10 Things Java Programmers Should Learn in 2019

It's 24th December now and only a few days have left in the year 2018. It's a good time to look back and retrospect what you have achieved in 2018 and what you could have done better. This will help you to create your goals for 2019. As a programmer, our biggest challenge is to keep ourselves up-to-date. Technology changes very fast and you will see a new version of programming language and framework coming to every couple of year. This year has plentiful changes with keeping up-to-date with new Java version every 6 months, Spring 5, Spring Security 5 and Spring Boot 2, it's probably the busiest year in terms of changes for Java developers.

When I started 2018, I thought Java 9 was new and before I could finish learning Java 9 completely, Java 10  and Java 11 was ready. It came with a lot of interesting features e.g. var with local variables, API enhancements, GC improvement, Thread Local handshake and many more. I am really excited to learn those in 2019.

Same goes with Spring framework and Spring Security, I didn't know all the changes on Spring 4.0 and Spring Security 4.0, my project was still using Spring Security 3.1 and boom we now we have version 5.0 for both Spring and Spring security.

My learning speed has slowed down a little bit in last a couple of years and I haven't managed to keep myself up-to-date with latest and greatest e.g. I am yet to get comfortable with Git, JavaScript frameworks like Angular and React, latest changes on unit and integration testing space and new version of popular framework e.g. Spring, Spring Security, and Spring Boot.

So, 2019 will be all about getting myself up-to-date with things which matters most on the technology side, improving my toolset chain and exploring the DevOps landscape

What Programmers should learn in 2019

Here is my list of things a Java developer should learn in 2019.

1. Git

Git and Github have been around some time and while I have used Git in past with Eclipse, I am yet to become comfortable with Git on the command line.

Why I haven't mastered Git so far? Simply because I didn't need it yet. I have occasionally download projects from Github and run from Eclipse but I am still a novice with Git.

Since now most of the companies are migrating their projects from SVN, CVS to Git, its high time to learn and master Git. I have recently purchased the Git Complete: The definitive, step-by-step guide to Git from Udemy on their last 10$ sale and this would be the first item to complete in 2019. If you are in the same boat and want to learn Git in 2019, do check out that course from Udemy, it's very handy.

2. Unit testing

Another area which I want to improve in the coming year. There are a lot of new framework and tools available for Java programmers to unit test and integration test their application e.g. Mockito and PowerMock for mocking objects, Robot Framework, and Cucumber for automated integration test and of course the new and shining JUnit 5 library.

There is plenty of stuff to learn on this front. If you can invest some time upgrading your unit testing skill, not only your coding skill will improve but also you will become a more professional developer, which every company looks form. To start with, you can check out JUnit and Mockito Crash Course from Udemy.

3. Java 9,10,11 or maybe 12

As I said, I am still learning Java 8 and many Java developers too. I will also spend some time learning new features of Java 9 in 2018 but for me, Java 8 is still a priority, until I moved to Java 11 which is another LTS release.

The JDK 9 brings a lot of goodies in terms of modules, Jigsaw, Reactive Streams, Process API, HTTP2 client, JShell, and API improvements like collection factory methods and I am really looking forward to learning them at the earliest opportunity.

Similarly, JDK 10 brings var to give you a flavor of dynamic typing and some GC improvement.

In the last Udemy 10$ sale, I have purchased a host of courses and one of them is  The Complete Java MasterClass, which is updated for Java 11 and I am looking forward to starting my Java 11 journey with that.

Btw, if you have yet to start with JDK 8 then here is my list of favorite Java 8 tutorials and courses which you can free of cost: 10 best tutorial to learn Java 8.

4. Spring Framework 5

The year 2017 has seen many major upgrades to Spring and Java Ecosystem and Spring Framework 5.0 is one of them. I have been hearing about some new features like reactive programming model on Spring 5, adoption of Java 8 and 9, some unit testing improvement etc but I have yet to try that.

Anyway, I have already started learning Spring 5.0  by following Spring 5. 0: Beginner to Guru and will keep the momentum going in 2019. If you use Spring, probably it's the best time to learn Spring 5.0.

If you like books, you can also check out this list of advanced Spring Books for Java developers from Manning and Packt Publications.

5. DevOps

This is another area where I am seeing a lot of traction last year as more and more company are moving into DevOps and adopting continuous integration and deployment.

DevOps is very vast and you need to learn a lot of tools and principles and that's what overwhelm many developers but you don't need to worry. I have shared a DevOps RoadMap which you can follow to learn and master DevOps at your own speed.

This means if you are an experienced Java programmer with a passion for managing the environment, automation and improving overall structure, you can become a DevOps Engineer.

If you are looking for some awesome resources then Master Jenkins CI For DevOps and Developers is a great course to start with, particularly for Java developers.

10 Things Java Programmers Should Learn in 2019

5. RESTful Web Service

One more thing I want to keep improving in 2019 is my knowledge about writing REST API and implementing secure and scalable RESTful Web Service in Java using Spring.

This is one skill which is highly desirable in the Java world and there are not many people who know both Java and REST well. If you are also in the same boat and want to learn how to develop RESTful Web Service using Spring, The REST of Spring MasterClass from Eugen Paraschiv is a good starting point.

6. Spring Security 5.0

This is the third major upgrade on Spring Eco-System. The 5th version of popular security framework has several bug fixes and a major OAuth 2 module, which you just can't miss.

This is another priority Item for me in 2019 along with Spring 5.0 framework stuff. Thankfully Eugen has updated his best selling course Learn with Spring Security to include 5.0 features and added a separate module for OAuth 2.0., probably the best material to learn Spring Security 5.0 at this moment.

7. Spring Boot 2

The Spring Boot framework also has a new release Spring Boot 2. If I get sometime after all these goals this year then I will spend some time learning Spring Boot 2. If you also want to learn Spring Boot 2, you can check out this free Spring boot course from Udemy for a quick start.

If you need more choices then you can also check this list of top Spring boot courses for Java developers to learn in 2019.

8. Angular 2+ or React JS

These two JavaScript framework has completely changed how you develop web applications. As a Java developer, I have used Servlet, JSP, and jQuery at client side but haven't yet tried my hand with Angular or React.

In 2019, one of my goals is to learn Angular and I will be starting my journey with Udemy's Angular 7- The Complete Guide. If you are in the same boat then you can also take a look at that course, it's very handy.

9. Android

If you don't know how to write Android Apps in 2019 then you are lacking something. Mobile is one of the best platforms to reach a large number of people and Android is probably the most popular platform to write mobile applications.

Even though I know Android basics, I have yet to publish any Android apps, maybe 2019 will change that. For now, I have shortlisted these Android online courses to refresh my knowledge and get to the next level. If you are also in the same boat then you may find them useful as well.

10. Apache Spark and Kafka

One more thing I want to keeping exploring in depth in 2019 is the Big Data, and particularly Apache Spark and Apache Kafka framework. I am not sure if I will get time to look other Big data technologies but its seriously good stuff and Big Data is probably the hottest technology at this moment.

If you also want to learn Big data in 2019, you may want to check my list of shortlisted courses to learn Apache Spark for Java developers from Udemy and Pluralsight.

That's all about what to learn in 2019? As I said, Technology changes with rapid speed and the biggest challenge for programmers are to keep themselves up-to-date. Apart from this list, there are plenty of other stuff which you can look-up in new year e.g. learning a new programming language like Kotlin but for me, I will be more than happy if I can achieve these goals in 2019.[Source]-https://javarevisited.blogspot.com/2017/12/10-things-java-programmers-should-learn.html

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