Getting Started with Programming, OO and Java Basics for Non-Developers (TT2000)

Course Objectives

Learning Objectives

With our supportive instructors, you'll enjoy a safe environment to explore, ask questions, and grow, leaving you confident and ready to continue your exciting learning journey. Working in a hands-on learning environment, guided by our expert team, you’ll explore:

• The basic programming constructs that all programming languages share
• Fundamental programming concepts, such as variables, data types, loops, and conditional statements.
• Object-oriented programming principles, including encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.
• How to handle problems that might occur during the execution of a Java application.
• How to use Java libraries and APIs for common tasks, such as file I/O, data manipulation, and networking.
• Implementing exception handling and debugging techniques to ensure robust and reliable code.
• Utilize industry-standard tools and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) to efficiently write, test, and deploy Java applications.
• Best practices for code organization, documentation, and version control to enhance collaboration and maintainability.

Course Prerequisites

Course Agenda

Course Topics / Agenda

1. Overview of Computer Programming

• Explain what a program is
• Explain why there are different types of languages
• Explain what a compiler is
• Explain what an interpreter is

2. Features of a Program

• Understand what the entry and exit points of an application are
• Explain what variables are
• Explain what programming instructions are
• Explain what errors and exceptions are
• Understand what programming algorithms are

3. Software Development Life Cycle

• Explain the purpose of the software development life cycle
• Explain what each phase is for
• Explain the difference between the software development life cycle and a methodology

4. Thinking in Objects

• Understand the difference between a class and an object
• Deconstruct an object into attributes and operations
• Map an object to a class
• Define inheritance

5. The Java Platform

• Introduce the Java Platform
• Explore the Java Standard Edition
• Discuss the lifecycle of a Java Program
• Explain the responsibilities of the JVM
• Executing Java programs
• Garbage Collection
• Documentation and Code Reuse

6. Using the JDK

• Explain the JDK’s file structure
• Use the command line compiler to compile a Java class
• Use the command line Java interpreter to run a Java application class

7. Using the IntelliJ IDE

• Introduce the IntelliJ IDE
• The Basics of the IntelliJ interface
• IntelliJ Projects and Modules
• Creating and running Java applications
• Tutorial: Working with your IDE IntelliJ 2023.2 (Community Edition) or Eclipse

8. Writing a Simple Class

• Write a Java class that does not explicitly extend another class
• Define instance variables for a Java class
• Create object instances
• Primitives vs Object References
• Implement a main method to create an instance of the defined class
• Java keywords and reserved words

9. Adding Methods to the Class

• Write a class with accessor methods to read and write instance variables
• Write a constructor to initialize an instance with data
• Write a constructor that calls other constructors of the class to benefit from code reuse
• Use the this keyword to distinguish local variables from instance variables

10. Object-Oriented Programming

• Real-World Objects
• Classes and Objects
• Object Behavior
• Methods and Messages

11. Language Statements

• Arithmetic operators
• Operators to increment and decrement numbers
• Comparison operators
• Logical operators
• Return type of comparison and logical operators
• Use for loops
• Switch Expressions
• Switch Expressions and yield

12. Using Strings and Text Blocks

• Create an instance of the String class
• Test if two strings are equal
• Perform a case-insensitive equality test
• Contrast String, StringBuffer, and StringBuilder
• Compact Strings
• Text Blocks
• Unicode support

13. Fields and Variables

• Discuss Block Scoping Rules
• Distinguish between instance variables and method variables within a method
• Explain the difference between the terms field and variable
• List the default values for instance variables
• Final and Static fields and methods

14. Specializing in a Subclass

• Constructing a class that extends another class
• Implementing equals and toString
• Writing constructors that pass initialization data to parent constructor
• Using instanceof to verify type of an object reference
• Overriding subclass methods
• Pattern matching for instanceof
• Safely casting references to a more refined type

15. Using Arrays

• Declaring an array reference
• Allocating an array
• Initializing the entries in an array
• Writing methods with a variable number of arguments

16. Records

• Data objects in Java
• Introduce records as carrier of immutable data
• Defining records
• The Canonical constructor
• Compact constructors

17. Java Packages and Visibility

• Use the package keyword to define a class within a specific package
• Discuss levels of accessibility/visibility
• Using the import keyword to declare references to classes in a specific package
• Using the standard type naming conventions
• Introduce the Java Modular System
• Visibility in the Java Modular System

18. Utility Classes

• Introduce the wrapper classes
• Explain Autoboxing and Unboxing
• Converting String representations of primitive numbers into their primitive types
• Defining Enumerations
• Using static imports
• Introduce the Date/Time API
• LocalDate / LocalDateTime etc.
• Apply text formatting
• Using System.out.printf

19. Inheritance and Polymorphism

• Write a subclass with a method that overrides a method in the superclass
• Group objects by their common supertype
• Utilize polymorphism
• Cast a supertype reference to a valid subtype reference
• Use the final keyword on methods and classes to prevent overriding

20. Interfaces and Abstract Classes

• Define supertype contracts using abstract classes
• Implement concrete classes based on abstract classes
• Define supertype contracts using interfaces
• Implement concrete classes based on interfaces
• Explain advantage of interfaces over abstract classes
• Explain advantage of abstract classes over interfaces

21. Introduction to Exception Handling

• Introduce the Exception architecture
• Defining a try/catch blocks
• Checked vs Unchecked exceptions

22. Introduction to Generics and Collections

• Introduce Generics and Subtyping
• Explain Bounded Wildcard
• Generics Methods
• Provide an overview of the Collection API
• Review the different collection implementations (Set, List and Queue)
• Explore how generics are used with collections

Course Materials

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