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Top 10 Courses to Learn New Java Features for Beginners

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It's been a long time since JDK 9 went GA. That new release of Java is packed with some powerful features like modules, API enhancements like factory methods for an immutable list, set, and map, some changes on Stream API and Optional class, new features on Process API, etc.

Since it's always good to keep yourself up-to-date, it's time to spend some time learning those new features and make use of them to write better code in Java.

When it comes to learning a new technology or a new thing, online courses work best. They help you to get going quickly by providing the essential stuff and encourage you to learn more.

Books are also good but you learn quickly using online courses than books because they focus on the most important parts and don't provide in-depth coverage as the book does.

In my opinion, you should read a book after finishing a course to further cement the concepts and fill the gaps, as more often books provide more comprehensive coverage.

In this article, I am going to share some of the best courses to learn new Java features from Java 9 to Java 12 releases. Btw, if you buy any course from this link that is not free, I'll get paid at no additional cost to you.

These courses are designed to help you master the most in-demand Java 9 features like Modules, Reactive Streams, HTTP 2.0 and other API changes, Java 10 features like var, and Java 12 features like String in switch case. Especially if you're going for a job interview or have a Java Project that needs your best performance.

1. The Complete Java MasterClass
This is one of the best courses to learn both core Java and new features introduced in recent Java releases. The course not only covers new features of Java 9, 10 but also updated to cover Java 11 recently.

It's not only the most up-to-date course but also provides a complete Java learning experience. For example, if you are just starting with programming and choose Java 11 to start with this is the course you should join.

best course to learn Java for beginners

2. What's New in Java 9 --- Modules and More!
The goal of the course was not to simply go quickly through all the new features in Java 9 but it is designed to help you really understand these new features.

This course explains most of the new features of Java 9 like Java Shell, The Java Platform Module System, and updates to the Process API.

The Java Platform Module System is probably the feature that most developers have heard about when they think about Java 9. The Java 9 Platform Module System allows Java to move forward by modularizing the JDK as well as adding modules as first-class citizens to Java.

The course is created by Tim Buchalaka, instructor of The Complete Java MasterClass, one of the best course to learn Java in-depth.

3.*What's New in Java 11: Long-term Support*
I know, staying up-to-date with Java has become a challenge for Java developer due to this 6-month cycle and Java 11 was released just after 6 month of JDK 10 release but one thing which was different about Java 11 was that it was LTS release like Java 8.

The most interesting feature of Java 11 was the new HttpClient API, which this course explores in good details. It also gives an overview of dependencies removed in Java 11 which can affect your codebase.

What's New in Java 11: Long-term Support Pluralsight course

So, if you don't want to jump from Java 8 to Java 9 to Java 10, you can directly upgrade your application from LTS to LTS releases like Java 8 to Java 11.

4. What's New in Java 9 on Pluarlsight
In this course, What's New in Java 9, you'll get an overview of the most important changes to the language and libraries.

First, you'll delve into the module system, introducing modules into the Java language. Then, you'll discover the jShell, a new tool for interactively experimenting with Java code.

Finally, you'll explore smaller and incremental changes, such as improvements to APIs like Stream and Optional, the addition of collection factory methods, and newly introduced APIs such as ProcessHandle and HttpClient.

When you're finished with this course, you'll be ready to make the most of Java 9 in your own projects. The course is created by Sander Mak, author of popular Java 9 Modularity: Patterns and Practices for Developing Maintainable Applications book, which also an awesome resource to learn Modularity in depth.

5.What's New in Java 10: Local-variable Type Inference
This course is ideal to learn whatever new introduced in Java 10. It's not a full Java course but a delta of recent Java changes on JDK 10. As you might know that Java 10 was released just 6 months after Java 9 but it still packed with some useful features like using var to declare a local variable and some performance improvement on the G1 garbage collector.

best course to learn Java 10

If you want a quick showdown of Java 10 features you can also take a look at my earlier article about Essential Java 10 features you should know.

6. Java 9 Masterclass --- Beginner to Expert
This course not only covers new features of Java 9 but also tell you how to develop applications using Java 9. It's a complete Java learning course.

For example, if you are just starting with programming and choose Java 9 to start with this is the course you should join.

7. Learn JShell with Java 9 --- Step by Step
JShell is a new feature in Java 9 which allows you to run code quickly and easily. In this course, you will learn how to use Java REPL JShell to become a more productive programmer.

You will learn how to explore Java with JShell and understand the various JShell commands. Added in are tips and tricks to make you a JShell expert.

Good knowledge of JShell will help you to become more productive at exploring Java APIs and Libraries.

8. Java 9 Modularity: First Look
This is a good course to learn Java Modules or Project Jigsaw in depth. You will learn what modules are and how modular design using the Java module system increases the flexibility, maintainability, and security of your Java applications.

It also discusses the issue of migrating existing applications to the new Java Module System is addressed as well, with features such as automatic modules.

When you're finished with this course, terms like encapsulation and explicit module dependencies will be no secret to you.

9. Learning path: Java 9: Programming with Java 9
Packt publishing (Packt) has created a series of courses to teach Java 9 features also known as a learning path. In this Learning Path, you will learn functional and reactive programming using Java 9.

It first provides the introduction to functional Programming and then teaches you how to build a RESTful web service using Spring, Jersey, and Java 9 features.

10. Java New Features (Java 12, Java 11, Java 10, Java 9 & Java 8)
This is a good course if you quickly want to get to up-to-speed with all the new features introduced between Java 8 to Java 12. It covers all the important features of the new java versions with explanations, examples, and comparison with previous versions, which makes it easy to grasp them. If you are looking for an overview of Java 8 to Java 12 then this is the right course for you.

That's all about some of the best courses to learn new features of Java 9 to Java 12 from scratch. These courses not only provide a good overview of essential JDK 9 features but also shows some real-world examples of where you can use the JDK 9 features like building RESTful web services.

Its never too late and today is probably the best time to master JDK 9 features to update yourself with the latest and greatest in Java.

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these Java 9 courses then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback then please drop a comment.


P. S. --- If you are a beginner and just start with Java, then The Complete Java MasterClass, one of the best course to learn Java in-depth.

P. P. S --- If you prefer books, here is the list of Must-Read Books for Java Programmers to learn and Master the art of Java programming.

Top comments (2)

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lemuelogbunude profile image
Lemuel Ogbunude • Edited

Another great book that can be found on Manning is Modern Java in Action livebook.manning.com/#!/book/moder...

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javinpaul profile image
javinpaul

Yes, It's a definite read to keep yourself up-to-date. It's older version Java 8 in Action was also superb. Thanks for sharing.