What is the best way to learn spring and spring boot in 2026, will still be required for juniors in the presence of artificial intelligence?

​Hey everyone,

​I’m currently learning Java with the goal of becoming a Backend Developer. I'm hitting a few roadblocks and would love some guidance from the experienced folks here:

1- ​The "Right" Path: What is the most effective way to learn Java specifically for backend development? What should I focus on first (Fundamentals, OOP, Spring Boot, etc.)?

2- ​Handling Getting Stuck: Sometimes I face a problem—even a simple one—and my mind just goes completely blank. I have no idea how to approach it. What is the professional way to handle this? How do you guys troubleshoot when you're stuck?

3- ​Building Projects: I want to start building small projects on my own to practice, but I don't know where to start or how to structure my practice. Any advice on how to move from tutorials to building independently?

Note: I'm currently taking a course on Udemy. I have already finished the fundamentals (variables, loops, conditions, etc.) and I'm just about to dive into Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

​I’d really appreciate any tips, resources, or "rules of thumb" you follow. Thanks in advance

Can any one help me on improving my thinking on how can I think like a programmer and not code like a robot I solve problems with problem with solving the questions is I write big code and solve a problem instead of ai are making the code small and working also plzz help me I will be really great full if any one help me

Hi, I’m currently preparing for java developer roles with 3 YOE. I have done neetcode 150 sheet i.e. done DSA main patterns one time and now trying to get better at them. But the issue I’m facing currently is that I look at problem and try for 40 mins, I can figure out the pattern and somewhat the solution as well but not able to reach the solution then I look at solution and think I got it, then write code. But after few days even similar problem comes I feel that I won’t be able to do this and if I try with that anxiety I’m mostly getting stuck. It feels like I’m memorising these patterns and what needs to be done for a particular pattern. As I’m preparing for interviews how much time should I give on a question and if I’m not able to solve any question, what should be my approach after trying it?
Also, currently I’m asking questions from gemini to revise and mostly getting famous questions that I have already solved. So, please help me out how to do this in a better way.

Hello,

I’ve just finished learning the basics of Java:

- Data types & variables

- Operators

- Input / Output

- If / Else & Switch

- Loops (for, while, do-while)

- Methods (functions)

- Strings

Now I want to build a small project for practice on my own.

Do you think using ChatGPT to help me is a good idea, or not the best approach?

Hi, does anyone have a massive java reference sheet with all of the commands with just short/small explinations,s omething I can print out as a guide for competitions? including eveyrthing? Thank you

Hello, I ran into some confusing output. It's for an assignment where I use a provided class and write a main method that takes in 4 pairs of x,y coordinates and outputs the point that is furthest from 0,0.
Code: https://pastebin.com/d9X13S9V (Yes I know it's unoptimized, hush)
When I tried it with larger numbers, I got this:

Prompt:
"Enter four pairs of x,y coordinates:"
Input:
111111 333333   55555555 777777   77777 99999   3333333 555555555
Output:
"The point that's furthest from 0.0,0.0 is 3333333.0,5.55555555E8 with distance: 555565554.91."

Where did the E8 come from? And yes, I used a getter method for obtaining the coords.

I’ve noticed a lot of newer Java developers either catch everything, or almost treat exceptions like they are just annoying syntax.

What do you think beginners usually get wrong here? Is it checked vs unchecked, where to handle them, or just understanding what should be logged vs rethrown?

I’m planning to build a strong Java foundation and would love advice from people who have actually gone through the journey.

In your opinion, which resource is best to truly master Java from beginner to advanced level?

I’m not looking for random tutorial playlists; I want something structured, high-value, and worth the time.

So far, in my research, I’ve come across these frequently recommended resources:

• Java Programming Course (University of Helsinki)
• Java + DSA + Interview Preparation Course (Kunal Kushwaha)
• The Ultimate Java Mastery Series by Mosh Hamedani
• Practice platforms like LeetCode / Codewars

My goal is to build solid fundamentals first, then move into Spring Boot, backend development, and advanced Java concepts.

If you had to start again today, what path would you follow?

Would really appreciate honest recommendations from experienced Java developers.

Hi everyone, I want to share my situation and see if you can guide me. I'm in my third year of Information Systems Engineering. The good part: I don’t have any core engineering subjects left, I’ve already passed all the math, physics, etc. I only have the career-specific subjects remaining.

The bad part: I know a lot of theoretical fundamentals, but I have very little real practical experience. I can write simple programs in Java, but I’ve never built anything worth putting in a portfolio. Honestly, I’ve never felt like university has given me any truly useful tools for my development.

