Is it worth learning Java in 2018? Answered by Cody Weber

Need to learn a language that solves problems

Java has hundreds, if not thousands, of frameworks, libraries, forums, and so on. The same tools that help developers solve problems. And all because a very small percentage of these same developer problems are new problems. Most likely, someone has already solved your problem before you, using one of the above tools. Enjoy. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

You need to learn a language that doesn't force you to go into all the details of the language, but still allows you to do something.

Java is relatively simple. This is facilitated by its sufficient high-level. You don't have to worry about things like garbage collection. But at the same time, it is also low-level enough to be able to do everything that is done with the help of lower-level languages.

You need to learn a language that adopts the concepts of good programming

Java is an object-oriented language, and this very “objectivity” is implemented in it just fine. Along with OOP, you will learn the concepts of inheritance, abstraction, polymorphism, and so on. It is this language that will teach you concepts that can be applied to most other languages ​​such as Python.

You need to learn a language that is quite common and not limited in toolkit

Java is not limited to one product or a small handful of followers. There are many IDEs for this language, free or paid, that are surprisingly powerful (think of the "big three" IDEA, Netbeans, and Eclipse). If you decide you don't need them, write in a text editor and then compile your code on the command line/terminal. Not only that, there are websites today where you can compile your code online if you want to play with the language (e.g. CodeGym Web IDE).

Well, if you “speak” Java with some developers on the forum, there is a very high probability that even those who specialize in other languages ​​will understand you without translation.

You need to learn a language that continues to evolve.

• Each version of Java (currently version 10 of the language has been released) changes a lot while still maintaining backward compatibility with older code. For example, Java 8 brought the concept of functional programming to the Java world. It added the very flexibility for the lack of which this language was criticized before. Also in the eighth version, libraries were added that greatly simplified the development of some things. Java 9 is a modularity in the JRE that allows smaller devices to use Java at no extra cost.


• The Java language just excels in backwards compatibility. If you wish, you can study the ancient libraries and understand the most confusing legacy code. Or not to do this, but to write programs immediately in a new way, fortunately, everything is well documented.

Summing up what has been said, I will mention that there are many languages ​​that meet the above requirements. But the good thing about Java is that it's good for just about everything. And if you want to become a serious developer who owns a reliable, lightweight and problem-oriented tool, learn Java. You will not regret.