoluted, you need a way to keep them organized and clear in your head. By visualizing your program as a network of roads, you can easily keep up with your program's flow. -
19.
Clean Up Your Code
2 minutesOrganized code matters. The easier it is to read and navigate through your code, the more efficient and effective you and other people working on your code will be. Take a few moments to clean up your code. -
20.
Use Counters and Breaks in Your Loops
6 minutesComputers are good at counting. In this lesson, let the computer count for you. You'll add variables, more looping logic, and gain even more control over your program. -
21.
Challenge: Count Down the Guesses
3 minutesYou've seen how to count up; now you have to count down. Tell the computer how to do a little extra work, and improve your guessing game even further. -
22.
Solution: Count Down the Guesses
6 minutesWork through the solution to the "Count Down the Guesses" challenge and put your computer to work counting down. -
23.
Loop a Set Number of Times with for
9 minutesHow many times should you loop? What's an "exit condition?" By the time you finish this lesson, you'll have more than just one way to exit a loop... and more than one kind of loop! -
24.
Challenge: Rewrite the Game with for Loops
1 minuteWhen is a for loop better than a while loop? When is a while loop good enough? Figure out for yourself as you convert your guessing game to use for loops. -
25.
Solution: Rewrite the Game with for Loops
5 minutesTake a look at one way to change the guessing game to use for loops in this solution to "Rewrite the Game with for Loops." -
26.
Download and Install Eclipse
1 minuteA text editor is great for writing code, but an IDE is often better. Take a break from coding and add the Eclipse IDE to your programming environment. -
27.
Set Up Your Eclipse Environment
3 minutesEclipse comes pre-loaded with lots of great features--and a few that aren't so great. Customize Eclipse to work with you, not against you. -
28.
Work With Java Projects
1 minuteHow does Eclipse work with your Java files? Everything in Eclipse is based on projects, and in this lesson, you'll get a handle on how those projects work. -
29.
Setting Up the Sample Files
5 minutesGet your sample files set up for this section. You'll even get a sneak peek at some more advanced Java features in the process. -
30.
Programmers Create By Change
1 minuteChange is a part of the programming life. Take a first look at why changing existing code is no big deal, and an important skill for every programmer. -
31.
Use substring to Get at Your Data
4 minutesRead in a string, and break it into smaller useful pieces using the substring method. This is your first step toward mastering strings, so let's get going. -
32.
How Strings Work
2 minutesYou've seen how Java works, and you've seen your program as a network of roads. But how do strings work? How does Java "see" your strings? Learn all that and more in this visual presentation of strings. -
33.
Your Code Must Deal With Change
2 minutesYou've changed existing code, but now the data your code works with is changing. What do you do? Well, you've got to make your code more flexible. -
34.
Search for a Specific Text
8 minutesHow do you find a specific piece of text? How do you find one small bit of text in a long, unwieldy string? Use substring and indexOf, two methods you'll work with in this lesson. -
35.
Challenge: Find the Guitar Price
1 minuteIt's time to put your new tools to work. In this challenge, you'll need to find several specific bits of text, work with them, and output them in very well-defined ways. -
36.
Solution: Find the Guitar Price
4 minutesThere's more to working with text than finding a text and printing it. Sometimes you've got to find one thing to find another! Sound confusing? It won't by the time you've worked through this solution for "Find the Guitar Price." -
37.
Challenge: Deal with Changing Input
2 minutesYour input is changing again, and your code has to, as well. In this challenge, you've got another wrinkle to work with: more changing data. Your job is to make your code more flexible yet again. -
38.
Solution: Deal with Changing Input
6 minutesLearn how to make your program more flexible, more adaptable, and easier to update and change. -
39.
Java Deals with Data Types
4 minutesJava thinks about your text, your numbers, your data, in terms of types of data. So your number is an int or a float, your text is a String, and so forth. In this lesson, you'll take control of those data types, and see why Java can get confused... even if you're not. -
40.
Convert Data Types with Casting
4 minutesWhat if you need a piece of text treated as a number? Or a decimal treated as an integer (with some loss of precision)? In those cases, you need to "force" Java to switch between data types. This lesson gives you the tools to do just that. -
41.
Use Double for Decimal Types
4 minutesThere's more than one data type that works for decimal values. Learn why double is a good, simple choice for your basic decimal needs. -
42.
There's Still Plenty to Learn
1 minuteSo what about data types we haven't covered? What about that main() method? What about all those things you're not even sure you need to know? Get a taste of what's to come, and why it's okay that you don't know everything yet. -
43.
Challenge: Find the Best Car Deals
3 minutesDig right into another tricky problem. In the process, you'll start to see why reusable code is a big deal. -
44.
