Course Description:

Gentle Java™ and OO Development

Gentle Java and OO Development is geared to audiences with no background in Object-Oriented programming or Java. It uses a steady pace and numerous hands-on labs to provide an easy entry into the world of Java and OO Programming.

Java is one of the most important programming languages used today, and its correct usage is a critical part of many systems being written now. The basics of the language are relatively easy, but the challenge lies in learning how to use it well. This is especially true regarding the Object-Oriented nature of Java, which for many developers is a new way of approaching system design and construction.

This course covers the core OO and Java concepts that developers need to use the Java programming language to create well designed Java programs. It focuses on key OO capabilities and how to use them in Java. This includes material on creating well designed Java classes, using encapsulation, building more complex functionality with composition, and using inheritance to share functionality and create specialized types.

This course is suitable for environments using either Java 5, Java 6, or Java 7. The material includes coverage of all current Java capabilities that are within the scope of the material, including new Java 7 capabilities such as strings in switch statements, and Multi-catch. It also stresses the use of good coding practices for all the examples and labs. All labs are doable in any of the supported Java environments. This course is available for most IDEs, such as Eclipse and IBM RAD.

This course draws on our extensive experience to provide a solid understanding of the concepts and practices needed to write good object oriented programs in Java. Be prepared to work hard and learn a great deal! This course can be followed by our Intermediate Java course. The course can be held on-site & customized to fit your needs.

All labs can be done with the Eclipse IDE or a simple editor, and the lab instructions include detailed directions on both environments.

Course Information

Duration: 4 days

Hands-on: Minimum 50% hands-on lab

Supported Platforms: Java 5, Java 6, Java 7, IBM RAD (7, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5), Eclipse (any relatively recent version)

Skills Gained:

Understand Java’s importance, uses, strengths and weaknesses
Understand Java language basics
Write, compile, and run Java programs
Understand the Object Model and Object Oriented Programming
Understand and use classes, inheritance, polymorphism
Create well designed classes and use them in your Java programs
Use composition and delegation to create objects from other objects
Understand & use packages to organize code
Be familiar with more advanced concepts such as inheritance and JDBC
Learn good Java coding style
Create well structured Java programs
Compile and execute programs with the Java JDK and with an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) of your choice
Use the newest features of Java

Course Details:

Session 1: A First Look

A Simple Java Class
Java’s “Hello World” Program
LABS:
- Hello World: A Simple Application

Session 2: Java Basics

Language and Platform Features
Program Life Cycle
The Java SE Development Kit (JDK)
LABS:
- Working with the Development Environment

Session 3: Class and Object Basics

The Object Model and Object-Oriented Programming
Classes, References, and Instantiation
Adding Data to a Class Definition
Adding Methods (Behavior)
LABS:
- Exploring Types and Object Instances
- Writing and Using a Class Definition with Fields and Methods

Session 4: More on Classes and Objects

Accessing data, the "this" variable
Encapsulation and Access Control, public and private Access
Constructors and Initialization
static Members of a Class
Scopes, Blocks, References to Objects
LABS:
- Encapsulation / Access Protection
- Writing and Using Constructors
- (Optional) Static Members
- Using the Debugger

Session 5: Flow of Control

Branching: if, if-else, switch
Iteration: while, do-while, for, break, continue
LABS:
- Flow of Control / Data Validation

Session 6: Strings and Arrays

String, StringBuffer, StringBuilder
Arrays, Primitive Arrays, Arrays of Reference Types
varargs
LABS:
- Using Strings and Arrays

Session 7: Packages

Package Overview - Using Packages to Organize Code
import statements
Creating Packages, package Statement, Required Directory Structure
Finding Classes, Packages and Classpath
LABS:
- Using Packages to Organize Code

Session 8: Composition and Inheritance

Using Composition to Deal With Complexity
Composition/HAS-A, Delegation
Using Inheritance and Polymorphism to share commonality
IS-A, extends, Inheriting Features, Overriding Methods, Using Polymorphism
Class Object
Abstract Classes
LABS:
- (Optional) Working with Composition
- Using Inheritance to Specialize Classes

Session 9: Interfaces Overview

Using Interfaces to Define Types
Interfaces and Abstract Classes

Session 10: Exceptions

Exceptions and the Exception Hierarchy
try and catch
Handling Exceptions
Program Flow with Exceptions
finally
LABS:
- Throwing and Handling Exceptions

Session 11: JDBC

JDBC basics
JDBC Architecture
Using JDBC drivers & DriverManager
Class Connection and connecting to a database
Class Statement and executing SQL statements
Other statement types
LABS:
- Connecting and Querying using JDBC

Session 12: Java Collections and Generics

The Collections Framework and its API
Collections and Java Generics
Collection, Set, List, Iterator
Autoboxing
for-each Loop
LABS:
- Using Lists and Generics

Session 13: Additional Java Features

Type-safe Enums
Additional Features in Java 6 and Java 7