Thread: Just a hobby

Okay so I'm not great with Java by any means. But I enjoy it a lot so I wanted to learn as much as I can about it. I'm in the process of learning the basics but I thought I might benefit from a community of people with a much better knowledge and understanding. So err... Hi.

Welcome! What resources or guides are you using to direct you study? What are you ultimately interested in doing with your programming skill, if anything? Look forward to working with you.

Unfortunately due to financial difficulties I'm stuck to free online guides. And because of my outrageous working hours it is only a part time thing.
I don't have an aim as such. But that all depends on if I get good or not. I enjoy all areas of computing, so if I was to get good enough. I would consider a career in it.

Don't feel that being restricted to online resources puts you at a disadvantage. If you're motivated and methodical in your personal study, there's no reason you can't do more faster than you would in a University course, and I realize speed may not be an issue. In fact, taking it at the pace you can handle, but thoroughly, is a good thing. Not having a specific goal or "big dream" is also good when first starting out. While having that as motivation could be a good thing, it also contributes to distraction and impatience.

This free, online but downloadable book is an excellent foundational resource for Java programming. There are others, but I wouldn't recommend most of them as highly as this one. Start at page one, read every word, type every exercise, attempt to solve every chapter exercise. Come here when you need help. While source code for the exercises and answers to the exercises are also available for download, I recommend you use those only as a last resort, AFTER typing them yourself, making your best attempt at solving them yourself, and coming here for help as needed.

Finally, be warned that there are a lot of crappy Java tutorials and learning resources on the Internet. Some are dated/obsolete, others just plain wrong, and there are plenty that are misleading or provide examples of bad habits/practices. If you'd like our opinions/ratings of Internet tutorials or other resources, I'm sure you can find those here too.

Good luck, don't be a stranger, stop by even if you just need a kick in the pants.

That's a great help. Just to clarify. That book will guide me through the basic steps? If so then perfect. Unfortunately I spend most of my internet time on my phone and unfortunately Mr Jobs was never too fond of Java. So I'm pretty restricted most of the time.