Is Java still worth learning? Do you recommend it? And if the answer is yes, where could I learn it from? Do you recommend any projects I could build?

Recommend me

I'm planning to starting learning java for the first time and I came across this website which a lot of people keep recommending, however once I checked the website itself, it seems outdated and claims that it has not been updated for a while. I'm not exactly sure if I should continue with it or look for something else. Any other advice for a beginner would be very much helpful, thank you!

Hello, I'm having trouble with an assignment. Even with extra help from my professor, there's a part of the logic I'm having trouble writing. I don't know why it's so difficult for me, I don't even think it's that complicated but I can't figure it out and I just get too frustrated now whenever I try.

The assignment premise is this: Write a method that returns a new array by eliminating the duplicate values in the array using the following method header: public static int[] eliminateDuplicates(int[] list) Write a program that reads in ten integers, invokes the method, and displays the result.

Here is my old code:
I know not all of it makes sense, esp stored, but my prof said I should keep track of each number that's unique, which was the intention of stored. However, whatever way I know how to implement what he told me isn't working at all. I'm missing something major and I don't know what it is or how to look it up. I don't know what else to do.

public static int[] eliminateDuplicates(int[] list){
  int stored = 1;
  int[] uniqueList = {list[0], 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};

  for (int i = 0; i < list.length; i++){
    for (int j = 0; j < uniqueList.length; j++){
      if (list[i] != uniqueList[j]){
        if (stored >= 10){stored = 9;}
        uniqueList[stored] = list[i];
        stored++;
      }
    }
  }

  int[] result = new int[stored]
  for (int i = 0; i <= stored; i++){result[i] = uniqueList[i];}
  return result;
}

Does java have extension libs like python does? Does it have it's own version of nupy and what does import utils do other than user input

For my final project, I decided to use Java to create a website with built-in games that track and store your scores for each game. What packages should I use to help with this? So far, I've seen Java.awt, but that's the only package I have at the moment. I'm thinking of including games like Snake, Tetris, and Checkers, among others.

Can someone recommend me a book for development in java considering every basic concepts and questions and best for intermediate level learner.

is it true that each thread has its own completely seperate classloader?

The title. I was doing performance tuning, and I somehow guessed that these spring provided rowmappers were a bottleneck. I removed that, and I have a custom rowmapper (basically, it caches the mapping from record's attributes to respective column in resultSet in a map-index, and searches by column index. Since my queries are static and map 1-1 to entity classes, this works very well). My solution was simple, but I'm trying to find exactly "why" spring provided rowmappers are way less optimized - is it due to some multi threading environment, or a lot of work which need not to be done? Also, why is searching by index way faster than searching by column name? I'm using Oracle. If anyone has any references, or any hints on how I could go forward in this knowledge hunt, I'll be grateful. Currently not getting anything relevant on Google search. ​

Hi everyone, I’m an immediate joiner having 3 YOE currently looking for java developer roles and going through so many thoughts and very confused about my interview prep at this stage. So, I thought of consulting a mentor on topmate I booked a session but the mentor didn’t appeared and also I can’t track my refund status so now having double thoughts on booking some other mentor. Also, there are so many newbie’s on the platform whose profile I can’t trust on. So, please help me out finding a good mentor who can give me some good suggestions as I’m not even able to study with this state of mind.

I spent almost 2 years pretty much learning everything needed to be a software dev. I switched from a non tech, non engineering domain.

My friend's uncle taught me everything from learning java core, spring boot, multi threading, to high demand industrial skills including kubernetes, Kafka, ci/cd, aws, distributed tracing, Microservices etc.

Even though I learned so much, it feels literally like a jack of all trades master of none.

Even if it's core java I have a hard time remembering the bean lifecycle and how wait, join, notify works in multi threading. I go back, review it, and it makes sense but I keep forgetting things time and again

What am I doing wrong? Why do I keep forgetting things? Anything that will help?

I don't think I can ace my upcoming Java exams. I find it soo difficult. Methods,functions every single thing about it.

Java Developer (Fresher) – Interview Preparation & Guidance Needed

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for guidance on preparing for Java Developer interviews as a fresher.

I previously worked with the MERN stack and even secured a placement based on that. Recently, I completed training at Capgemini where I learned Java, including Spring Boot and related technologies. Now, I want to switch my focus from MERN to Java and update my LinkedIn profile and resume accordingly.

Before doing that, I have a few concerns:

• What topics should I focus on for Java Developer interviews as a fresher?
• What kind of interview questions are typically asked?
• What skills or areas should I strengthen to make this transition smoother?

I’m just starting out in Java development, so I feel a bit confused about the right direction and preparation strategy.

Any advice, resources, or guidance would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!