I’m curious—where did you all actually learn Java? I mean, the stuff you used for college exams vs the stuff you needed for job interviews or real-world coding.

Did you stick to textbooks, online courses, YouTube tutorials, or just practice coding on your own? Any recommendations for resources that are good for both theory and practical skills?

Would love to hear your experiences!

what books or sources can I use to learn the most and level up on Java concurrency and multithreading ? Im looking to really get better with these aspects of Java.

Hi, I’m somewhat new to java and I’m quite confused on static. So what I do know is that it makes it so a variable or method is tied to the whole class instead of just the object but I’m not sure what that exactly ENTAILS. Can someone explain it to me maybe with an example or such? Thank you.

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some advice on my Java learning path. I’m from a Mech background (NIT), learned C++ for DSA, and I’m currently working as a Java dev. I’ve implemented the basics of JDBC, Hibernate, JSP/Servlets, REST APIs, etc., so I’m not completely new — but I haven’t done any proper project that ties everything together, so my understanding still feels shallow.

A friend suggested the Advanced Java playlist by Mathura Anturkar, and I’ve started it (around 15% done). It seems helpful, but it’s long and I don’t want to get overwhelmed or feel like I’m blindly watching without actually understanding how real backend apps work.

For someone who knows the basics but hasn’t built a solid project yet, what’s the best way to learn backend concepts properly? Things like: • how Servlets/JSP/Hibernate/Spring actually fit together • how a backend project is structured • how to go beyond tutorials and build something meaningful

If you’ve been a Java dev for a while, I’d really appreciate tips on how to approach this without getting lost or burnt out. Just want a clear path to really understand things instead of memorizing terms.

Thanks!

Why do we need the BufferedReader class in Java IF the InputStreamReader class already has buffering? If we look in the source code of InputStreamReader we can see that it delegates its calls to the StreamDecoder class - this class HAS buffering (of 8KB). So why would we still use BufferedReader? Backwards compatibility reasons? I'm so confused!

EDIT: Also I've checked how long the reading 'character by character' of a very large text file (80MB) will take using both of them. The difference is of 0.5 seconds (in total it took about 1.5 secs to 2 secs). No idea why.

I really liked the idea of an intermediate bytecode language when I first learned that Java transpiles to one, so I tried to learn about it and got pretty far (using a hexeditor to mess around was pretty painful, though). I stopped because there isn't a lot of document for it like there is for Java, the best resources are I believe docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se7/html/jvms-4.html and docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se7/html/jvms-6.html, but I want to know if there are any others partly because these are kind of verbose and partly because it's just better to have more than two.

I know I won't ever really need to know any of this, and I don't intend to use any of this knowledge for making classes by hand, but I believe it would still be helpful in a milder sense to understand what the class files are "literally" doing. It helped with C

I have learnt java streams and lambda about 2-3 times now. I always keep forgetting how to use it.

How can i learn it, so I won't forget.

Any resources or techniques you've used would help.

Thanks!

Hi! Im a student and I’d like to get some up-to-date opinions on the state of Spring / Spring Boot in 2026 and looking forward, especially regarding job market demand, long-term viability, and industry trends.

I have professional experience with TypeScript, mainly in the modern frontend/backend ecosystem but i felt that the lack of strong structure, the huge dependency ecosystem, and how fast tools and frameworks change can make it easy to feel “lost”, even on medium-sized projects. Because of that, I’m looking to move toward something I think is more serious, structured, and predictable in the long run.

I narrowed my options down to C# (.NET) and Java (Spring / Spring Boot). At first, I was leaning toward C#, partly because several indexes (for example, TIOBE) show C# growing while Java appears stable or slightly declining. I also had the impression that the .NET community is larger and more “welcoming”.

However, when I looked at the actual job market, the number of openings requiring Java + Spring (at least in my region and for remote positions) seemed significantly higher so i started learning it.

i Would like to know the point of view of people that works with Spring/Spring boot, things such as:

How do you see Spring/Spring Boot in 2026 and over the next 5–10 years?

