How long dess it take to master Java?

[kkid]

I am brand new to programming, how long does it take to become essentially fluent in the language?

How far along do Computer Science degrees get a student in terms of knowing all aspects of a language?

[Alien]

If you are from another programming language, it may take a few weeks to become fluent in Java, especially if you are from C/C++. It all depends on how quick you are at learning.

[kammce]

That my friend is a good question that only YOU can answer for yourself once you become fluent. Buckle down and get to learning as well as some practicing. In my opinion, becoming fluent in a programming language is not what you want. You want to be fluent in programming. Then everything else comes along. That is why knowing C/C++ will help when you jump into Java. They have their differences and they are different tools for similar problems, but one thing is almost always true in almost all programming languages (especially those that are object-oriented); the logic that is used to learn one, will almost always the same for the others. The syntax, the way certain algorithms, and how things are spelled might all differ. Even how variables are initiated might differ, but the logic is always there.

My advice, use Java to learn how programming logic works and use that to become fluent in all computer languages. In respect the amount of time it will take... it took me 2 years to become as comfortable programming Java as I do speaking English. But I started at a young age so, I did not understand how all of this stuff worked. If you are older, learning should not take any more than 3 - 8 months. I know that sounds like a long time and a huge gap between 3 months and 8 months, but I have taught programming lessons to people before and that is how long it some people to learn it. But I have no idea how brilliant you might be and how fast you pick things up. So, like I said, it is up to you. As long as you have a good physical book in front of you and you learn how to understand the Java Documentation pages (Example: JLabel (Java Platform SE 6)) you will be set!

... and I cannot answer that last question because I myself will be attending my Freshman year of College as a Computer Engineer, and I have no idea how far a Computer Science degree will get you. It also depends on where you live and the demand that a Computer Science degree might be in that area. Places like the bay area in California are the perfect place for those who want Computer degrees because it is in the middle of the Silicon valley. (Stanford, San Jose State Univ and other close by colleges). I am also wondering about how far my Computer Engineering [masters] degree will take me. SJSU for the win!!!

Kind Regards,
Kammce

[JosAH]

Jav 1.4. (see your link) has been dead for quite some time now (1.5. is barely alive and 1.6. already has a 1.7. sucessor) Also note that there is no one object oriented programming, i.e. interfaces are quite Java centric while multiple inheritance is C++ centric; implementation of classes can be changed in Objective C and Python (duck typing) and there are many other features (not present in Java) tht can come in very handy.

kind regards,

Jos

[kammce]

Jav 1.4. (see your link) has been dead for quite some time now (1.5. is barely alive and 1.6. already has a 1.7. sucessor)

Thanks for that. I did not notice that when I put that link in. I was quickly trying to get a link to the Java documentation and clicked on the first search result I found.

[Tolls]

Google likes to return 1.4 links on basic Java API searches.
It's slowly improving...