How to become a programmer (part 3)

The first part of the article: determining the pool of technologies The second part of the article: the main sources of information The fourth part of the article: Select a development environment and install all the necessary software on your working machine

Additional but important sources of information: forums

Forums are very important, no matter how you study, independently or in courses, they are a storehouse of folk wisdom. Although, before you get to the truth, you will have to thoroughly comb through the information from there. But it's a useful skill.

1. http://ru.stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/java - old and useful forum. There is a section in Russian, but the English version is much more extensive.
3. https://toster.ru/tag/java/info - an analogue of Stackoverflow from the creators of the famous Habrahabr
5. https://javatalks.ru/ is a purely “Java” forum.
7. http://help.javarush.ru/ - a special forum for discussing JavaRush tasks and more.
9. https://www.reddit.com/r/learnjava/ - here, too, no one will laugh at the questions of beginners.

Additional sources of information: books and reference books.

Online programming references

1. https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/ - official documentation. Dry, difficult. However, it is recommended to gradually get used to it, and from the very beginning. In English.
3. http://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/java_documentation.htm - a simple reference. Also in English.

Books on programming The simplest and most accessible books on programming. How not to use reference books!

1. Head First in Java is the global bestseller in the Head First series from O'Reilly. Written with humor and a lot of lyrical digressions. If you feel unsure, we recommend it.
2. Jacob Fine's book " Java Programming for Children, Parents, and Grandparents ." In Russian, designed primarily for young programmers, but not only.

More fundamental publications for beginners. Educational and reference purposes .

1. Kay Horstmann "Java SE 8. Basic Course" is a good textbook.
2. Herbert Shildt's Java 8: The Complete Guide is a very comprehensive reference book.
3. Bruce Eckel " Java Philosophy " - very useful in places. There is a Wikibook on it - http://wikijava.it-cache.net/index.php?title=Chapter_1_Thinking_in_Java_4th_edition

Finally, a short summary (based on all three parts of the article):

• We select one or two main sources of theory and build a curriculum based on them. We are looking at additional sources. We learn the theory from several sources.
• To learn to program , you need to program. No other way. Therefore, first of all, we pay attention to practice: it needs to be done and tested. Therefore, you need either an interactive course or a teacher. As a last resort, there are advisers on the forums.
• There is a lot of information on the forums. Finding it takes time, but it's worth it. Don't be shy about asking “stupid” questions.
• We additionally select books that you liked, bookmark a couple of video courses, Java documentation and reference courses.

Based on this, we have three paths: Path one. Maximum efficiency. Online courses JavaRush + info.javarush + Java documentation + forums + book + reference + video

1. The main source of knowledge is the interactive JavaRush courses. They will save your time a lot, since, in addition to lectures and tested tasks, they contain links to good sources of additional knowledge. Plus, during the course you will be taught how to search for information and write a resume. You will be focused on the main thing - programming, and not where to find a source of information. But when you have to look, you have to look.
2. Register on the forums.
3. We buy/download one or two books. You can use one of the simplest ones, the second is a reference book.

The second way. Still effective. But very expensive.

1. The main source of knowledge is expensive courses or a personal mentor. It does what JavaRush does - explains the theory, tells you where to find more information, and issues and checks assignments. Only for much more money. And add the human factor. By the way, many mentors recommend JavaRush as an addition to their lessons ;).

The second and third points are the same as in the first way. The third way. Thorny. If you are ready to spend a lot of time, put in a lot of effort, but are not at all ready to spend materially, you need free online courses, a mix of online video courses and forums. Above is a link to a lot of useful materials. You can go through the first 10 levels of JavaRush, download a couple of books and start living on YouTube. And on the forums, consult about your decisions. Read the first part of the article here . Read the second part of the article here . Read the fourth part of the article here