From 0 to 1: Learn Java Programming -Live Free,Learn To Code (Udemy.com)
An accessible yet serious guide to Java programming for everyone
Created by: Loony Corn
Last updated February 2016
Our take
Based on the ratings of 225 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in February 2016. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a Java course taught through slides, written-out notes and analogies rather than live coding. Janani Ravi and Vitthal Srinivasan, who teach as Loony Corn, start with what programming is, move through object-oriented design, then spend real time on threading, lambdas, reflection and a Swing interface section. It runs about 17 hours across 84 lectures, with 33 quizzes and no coding exercises. The pitch is complete beginners, but the reviews suggest it suits people with a little programming background better.
Students who like it really like it. Reviewers praise the cooking-and-coding analogy, the early explanation of stack versus heap, and instructors who give context and then dig deep. One called it one of the better courses they had taken on Udemy. The complaints are consistent too. The instructors write out almost everything they say, which some find repetitive, and the exercises repeat earlier explanations word for word. A few low-star reviewers wanted to watch real code from the start. Others mention constant background music, an accent that takes adjusting to, and uneven voice levels.
The course was last updated in February 2016, so expect older Java, and the JavaFX part is only a brief look. About 4,700 students have taken it, and it holds a 4.1 rating from 225 reviews, with most of those at four or five stars. It's a good fit for a patient, conceptual learner who will pause and write their own code alongside. Pair it with a project-heavy course if typing code is how you learn.
Pros
- Cooking and coding analogies that reviewers say make concepts stick
- Goes past basics into threading, lambdas, reflection and Swing
- 33 quizzes and a downloadable presentation help with recall
- Stack versus heap and argument passing explained early, which reviewers value
Cons
- No coding exercises and little live coding, which put off several reviewers
- Last updated in 2016, so the Java it teaches is dated
- Instructors write out what they say, and exercises repeat earlier points
outstanding! The instructors are quite knowledgeable and they introduce the concepts by giving some context and then dig deep. Also their presentation method is very effective.
Billed as all levels, but reviewers say true beginners may struggle; some programming exposure helps.
What you will learn
- Write Java programs of moderate complexity and sophistication (at an early to middling intermediate level)
- Understand Object-Oriented programming concepts at the level where you can have intelligent design conversations with an experienced software engineer
- Manage concurrency and threading issues in a multi-threaded environment
- Create and modify files (including Excel spreadsheets) and download content from the internet using Java
- Use Reflection, Annotations, Lambda functions and other modern Java language features
- Build serious UI applications in Swing
- Understand the Model-View-Controller paradigm, the Observer and Command Design patterns that are at the heart of modern UI programming
- Gain a superficial understanding of JavaFX and Properties and Bindings
- Understand the nuances of Java specific constructs in serialisation, exception-handling, cloning, the immutability of strings, primitive and object reference types
Course content
9 sections · 84 lectures · 17 hours of video 33 quizzes
- 1You, Us & This Course 1 free preview1 lecture · 4 min
- 2Coding Is Like Cooking 9 free previews9 lectures · 2 quizzes · 1.4 hours
- 3An Object-Oriented State of Mind 2 free previews16 lectures · 10 quizzes · 3 hours
- 4Java Language Constructs: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread 3 free previews15 lectures · 4 quizzes · 3.3 hours
- 5Threading and Concurrency: A Lot Going On All At Once 2 free previews10 lectures · 5 quizzes · 2 hours
- 6Functional Programming: Crossover Hits 2 free previews4 lectures · 2 quizzes · 45 min
- 7Recursion, Reflection, Annotations, Dates, Packages and Jars 4 free previews11 lectures · 3 quizzes · 2.2 hours
- 8UI Programming: Swing, MVC, and JavaFX15 lectures · 7 quizzes · 3.3 hours
- 9Some Interview Problems For Practice!3 lectures · 49 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Yep! Folks with zero programming experience - liberal arts majors, doctors, accountants, lawyers
- Yep! Engineering students from non-CS majors looking to learn fairly serious programming
- Nope! Experienced Java programmers - this class will be boring for you:)
- Yep! Computer Science students or software engineers with no experience in Java, but experience in Python, C++ or even C#. You might need to skip over some bits, but in general the class will still have new learning to offer you :-)
What you need before you start
- No prior programming experience needed:)
- The class will make use of Java and an IDE - never fear, we have a detailed video to walk you through the process of setting this up
How it compares
Against the other 231 rated Udemy courses in Java on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.1 out of 5higher than 9% of them
- Reviews225#189 of 232 by number of reviews
- Length16.8 hourslonger than 73% of them
- Last updatedFebruary 2016earlier than 96% of them
Course Description
- Taught by a Stanford-educated, ex-Googler, husband-wife team
- This course will use Java and an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Never fear, we have a detailed video on how to get this downloaded and set up.
