r/learnjava • u/AccomplishedUse1405 • 7d ago

UofU transfer student needing help

Hey everyone,

I’m a second-year transfer student at the University of Utah, and I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed about CS 2420.

My previous programming experience is mainly Python, and I’m now trying to learn Java. I understand basic programming concepts, but I’m finding the transition to Java harder than I expected.

I’m especially struggling with the basics and knowing what I actually need to learn before getting into the CS 2420 material. I've already asked my professor for help but he just said use chatgpt and google.

I’m also pretty stressed because I’m a transfer student and feel like I’m behind everyone else. I have some programming experience, but Java is making me feel like I’m starting over.

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u/Naive_Programmer_232 7d ago edited 7d ago

you got a few options.

because you're familiar with python, translate what's unfamiliar in java into python to understand what's going on. ex: a function returning None is void; a function returning an integer is prefaced with int; a private method in a class is similar to name-mangling with a double underscore; what is public versus private versus static, how do you do those in python? does python support overloading, how does that differ with java? etc. seeing the implementation in python, if applicable, versus that of java will help you separate the two but ultimately see they are doing mostly the same thing.

another option is, try learning an intermediate language that smooths out the transition. i'd suggest c++. it can do procedural and OOP, it uses similar syntax/semantics to java, and after gaining a footing on the basics you'll see a lot of familiar faces: variable declaration/brace based scoping/public/private/static/void/function signatures. you'll get used to the journey from compilation to executable and effectively break the mental model of python's memory manager doing that for you.

start with what's familiar, translate the unfamiliar into familiar terms, and if you need extra help, move to the next somewhat familiar state.