Java Basics Notes

Java is a statically typed, object oriented language that compiles to bytecode and runs on a virtual machine, which is what makes it portable.

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Install a JDK, understand every word in the classic first program, and learn what compilation and execution actually do.

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Java has eight primitive types and everything else is a reference. Knowing which is which explains assignment, defaults and equality.

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Widening happens by itself, narrowing needs a cast and can lose data, and casting a reference only changes how the compiler sees an object.

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Java operators grouped by purpose, with the precedence rules, short circuit behaviour and integer arithmetic surprises that trip people up.

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Reading from the keyboard and writing to the console, with the Scanner pitfall that catches almost every beginner.

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The three comment forms, the reserved words you cannot use as names, and the naming conventions every Java codebase follows.

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Decision making in Java, from the plain if statement to modern switch expressions and pattern matching.

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Every looping construct in Java, when each one fits, and how break, continue and labels change the flow.