- Hundreds of lines of source code, and hundreds of lines of comments - just download and open in your IDE!
A Java course for everyone - accessible yet serious, to take you from absolute beginner to an early intermediate level
Let’s parse that.
- This is a Java course for everyone. Whether you are a complete beginner (a liberal arts major, an accountant, doctor, lawyer) or an engineer with some programming experience but looking to learn Java - this course is right for you.
- The course is accessible because it assumes absolutely no programming knowledge, and quickly builds up using first principles alone
- Even so, this is a serious Java programming class - the gradient is quite steep, and you will go from absolute beginner to an early intermediate level
- The course is also quirky. The examples are irreverent. Lots of little touches: repetition, zooming out so we remember the big picture, active learning with plenty of quizzes. There’s also a peppy soundtrack, and art - all shown by studies to improve cognition and recall.
What's Covered:
- Programming Basics: What programming is, and a carefully thought-through tour of the basics of any programming. Installing and setting up an IDE and writing your first program
- The Object-Oriented Paradigm: Classes, Objects, Interfaces, Inheritance; how an OO mindset differs from a functional or imperative programming mindset; the mechanics of OO - access modifiers, dynamic dispatch, abstract base classes v interfaces. The underlying principles of OO: encapsulation, abstraction, polymorphism
- Threading and Concurrency: A deep and thorough study of both old and new ways of doing threading in Java: Runnables, Callables, Threads, processes, Futures, Executors.
- Reflection, Annotations: The how, what and why - also the good and bad
- Lambda Functions: Functional constructs that have made the crossover into the mainstream of Java - lambda functions, aggregate operators.
- Modern Java constructs: Interface default methods; properties and bindings too. Also detailed coverage of Futures and Callables, as well as of Lambda functions, aggregation operators. JavaFX as contrasted with Swing.
- Packages and Jars: The plumbing is important to understand too.
- Language Features: Serialisation; why the Cloneable interface sucks; exception handling; the immutability of Strings; the Object base class; primitive and object reference types; pass-by-value and pass-by-object-reference.
- Design: The MVC Paradigm, Observer and Command Design Patterns.
- Swing: Framework basics; JFrames, JPanels and JComponents; Menus and menu handling; Trees and their nuances; File choosers, buttons, browser controls. A very brief introduction to JavaFX.
Programming Drills (code-alongs, with source code included)
- Serious stuff:
- A daily stock quote summariser: scrapes the internet, does some calculations, and outputs a nice, formatted Excel spreadsheet.
- A News Curation app to summarise newspaper articles into a concise email snippet using serious Swing programming
- Simple stuff:
- Support with choosing a programming environment; downloading and setting up IntelliJ.
- Simple hello-world style programs in functional, imperative and object-oriented paradigms.
- Maps, lists, arrays. Creating, instantiating and using objects, interfaces
Instructor Details
- 4.1 Rating
225 Reviews
Loony Corn
Loonycorn is us, Janani Ravi and Vitthal Srinivasan. Between us, we have studied at Stanford, been admitted to IIM Ahmedabad and have spent years working in tech, in the Bay Area, New York, Singapore and Bangalore.
Janani: 7 years at Google (New York, Singapore); Studied at Stanford; also worked at Flipkart and Microsoft
Vitthal: Also Google (Singapore) and studied at Stanford; Flipkart, Credit Suisse and INSEAD too
We think we might have hit upon a neat way of teaching complicated tech courses in a funny, practical, engaging way, which is why we are so excited to be here on Udemy!
