Re: Query: Java Training for the Novice

Hi Harold,

My advice, forget the 21 days books and all that.  There is no silver  
bullet.  Any coder will tell you that the way they code now is quite  
different than how they did it a couple of years back.  Workshop, the  
kind of guys you want to learn from don't have time for that.

I think the best thing you could do is to find an idea or problem  
domain you're passionate about (plenty to chose from, from groovy,  
grails, gwt to soa, grid, security, you name it), find an *active*  
open source community working on that (they are usually quite  
friendly), work with them, help them, learn from them.  Submit  
patches, improve docs, whatever.

Good luck,
Hadrian


On Oct 7, 2008, at 11:45 PM, Harold Meder wrote:

> Thank you to all who responded to my query.  I have interpreted and  
> summarized the feedback provided and then added my own spin.
>
>    Harold Meder.
>
>
> It can take anywhere from one to two years to transition from being  
> a novice to becoming proficient in Java Development for Web  
> Applications (J2EE/JSTL), depending on the exercises used to apply  
> learned concepts and the availability of a mentor.  As the novice  
> becomes a beginner, pair programming would provide an opportunity to  
> learn some of the nuances of Java that are not always covered in the  
> documentation and the tricks of the IDE.
>
> Ideally, one would start with standard Java before moving on to Web  
> Applications.  An excellent starting point would be to develop JUnit  
> test cases for the back end business logic.
>
> SAMS' "Teach yourself Java 2 in 21 days" provides a quick start,
>
> "Thinking in Java," by Bruce Eckel, is a recommended, free download.
> http://www.planetpdf.com/developer/article.asp?ContentID=6632
>
> For more in depth knowledge, Sang Shin (Sun Microsystems Technology  
> Architect, Consultant and Evangelist) teaches free online courses  
> (duration 4 to 5 months).
> http://www.javapassion.com/
>
> Stanford makes some of their courses available for free online,  
> including CS106A – Programming Methodology which is taught in Java.
> http://see.stanford.edu/default.aspx
>
> With the advent of Groovy, it has become much easier to develop  
> applications for the Java Virtual Machine.  One might consider  
> learning to program in Groovy first.  Groovy can be used as a  
> scripting language at the Unix command line.  groovyConsole allows  
> one to learn by seeing the effect of each statement as it is entered.
> http://groovy.codehaus.org/Groovy+Console
>
> Hosting a Java Workshop would bring together others interested in  
> learning Java and possibly some experts interested in helping others  
> to learn Java.  This would provide a support group for those  
> learning Java.  I wonder how many people might be interested in  
> participating in a Java Study Group.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 5:04 PM, Harold Meder  
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> I would be interested in your opinion regarding the most effect way  
> to train novices in the use of Java and J2EE (minus EJB).
>
> Self study, mentoring and formal training are all options.
> What training or study groups are available in the RTP area?
> What are the best texts?
> Are there some good URL?
> What did you do to train novice Java Developers in your organization?
>
> Thank you,
>    Harold Meder.
>
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