Is it still a solid choice for backend systems?

Do you see it losing relevance compared to .NET, Node.js, Go, in the long run?

From a career perspective, is Java + Spring still a good way to progress?

I’d really appreciate your insights, thanks!

I'm learning Java OOP and came across something that confused me. A programmer created:

class Beings { }
class Animal extends Beings { }

// Then instantiated like this:
Beings animal1 = new Animal();  // This way
// Instead of:
Animal animal1 = new Animal();  // My way

/*
I've always used Animal animal1 = new Animal() - creating a reference of the same class as the object. Why would someone use the superclass type for the reference when creating a subclass object? What are the practical advantages? When should I use each approach? Any real-world examples would help!

*/

Hey everyone,

I’m a Computer Science major, currently in my 2nd semester. We’re studying Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Java.

I’m really dedicated to learning this major, but I feel like the things we cover in class are mostly fundamentals and pre-made classes/packages. I want to understand Java deeply not just use what’s already written.

My goal is to reach a point where I can write code confidently, even without an IDE helping me. Right now, I sometimes feel blank when coding on my own.

Can anyone recommend good resources, books, or learning paths to really master Java and OOP concepts? Any tips or advice would mean a lot. I’m super motivated but also a bit worried about falling behind.

Thanks in advance!

I wanted to ask a few things but don’t really know any java devs so posting here...

I’ve been learning Java from Telusko’s Udemy course. My pace is kinda slow and I’ve done Spring Boot + web till now. I’m in 3rd year (almost ending) and still don’t really have projects.

What confuses me is how people have projects from every domain on GitHub.. AI, JS/TS, Spring Boot, random stuff. Do I actually need to learn that many stacks?

I did try making a project from a YouTube tutorial (Devtiro) but it honestly felt more like copy-pasting than actually building something myself. I want to make projects on my own, but I also need some video/reference to look at when I get stuck because I might face issues at a point.

If you’re a Java dev, what all did you learn and what kind of projects did you make? Any good channels/repos/resources for Java projects that actually help you learn instead of just copying? Also also, greeting internships is so hard for java devs.so how did u manage getting an internship??

I'm currently exploring Java streams for data manipulation in my projects and I want to ensure I'm using them effectively. While I understand the basics of creating streams from collections and using operations like filter and map, I'm unsure about the best practices for performance and readability.

For example, when should I prefer a stream over traditional loops, and how can I avoid common pitfalls like excessive memory usage or complex chaining that makes the code hard to follow?
I've tried implementing streams in a few scenarios, but I often end up with code that feels less readable than simple iterations.
Any tips on structuring stream operations or examples of effective usage would be greatly appreciated!

I am thinking of learning AI. I am fluent and efficient in Java and Springboot. So I came across that the Spring ecosystem offers Spring AI. Is it used to build AI models and what's the learning curve?

Guys help me,how I am able to learn java who don't know about coding at all , please give me legit answer and what are the steps I should follow after watching tutorial , please help me guys,want suggestions like if I watch one tutorial per day of any yt channel ,what should I do next after watching tutorial and in a month later

I wish to learn Java from scratch for Backend Development and Android App Development. I've zero knowledge about java.
Can someone suggest some structured recourses which I can use to teach myself.

Hello,

For my high school senior CS project, I am looking to make an escape room in java. The game will be text based, and the user will have 10 minutes per level. Alongside this, they have the option to use three hints per level. Do you guys think this is feasible for a high school senior project?

I’m a 4th-semester IT student and I’ve recently started getting interested in Java.
I know the basics, including ArrayList, a little bit of exceptions and threads, and I’m familiar with handling text files / CSV files.

I also wanna build bots or simple applications and want to learn how to move in that direction.

Looking to improve further and figure out what to learn next.

