What's a good way to start practicing with Java besides SoloLearn's code playground?

Question

i'm not sure if i can use notepad to run/test my code for java just like in css/html. I read somewhere that i could use an IDE, but they look more complicated than what i want to use it for. Can someone recommend something easy?

Answer 1

Hey, while you can use notepad to type and compile your code, an IDE will save you a lot of time.

I was in your position not long ago

Here's my go-to advice for Java beginners.

- go to codecademy and finish the course, it should take you a few hours, it's not hard to muster through it and it'll give you the very basic understanding of the language

- get an IDE, Eclipse is lightweight, free and doesn't come with hundreds of bells and whistles. It let's you compile, test and debug your code much faster than saving notepad files and converting.

- get "HEAD FIRST INTO JAVA" book , a must have for understanding java better

- go to codingbat.com and do the challenges! Those will help you a lot to improve and understand java (and programing in general)

- open your favorite IDE and just take at least 1-2 hours of your time each day and just type, test, make a simple calculator, make a simple guessing game with loops, random numbers etc

- when you're not on your PC, jump to SoloLearn and do challenges

Answer 2

Jay Matthews, woa thanks! so much useful stuff on there. nice website

Answer 3

Anhjje
ive been using freecodecamp and html/css were a breeze but java was so hard for me, thats why i came on here, ill check out codeacademy tho.

and thank you, eclipse it is!