Teaching Yourself Java
Getting The Java Development Kit
To just run Java programs, your computer has to have the JRE, the Java Runtime Environment. To actually write Java programs, you need to get the free JDK, the Java Development Kit. Get it here.
Tutorials and Stuff
There are an overwhelming number of resources out on the web for learning Java, and I don't pretend to be familiar with all of them. Here are a bunch of ones that I think are reasonable for high school kids looking to teach themselves.
- Think Java is free, and really good. It doesn't have a lot of fancy stuff to keep you amused, but if you're really interested and willing to think for yourself, it will get you there quickly.
- Eclipse and Java for Total Beginners a set of videos to walk you through writing a Java program using Eclipse. A lot of people have found this to be a good place to start. It takes about 3 1/4 hours to go through the videos, and there's a companion handbook to download.
- Introduction to Programming Using Java, Sixth Edition is a free online textbook. It looks really good to me, but it might take a little longer to get down to the actual programming because it gives you a bunch of context first. Or you could skip chapter one, I suppose.
- The Java Tutorials, Getting Started and The Java Tutorials, Learning the Java Language have been around just about as long as Java itself, and have been kept up-to-date as Java has evolved over the years.
- Once you get started, go to CodingBat and singpath for some online Java practice. It's fun, and you can do it anywhere with web access.
The NJIT Programming Contest for High School Students is March 15th this year. Will you be ready?
If the NJIT contest isn't challenging enough (ha!) you can try the USA Computing Olympiad which is world-class. Read about it at Wired magazine.