We hope you will try our offerings, and think you'll like them :-)
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Reviews
By Kimar Neves on 4/13/2019
As theoretical class, explanations are easy to follow and pretty elaborated. Only thing I was not satisfied it was the slow flow in the exercises. I am aware that repetition is a learning tool, but the exercises repeat very frequently concepts and explanation previously presented. And by repetition I mean literal repetition, there are no attempts to rephrase content or approach with a different example or words. Overall, pretty good course.
By Brendan Brecht on 5/3/2018
Excellent, albeit notably academic, introduction to Java. It harmonized well with my learning patterns. I suspect it will do the same for anyone with a propensity for conceptual learning enhanced by an indispensable side-kick of congealed learning through application. Maybe not for all, but I applaud the instructors for their knowledge and for their educational stylings. Thanks Loons! Signed, Fellow Loon.
By Kumar Sarathy on 10/16/2017
If you watch any good online demos, talks etc., the speaker would talk about concepts while at the same time providing some illustrations - stick figures, diagrams etc that serve to deepen your understanding. Loony Corn instructors basically write out their talk. I do understand it helps when introducing new concepts or terminology for example- Encapsulation. Writing the word out helps but if you employ the same thing throughout, it starts to get boring. For example, when talking about Classes, they used the example of food processors as an analogy. But instead of diagramming it, they wrote out, in its entirety, exactly what they were saying! That's just one example. Pretty much the entire course (or, at least, what I watched) seems to be the same. Maybe some students will benefit from it, I didn't.
By Lawrence Hope on 5/26/2017
Very thorough coverage of essential concepts. High on motivation with good use of analogies such as batch vs. assembly line manufacturing for loop constructs. I like the early introduction of stack vs. heap and details of function argument passing. Pace may be a bit too fast for beginners. Voice level changes as instructors are switched and speech is occasionally indistinct .
By John Tran on 8/23/2016
Not my style of learning, sorry. I can't be sitting still looking at that presentation. I rather be seeing code from the beginning to end. It's the only way to absorb information by doing.
By Pritesh Tiwary on 5/28/2016
Well I am pretty impressed by your teaching methods and the quality of videos provided.Some of the hardest concepts in Java are explained in such a clean and simple manner that its really recommendable.Would recommend this course for anyone who is interested in learning Java or trying to brush his/her concepts.But some things ,if improved can make this course much better. Like please re-work your videos on File tutorials.I think the file videos are pretty confusing and fast, plus there are so many more things in Java which you haven't touched as far as file I\O is concerned. Overall great work and really liked your course. Cutting one star just because of File I/O videos.
By Kenneth Lang on 2/29/2016
I am not quite half way through this course yet but this is one course everyone should take. These instructors can peel back the layers and do an excellent job of explaining what happens under the good of Java. You will never buy a book that can explain in detail what really goes on behind the scenes of Java. Can't wait to finish this course, it will be a great reference down the road.
By Cetin Alpaycetin on 2/2/2016
This is a very good overview of modern Java, including popular subjects such as Lambda functions, Executors and Java FX. The tutors are very knowledgeable - as their CVs would give away - and have an enjoyable way of teaching. I really appreciate their quick and friendly feedbacks in the course's discussion section, and I intend to check the discussions now and then in the future just in case I could learn a few new things. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is, some quizes being out-of-order (nothing too dramatic), the JavaFX section feeling a bit rushed and absence of a DB section. Then again, I already subscribed to another course from Loony Corn and I'll look forward to add more.
By Muttappa Malali on 1/27/2016
Frankly speaking I am lucky as I came across such a wonderful course on Java. I had taken more than 10 java courses on udemy, no one explained in such details. I have seen 5 * ratings, but really speaking, this is better than 5 * rating on Java. They provide both theory and practical and most other courses are practical and little theory part. Thank you loony corn Indian IIM/IIT(India's prestigious institutes) instructors.
By Nick Paul on 11/8/2015
Very well paced. Use of direct simple language to convey complex ideas. Step by step Examples. Very responsive creators of the course. Truly passionate about coding. All in all I would whole heatedly recommend this course. Java takes time to learn because of the nature of OOP and examples and projects help solidify the ideas. Thank you for making this course and I am looking to more content.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 82 / 100