Solution: Find the Best Car Deals
7 minutesWas your solution workable? Was it messy? Why? In this lesson, you'll solve a problem, but begin to see why code is best written once, no matter how many times it needs to run. -
45.
Solution: Find the Best Car Deals Pt. 2
7 minutesIn the process of solving the "Find the Best Car Deals" challenge, you found a lot of repeated code. In this lesson, continue to think about improving your code by identifying the parts of your code that are duplicated. -
46.
Duplicate Code is Impossible to Maintain
3 minutesEven though your solution to "Find the Best Car Deals" works, it's not very good code. Changes to one place require changes to several other places. But why? This lesson answers that question. -
47.
Create a Function
6 minutesIt's time to put theory into practice. Create your first function (and a few more besides) to reduce the duplicate code in your Java source file. -
48.
Pass Information to a Function
3 minutesYour function needs data. Pass information into a function, and then use that information within the function to get some serious work done... without duplicating code. -
49.
Get Information from a Function
4 minutesOnce your function is working, what do you do with any data that it produces? This lesson walks you through returning information from a function to your main program body. -
50.
Challenge: Complete DealFinder
0 minutesIt's time to finish up all those functions in your code. Get busy making your code easier to maintain, and a lot easier to improve. -
51.
Solution: Complete DealFinder
6 minutesThis lesson walks through the solution to "Complete DealFinder." By the time you're through, you'll have several functions, with input and output. -
52.
The Names You Choose Matter
2 minutesWhat's in a name? Well, quite a bit. Take a closer look at how a good name can really help your code, and a bad name can completely wreck it. -
53.
Pass Multiple Parameters to a Function
7 minutesSometimes your reusable code needs more than just one piece of information. With parameter lists, though, you can pass as much data to a function as you need. Update your functions in this lesson to take in multiple parameters. -
54.
Use Constants to Clarify Your Code
6 minutesVariables change. But what if you need to store a piece of data that shouldn't change? In this lesson, create unchanging variables, better known as constants. -
55.
A Closer Look at main()
2 minutesWhat's going on with that main() method? You'll start to get a bigger picture of how Java runs and handles your code, and especially the main() method, in this lesson. -
56.
Duplicate Code is Really Bad
2 minutesAre you sensing a common theme? Even with many improvements, you've still got a lot of duplicated code in DealFinder. Find it, and figure out what the problem really is. -
57.
Consolidate Repeated Tasks into Functions
5 minutesAnytime you see the same code twice in a program, move that code into a function. Then you can call your function, and change that code one time and affect all of your code. -
58.
Use Your New Function
1 minuteUsing a function is easy. In this lesson, you'll invoke, or call, your new function. -
59.
Refactoring is a Beautiful Thing
3 minutesRefactoring doesn't always seem like a lot of fun, and it doesn't always add functionality to your code. But, it makes your code maintainable, and always pays off in the long run. -
60.
Create an Array of Filenames
3 minutesYou've seen sequences of characters, called strings. In this lesson, you'll create a new sequence of strings, within an array. -
61.
Initialize Your Array
4 minutesInitializing an array is just setting its values. You need to fill your new array with String filenames, and this lesson will show you how. -
62.
Finish Initializing Your Arrays
1 minuteYou've got several arrays now, and they all need to be filled with data. In this lesson, you'll fill out another array of strings and an array of boolean values. -
63.
Arrays Are a Lot Like Strings
1 minuteA string is a sequence of characters, and an array is a sequence of "things." Those things can be strings, booleans, or just about anything else. -
64.
Challenge: Process Arrays of Car Data
2 minutesYou've got to use your newly-created arrays to process car data. In the process, you'll clean up your code a good deal. -
65.
Solution: Process Arrays of Car Data
4 minutesThis lesson walks you through using arrays to process car data. You'll see a lot of improvement, and a few things that still need to be cleaned up a bit later. -
66.
Arrays Have a Length
3 minutesAn array is a sequence of things--and you'll often need to know just how many of those things are in the array. Learn how to get the length of an array, and use that length in your loops. -
67.
Fragile, Duplicate, or Bulletproof?
3 minutesJust because your code works doesn't mean you're done with it. You've got to remove duplicate code, but you've also got to make sure your data models the real world as much as possible. Learn how to do all of this and more in this lesson and the next section.
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Product Details
- Title:
- Great Java
- By:
- Brett McLaughlin
- Publisher:
- O'Reilly Media
- Formats:
-
- Safari Books Online
- Video
- Video Release:
- November 2009
- Run time:
- 4 hours 13 minutes
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