Here are the 7 hacks ideas to make your career in Java programming:
1. Learn Java 8
Learning Java 8 is the most important thing for a Java developer right now. It’s a good 4 years old and even Java 9 was released 6 months back and people are now talking about Java 10 features. Regardless, we know there are many programmers who have not written a single line of code using Java 8 features like lambdas and the Stream API.
Unfortunately, most of them are experienced Java developers with good 7 to 10 years of experience under their belt. We understand that at some point in your career, learning becomes stagnant, but if you don’t start now you will be left behind.
Almost all Java programming jobs now require Java 8 skills, and if you don’t have those skills, it will be very difficult to do well.
2. Learn Spring Framework (Spring Boot)
As most of the companies prefer to do programming using Spring frameworks, it is almost imperative nowadays for Java developers to learn about Spring. Spring MVC, Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, REST APIs and micro services are necessary for developing a web application. This also promotes practices like dependency injection and makes your software more testable, which is the main criterion for modern day software.
3. Learn Unit Testing
Unit testing skills is the one common thing that separates a good Java developer from an average Java developer. According to Robin, do my java homework service provider, a professional and good Java developer almost always writes unit tests for their codes. And if they are really a great developer, you can identify that from their codes and tests.
With several tools for unit testing, integration testing and automation testing available to Java developers, testing has come a long way. You can spend a good amount of 2021 improving your testing skills in Java, but for those who are new to the world of Java and unit testing, J unit is the best library for them to start with. The most updated version (JUnit 5) is both powerful and flexible and every Java developer should master that.
4. Learn APIs and Libraries
If you have worked earlier with great Java developers, you might have realized their overall knowledge of the Java ecosystem, and APIs form a major part of it. Java is undoubtedly the world’s most popular and mature programming language and there are tons of libraries and APIs available for doing almost everything.
Obviously, you are not supposed to know all of them but you should be familiar with some key APIs, e.g., JSON processing APIs like Jackson and Gson, XML processing APIs like JAXB and Xerces, and unit testing libraries like Mockito and JUnit. If you don’t know them, you can learn or at least get an overview of them in 2021.
5. Learn the JVM’s Internals
If you are serious about becoming a great Java developer, then you must spend time learning JVM internals, e.g., what are the different parts of the JVM, how they work, JIT, JVM options, Garbage collection, and collectors, etc. According to David, assignment help Australia service provider, if you know the JVM well, you can write robust and high-performance Java applications, and that’s what great Java developers do. As part of this, you must also learn how to profile your Java application and how to find performance bottlenecks.
For a structured learning, we recommend The Definitive Guide to Java Performance by Scott Oaks, which is a great book on this topic. And for those who prefer online courses over books, Understanding the Java Virtual Machine on Pluralsight is a great collection to master JVM internals.
6. Learn Design Patterns
If you are developing a Java application from scratch, then most of the time, you are writing object-oriented code and design patterns are tried and tested solutions of common problems. By knowing and incorporating them into your code, you make your application more flexible and easier to modify in the future. It also improves overall code quality and documentation because other Java developers are also familiar with design patterns.
Thus, they will understand your solution rather quickly. But don’t just focus on the code part, understand the spirit and be creative. Use Java 8 features like lambdas and Streams to rewrite patterns. If you are looking for some resources to learn design patterns then this list of design pattern courses is the best place to start with.
7. Learn DevOps Tools and Kotlin
For a modern Java developer, knowledge of DevOps is a must. You should be at least aware of continuous integration and continuous deployment and how Jenkins helps to achieve that. It becomes even more important for senior Java developers, who are often responsible for creating environments, build scripts, and guidelines.
We also suggest you spend time and learn more about DevOps in general and tools like Docker, Chef, Kubernetes, etc. along with Maven and Jenkins. If you want some more resources then Master Jenkins CI for DevOps and Developers on Udemy is probably the best course to start with. You will not only learn about CI and CD but also about Maven and Jenkins in detail. According to online java tutors, learning Kotlin is one of the best ideas to make a successful career in Java programming. Kotlin is a great language from JetBrains, the company behind ItelliJ IDEA and also the official language for android application development as announced by Google in 2017. Kotlin will not only improve your productivity but also help you get into Android development.
