Learn how to program in Java and master its object-oriented concepts in this free online programming course.

Java is one of the world’s most popular programming languages because of its versatility and compatibility. It can be used for a wide range of purposes, including software development, mobile applications and large systems development. This course explains the fundamentals of Java as you discover its design principles and rules. The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is a software layer that runs on a computer's operating system software and provides the class libraries and other resources that a specific Java program needs. We show you how to install the JRE and how to set up the Java Development Kit (JDK), which is a software development environment used for developing Java applications and applets. We examine the requirements for the JDK as you become familiar with the editor used for writing code.

We then show you how to implement Java syntax and keywords, including the Java conditional operator, which selects one of two expressions for evaluation and is based on the value of the first operands. It is also called a ‘ternary’ operator because it takes three arguments and is used to handle simple situations in a line. We investigate conditional statements and the concept of ‘control structures’. This leads us to the development of a ‘naming condition’ to ensure consistency while coding. You will master Java command line arguments, string manipulation, data types and variables.

Object-Oriented Development (OOD) represents the next major breakthrough in software engineering as it promises to speed up development and reduce the time and resources required to maintain existing applications by increasing code reuse. We show you how to write procedures that perform operations on data, which brings us to the functions defined for a class and the concept of ‘inheritance’. Various complexities of Java, like its interface and protocols, are broken down step by step until you can understand this powerful and popular programming language. This course is suitable for beginners and empowers anyone who wants to explore web development and boost their career.