Beginner Java for Android Development

Name: Beginner Java for Android Development
Author: Shad Sluiter

Begin your Java programming journey now on the Android platform with this beginner course

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 45 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hi, and welcome to another video in the Java Development series. My name is Shad Sluiter and I'm your instructor. In this video, we're going to ask the question, why should we learn Java? And is this course for you? So, first of all, Java is frequently ranked number one in the popularity of languages that are in common use. So Java has a long history and it's used by many different employees. You can use Java in many types of applications. For example, mobile applications using Android Studio. And you can build applications that will run on a phone, or a tablet. You can't run it on an iPhone, but you can use it on any Android device. Also, Java is frequently use on web servers to create web applications. Also, you can use Java in other applications, such as embedded systems. Java has a long history and is widely used. And if you know Java, you are well-positioned to get a job as a software developer. Java has a history that dates back many decades. And so while there are newer languages available today, Java still holds a very popular place in legacy software, as well as new development. And so, Java fits the marketplace and will be a good item on your resume. Now, where did Java come from and who owns it? Well, Java was developed by a company called Sun Microsystems. And the idea was to create a language that could be written once and compiled, and then run on many types of operating systems. But really, to today, there are only three types of operating systems that most people can even imagine. First of all, there's Microsoft Windows, then there's the Macintosh OS. And then of course, there is Linux. Now, other operating systems such as Android, are really just Linux that are specialized. And so, Java is write once, run in many places. And so Sun gets credit for developing this model. Some years later, Sun was acquired by Oracle, the database company. And Oracle has been managing Java ever since. Software developers like to criticize Oracle for the way that they've managed the system. And so, as a result, there have been some open source versions of Java that are actually more popular. So you can use Java development kits that are free, or you can get the Oracle version, and then you can also get the professionally supported version from Oracle and pay money for it. But why would you pay money for an open source project if that project works well? And so that's what we'll be doing in this course. One of the more popular ways that Java is used, is to create applications that run on Android devices. Now there are alternatives to using Java, and so before you begin learning this, you should also know what you have for choices. So Java was the original choice of language for Android, and it still is a very popular one. However, Google, who is the owner of Android, now supports Kotlin, which is a language that looks like Java, and it compiles to run on a Java virtual machine, but the code itself is a different language. And so you might be interested in learning Kotlin too, if you are an Android application developer. Google is also experimenting with a language called Dart, or you may have heard it called Flutter. So Flutter is the framework and Dart is the language. So Flutter and Dart are another system, that is a competing alternative to Kotlin, or Java. And so, even though it's not used very often, it is something that Google is promoting. You can also write cross-platform solutions for Android and for iOS applications, written in JavaScript. To do that, you need a system like React Native, for example. And you can compile your code to run on both Android and iOS devices. It's a completely different experience than writing either in Kotlin, or in Java, but it's something that you might want to explore. Also, you can run C Sharp, and you can compile to either of these platforms. And so the framework that is historically been used to create these cross-platform solutions in C Sharp, has been Xamarin. Xamarin is currently being replaced by a new system by Microsoft called Maui. And so both of these are written in C Sharp. So, I put these in order of what you should probably consider as historically popular and probably the preference for learning. So, number one and two are Java and Kotlin, and then the others a little bit less popular, but they have advantages of being cross-platform with Apple phones as well. And so, that's some of the solutions that you have to look forward. Now, we're going to focus in on Java. In this section of the course, we're going to learn how Java works. And then we're going to use Android Studio, which of course is provided by Google, to make programmers the ability to create applications that will run on a phone. And so that's a quick overview of why Java and how we're going to use it in this course.

Beginner Provider : Shad Sluiter 5 chapters · 45 Lessons · 3h 34m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

This course is an introduction to Java that will prepare you to create Android applications. It is designed for beginning programmers with no previous experience writing code, though you should be familiar with basic computer operations such as browsing directories, installing software, and navigating with a web browser.

By the end of this course, you will be able to write simple Java programs that process various types of data, get keyboard input from the user, make decisions, and manipulate classes in object-oriented programming design.

What You'll Learn

Install and configure Java code editors to prepare for Android development
Identify common Java data types and process keyboard text input from a user
Create conditional and looping control statements, including if-else, while, for, nested for, and switch statements
Work with strings, arrays, and ArrayLists to store, update, sort, and iterate over data
Create Java classes with properties, constructors, getters, and methods
Define parent-child relationships and implement interfaces in object-oriented code

Key Takeaways

This course is an introduction to Java that prepares learners to create Android applications.
By the end of the course, learners can write simple Java programs that process data, get keyboard input, make decisions, and manipulate classes in object-oriented design.
The course covers core Java fundamentals such as data types, control statements, strings, arrays, and ArrayLists.
Object-oriented topics include class properties, methods, constructors, parent-child relationships, and interfaces.
Lessons include hands-on demonstrations such as try and catch, debugging a logical error, and building a Number guess class.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

It is designed for beginning programmers with no previous experience writing code, though you should be familiar with basic computer operations such as browsing directories, installing software, and navigating with a web browser.

What will I be able to do after completing this course?

You will be able to write simple Java programs that process various types of data, get keyboard input from the user, make decisions, and manipulate classes in object-oriented programming design.

Do I need prior programming experience to take this course?

No. The course is intended for beginning programmers with no previous coding experience, but you should be comfortable with basic computer operations like browsing directories, installing software, and using a web browser.

What topics does this course cover?

Topics include installing and configuring Java, data types, processing user input, conditional and looping control statements, strings, arrays and ArrayLists, and object-oriented concepts such as classes, properties, methods, constructors, inheritance, and interfaces.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You will build skills in Java (Programming Language), Java APIs, the Java Development Kit, and Android Applications, Android Development, and Android Software Development.