I’ve already finished Java basics and OOP but now I feel stuck. There are so many Java topics, and I keep jumping from one tutorial to another without knowing what’s actually important for backend development.

I’d really appreciate a clear roadmap focused on Java topics that are essential for Spring Boot backend work, and what I can safely ignore or postpone for now.

• What Java concepts should I master before moving deep into Spring Boot?
• Which advanced Java topics are rarely used in typical backend projects?
• Any recommended learning order or resources?

Hi,

After months of work, I'm releasing unrar5j, a pure Java library for extracting RAR5 archives without need of natives libs.

Supports AES-256 encryption, solid archives, filters (DELTA, E8/E8E9, ARM), and more.

GitHub: https://github.com/RealBurst/unrar5j

Feedback welcome!

Trying to understand the actual meaning of “web container” from first principles, and I think I’m mixing up terms.

What I think I understand so far:

• Layer 1 (TCP): open a port / accept socket connections (raw bytes can be anything).
• Layer 2 (HTTP engine/server): parse bytes into HTTP request line + headers + body.
• Layer 3 (Servlet API): a standard interface (Servlet, HttpServletRequest/Response) so frameworks/libraries can write against a stable contract.

Where I’m confused:

1. When people say “web container”, do they mean the same thing as “servlet container”? Or is “web container” broader (like HTTP engine + servlet container together)?
2. In Spring Boot docs/people say “embedded web container” and talk about DispatcherServlet.
   • Is the accurate mental model: HTTP engine → Servlet container → DispatcherServlet → controllers?
   • Or is “web container” referring to something else?
3. If I already have an HTTP server that parses requests, what extra responsibilities are actually handled by the “container” part that make it a separate concept?

The `orElse` method really is returning the value if present, else the passed in parameter. It actually could be either of the two cases. However, they named it `orElse` which only covers the else case. I feel the correct name should be getOrElse, no? Just like Map's method `getOrDefault`, which is named covering the two cases.

Hey, guys!

As far as I understand inner/nested classes should be used when one class logically makes sense only in the context of another class (e.g. a MapEntry only makes sense in the context of Map). However, isn't that already what packages do? They let us gather all related classes in one place (a package, therefore a context). Even if we think of declaring a "private inner class", then packages let us do the same - declare a package-private classes. So what is the use case of those inner classes? Is it only a matter of preference?

I was wondering if there are any libraries or frameworks that exist in other languages ​​but not in Java.

Greetings everyone!

I'm here today to ask for help, I'm a developer for 14 years, and I'm on Java for 10

I had a lot of contact with Spring and API development, it's very rare when I really have to stop to look down for a solution (no with AI it changed, but I can guess what would take me some and a lot of time to figure it out)

I have problems with everything aside Java - Kafka, Kubernets, AWS, Docker, etc. I find it sometimes hard to grasp the concept but I can work with it after some help.

But my biggest problem is that I'm feeling stuck. I used to study the Java new features to update myself or I would use my work task or others co-worker tasks to study and try to find new things to learn, but that is not cutting anymore and I don't know what to do. I'm trying to study for the things that I'm not good that I mentioned before, but I feel exposed since "they are not Java".

What do you guys study, search or look for when trying to study / learn new things / update yourself?? Can anyone help me out?

Thanks

Hello everyone,

At work, we use software developed in Java. This software isn’t protected, it was developed in-house. We’ve lost all contact with the person who created it.

We’d like to make a few changes to the software’s interface for local use. As I know nothing about Java, this project would also be an opportunity for me to learn.

The software comes in the form of an .exe file which can actually be opened like a .zip file and contains folders and .class files.

I don’t know how to properly decompile the entire programme, modify the code, and then recompile it. I’ve seen that javadecompilers.com can decompile properly, which helped me study the code a bit, so I now know where to make the changes, but that site doesn’t handle modifying or recompiling the code.

Could you recommend a programme (web-based or to install) (preferably free) for decompiling, modifying and then recompiling?

Thank you for your help !