10 tips to learn Java efficiently

1. Explore Spring Framework (Spring Boot)

This Java platform is important for every Java Application Developer.

It enables the developers to build applications from plain old Java objects” (POJOs) and also useful for Java SE programming model.

These days, most of the Java Development Companies use Spring framework such as Spring Boot, Spring MVC, and Spring Cloud for developing a web application, microservices, and REST APIs.

You will find that a great Java Developer is familiar with all the Spring platform advantages such as: making a Java method execute in a database transaction, making a local Java method a remote procedure, and making a local Java method a management operation.

Related post: Top 7 free and paid Java courses

2. Enhance Your Unit Testing Skills

You will find advanced unit testing skills in every professional Java programmer. It is this skill that distinguishes good Java programmer from average Java programmer.

A professional Java developer always writes unit tests for their code, which helps in validating code results in the state testing or behavior testing.

If you are seeking a good Java Application Developer, please make sure that the developer has the familiarity with a wide range of tools for unit testing, automation testing, performance testing, and integration testing.

Professional Java developers, who already have experience with Java, it is time for you to improve your skills on software unit tests to verify the logic of a piece of a software program.

Beginners can start with Junit, the latest version of which is JUnit 5, which is easy but powerful.

3. Focus on JVM Internals

Even if you are a beginner in Java Application Development you must have some working knowledge Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which is a crucial element of JRE (Java Runtime Environment).

If you understand JVM, means you understand Java better.

Learning JVM will help you solve complex problems during programming.

For becoming a great Java Developer, learn how JVM works, JVM system threads, how JVM executes JAVA bytecode, and the order of execution. Some other key aspects that you must be aware of to hone your Java skills in 2019 are JVM stack restrictions and common mistakes that most of the Java Developers make.

4. Improve Your Working Knowledge of Design Patterns

If you are an experienced object-oriented software developer, you must be aware of the importance of Design Patterns in Software Development.

Design pattern shows the relation between classes and object. A systematic naming of the objects and classes helps in addressing the recurring problem in the object-oriented systems.

Every great Java Developer knows and incorporates design patterns in their code to make the application flexible and changeable.

There are two goals of learning design pattern:

·      Identify and understand the problem in the application and associate it with some pattern.

·      Reuse of old interface or make the existing design more usable for future purposes.

Whether you are a freelance Java developer or working as a regular employer, you must have an in-depth understanding of design patterns.

5. Do not forget to allocate memory 

This tip is particularly useful for those who switch from C, C++ to Java. The memory allocation in Java using the ‘new’ keyword is a necessity as Java is a dynamic programming language. C, C++ does not explicitly have this feature, therefore you must take care while handling array and object declaration in Java. Not using the ‘new’ keyword will show a null pointer exception in the code.

Eg:

1	int array = new int [5];

Note the difference in array declaration in Java and C or C++.

6. Avoid creating useless objects

When you create an object in Java, you use up memory and processor speed from the system. Since object creation is incomplete without allocating memory to it, it is better to keep the object requirements under check and not create unwanted objects in the code.

Eg:

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public class vehicles {     public List getvehicles(){         if(null == vehicles){ // this ensures that the object is initialised only when its required             countries = new ArrayList();         }         return vehicles;     } }

7. Interface is better than Abstract class

7. Interface is better than Abstract class

There is no multiple inheritance in Java, and this will be spoon fed to you so many times while learning the language that you will probably never forget it for the rest of your life. However; the tip here in not to remember that there is no multiple inheritance in Java, but the fact that interface will come in handy if you want to implement something like multiple inheritance without using the extends keyword. Remember, in Java, when nothing goes your way, you will always have interface by your side. Abstract class does not always give programmers the liberty of having a variety of methods to work with, however; interface only have abstract methods therefore is does the job of abstract classes and has other advantages as well. 

8. Prefer Primitive classes over Wrapper Class

8. Prefer Primitive classes over Wrapper Class

Wrapper classes are no doubt, of great utility, but they are often slower than primitive classes. Primitive class only has values while the wrapper class stores information about the entire class.  Further, since wrapper classes often deal with object values, comparing them like the primitive classes does not give desired results as it ends up comparing objects instead of values stored in it.

Eg:

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int num_1 = 10; int num_2 = 10; Integer wrapnum_1 = new Integer(10); Integer wrapnum_2 = new Integer(10); System.out.println(num_1 == num_2); System.out.println(wrapnum_1 == wrapnum_2);

Note: In the above example, the second print statement will not display true because wrapper class objects are getting compared and not their values.

9. Dealing with strings

9. Dealing with strings

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Since Object oriented programming classifies String as a class, a simple concatenation of two strings might result into the creation of a new string object in Java which eventually affects the memory and speed of the system. It is always better to instantiate a string object directly, without using the constructor for this purpose.

Eg:

1 2	String slow = new String ("This string is making the system slow"); //slow instantiation String fast = "This string is better"; //fast instantiation

10. Code, Code, Code

10. Code, Code, Code

There is so much to learn about Java that you just cannot get over with this programming language and it keeps getting more interesting and amusing, however; it is important to maintain the interest within to learn and the hunger to get better. A programming language like Java can be learnt on our own and with great success, but the only thing that is required is continuous learning and coding to test what you have learnt.  Java is a lot like playing a sport; the more you sweat in the practice, less you bleed in the match.