Java Programming Language

Course Overview

• The Java Programming Language course provides students with information about the syntax of the Java programming language
• object-oriented programming with the Java programming language
• creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs), exceptions, file input/output (I/O), and threads
• and networking. Programmers familiar with object-oriented concepts can learn how to develop Java technology applications. The course uses the Java 2 Software Development Kit, Standard Edition (J2SE SDK), version 5.0.

The students perform the course lab exercises using the NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

Skills Gained

• Create Java technology applications that leverage the object-oriented features of the Java language, such as encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism
• Execute and run a Java technology application from the command line
• Use Java technology data types and expressions
• Use Java technology flow control constructs
• Use arrays and other data collections
• Implement error-handling techniques using exception handling
• Create event-driven graphical user interface (GUI) using Java technology GUI components: panels, buttons, labels, text fields, and text areas
• Implement input/output (I/O) functionality to read from and write to data and text files.
• Create multithreaded programs
• Create a simple Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networked client that communicates through sockets

Prerequisistes

To succeed fully in this course, students should be able to:

• Understand object-oriented principles
• Create and edit text files using a text editor
• Create or compile simple programs in a language, such as C or C++, or have completed the SL-110: Fundamentals of the Java Programming Language course and have created and compiled simple Java programs

Course Outline

Module 1 - Getting Started

• Describe the key features of Java technology
• Write, compile, and run a simple Java technology application
• Describe the function of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
• NOTE: The terms "Java Virtual Machine" and "JVM" mean a Virtual Machine for the Java platform.
• Define garbage collection
• List the three tasks performed by the Java platform that handle code security

Module 2 - Object-Oriented Programming

• Define modeling concepts: abstraction, encapsulation, and packages
• Discuss why you can reuse Java technology application code
• Define class, member, attribute, method, constructor, and package
• Use the access modifiers private and public as appropriate for the guidelines of encapsulation
• Invoke a method on a particular object
• Use the Java technology application programming interface (API) online documentation

Module 3 - Identifiers, Keywords, and Types

• Use comments in a source program
• Distinguish between valid and invalid identifiers
• Recognize Java technology keywords
• List the eight primitive types
• Define literal values for numeric and textual types
• Define the terms primitive variable and reference variable
• Declare variables of class type
• Construct an object using new
• Describe default initialization
• Describe the significance of a reference variable
• State the consequence of assigning variables of class type

Module 4 - Expressions and Flow Control

• Distinguish between instance and local variables
• Describe how to initialize instance variables
• Identify and correct a Possible reference before assignment compiler error
• Recognize, describe, and use Java software operators
• Distinguish between legal and illegal assignments of primitive types
• Identify Boolean expressions and their requirements in control constructs
• Recognize assignment compatibility and required casts in fundamental types
• Use if, switch, for, while, and do constructions and the labeled forms of break and continue as flow control structures in a program

Module 5 - Arrays

• Declare and create arrays of primitive, class, or array types
• Explain why elements of an array are initialized
• Explain how to initialize the elements of an array
• Determine the number of elements in an array
• Create a multidimensional array
• Write code to copy array values from one array to another

Module 6 - Class Design

• Define inheritance, polymorphism, overloading, overriding, and virtual method invocation
• Use the access modifiers protected and the default (package-friendly)
• Describe the concepts of constructor and method overloading
• Describe the complete object construction and initialization operation

Module 7 - Advanced Class Features

• Create static variables, methods, and initializers
• Create final classes, methods, and variables
• Create and use enumerated types
• Use the static import statement
• Create abstract classes and methods
• Create and use an interface

Module 8 - Exceptions and Assertions

• Define exceptions
• Use try, catch, and finally statements
• Describe exception categories
• Identify common exceptions
• Develop programs to handle your own exceptions
• Use assertions
• Distinguish appropriate and inappropriate uses of assertions
• Enable assertions at runtime

Module 9 - Text-Based Applications

• Write a program that uses command-line arguments and system properties
• Write a program that reads from standard input
• Describe the C-type formatted input and output
• Write a program that can create, read, and write files
• Describe the basic hierarchy of collections in Java 2 Software Development Kit (Java 2 SDK)
• Write a program to iterate over a collection
• Write a program that uses generic collections

Module 10 - Building Java GUIs

• Describe the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) package and its components
• Define the terms containers, components, and layout managers, and describe how they work together to build a GUI
• Use layout managers
• Use the FlowLayout, BorderLayout, and GridLayout managers to achieve a desired dynamic layout
• Add components to a container
• Use the Frame and Panel containers appropriately
• Describe how complex layouts with nested containers work

Module 11 - GUI Event Handling

• Define events and event handling
• Write code to handle events that occur in a GUI
• Describe the concept of adapter classes, including how and when to use them
• Determine the user action that originated the event from the event object details
• Identify the appropriate listener interface for a variety of event types
• Create the appropriate event handler methods for a variety of event types
• Understand the use of inner classes and anonymous classes in event handling

Module 12 - GUI-Based Applications

• Identify the key AWT components and the events that they trigger
• Describe how to construct a menu bar, menu, and menu items in a Java GUI
• Understand how to change the color and font of a component

Module 13 - Threads

• Define a thread
• Create separate threads in a Java technology program, controlling the code and data that are used by that thread
• Control the execution of a thread and write platform-independent code with threads
• Describe the difficulties that might arise when multiple threads share data
• Use wait and notify to communicate between threads
• Use synchronized to protect data from corruption

Module 14 - Advanced I/O Streams

• Describe the main features of the java.io package
• Construct node and processing streams, and use them appropriately
• Distinguish readers and writers from streams, and select appropriately between them

Module 15 - Networking

• Develop code to set up the network connection
• Understand the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
• Use ServerSocket and Socket classes for implementation of TCP/IP clients and servers