It’s been more than four years since Java 8 was launched, and many of you are already thinking of Java 8 as a legacy version, but there are still so many Java developers out there who don’t know how to code using new language features in Java 8, like lambdas, streams, and method references.
It’s high time for all those programmers to learn and master Java 8 before their skills become outdated. After that, we already have a couple of Java releases, i.e. Java 9, Java 10, and Java 11. However, Java 8 is still the most used version, particularly when it comes to coding style.
In the past, I have shared a lot of books and tutorials on learning the key Java 8 features, e.g. lambda expressions, Stream API, method references, default methods, new Date and Time APIs, Optionals, and other smaller API enhancements, but my readers keep asking me about online courses they can take to learn Java 8 quickly.
I can understand that because online courses have become the most popular way to learn a new technology in a quick period of time.
They have replaced books as the go-to source for learning new technology. However, I still think the best resource to master a topic is through books, because they provide the most comprehensive and authoritative knowledge.
But, what works best for an online course is active learning, which is not possible with book tutorials. That’s the single most important reason why many people are using online courses to learn anything on the web, especially at its cheap prices.
Top 5 Courses to Learn Java SE 8
In this article, I am going to share some of the best Java 8 courses from Udemy and Pluralsight to learn Java 8 in no time.
I have a Pluarlsight annual membership, but I also shop on Udemy, mostly on their flash sale where they sale courses at just $9.99, which, to me, is like getting a course for FREE.
Anyway, without further ado, here are my top five courses to learn Java 8 in no time:
1. Java 8 New Features In a Simple Way
If you quickly want to familiar with all the new features introduced in Java SE 8 release, then this is the right course for you. This course is a direct classroom recording of Java 8 classes so you will feel like attending the class personally.
The course covers all essential Java 8 features, like Lambda Expressions, Method reference, Functional Interfaces, Default and Static methods, common Functional interfaces from the java.util.function package like Predicate, Function, Supplier, Consumer, etc.
It also covers Stream API and new Date and Time API in greater detail, which is very important to code in Java 8 style.
2. Java Streams API Developer Guide
One of the most important features of Java 8 was the introduction of lambda expression and Stream API, which now allow you to easily perform bulk data operations in Java.
One of the main challenges developers face while writing code in Java 8 style is using the lambda expression and Stream API — that’s where this course helps.
It is a completely focused course that will teach you everything about Stream API. The course covers iterating over Stream, Max, Min, and Comparators, Collectors, Filtering and Transformation using a filter, map, and flatmap methods.
It also covers findAny() and findFirst() methods, pulling out statistics from your data and grouping data in SQL, like Group By example, map reduce, and joining strings.
Overall, this a great course to learn Java 8 Stream APIs.
3. What’s New in Java 8
If you have a Pluralsight annual membership and are looking for a good course to start with Java 8, then “What’s New in Java 8” is a good course to start with.
It provides a nice overview of all important Java 8 features, like lambdas, stream, the method and constructor reference, new Date and Time APIs, default and static methods of interfaces, etc.
It even covers Java FX changes and the JavaScript engine, Nashorn, which was added in JDK 8.
If you don’t have a Pluralsight membership, then you get this course for FREE by signing of Pluralsight free trial, which gives you free access to Pluarlsight courses for 10 days.
4. From Collections to Streams in Java 8 Using Lambda Expressions
This is another Java 8 course by Jose Paumard, the author of the previous Java 8 course.
This course shows the new patterns introduced in Java 8 based upon lambda expressions, functional interfaces, the new and modified Collection Framework, and the newly introduced Stream API.
Java 8 has changed how you write code in Java, and that’s why many standard Java idioms have now become out-dated.
This course will teach you new patterns to build efficient and clean Java applications.
5. The Complete Java MasterClass — Updated for Java 10
This is not just the Java 8 new feature course but the most comprehensive course to learn Java. If you are a beginner and starting with Java 8, then I recommend this course to start with.
It is also constantly updating. The course now covers Java 8 and Java 9, but I expect it to also cover Java 10 features soon.
It is detailed, comprehensive and covers most of the topics a Java developer should be familiar with, e.g. core Java, Collections, Concurrency, File IO, JVM internals, and much more.
In short, this offers a complete course to learn Java from scratch.
That’s it for some of the best courses to learn Java 8 online. These courses will quickly teach you essential features of JDK 8, like lambda expression, default methods, method reference, functional interface, and new Date and Time APIs.
Though you should focus more on lambdas and Streams to make most of Java 8, those are also the key skills and are often tested in Java interviews.
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Closing Notes
Thanks, You made it to the end of the article … Good luck with your Java Programming journey. It’s certainly not going to be easy, but by following these courses, you are one step closer to becoming a Java Developer you always wanted to be.
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