Java Developer Road Map 2021 - Learning Path for Java Developer

In this article, we will discuss the Java developer road map or learning path for Java developer in 2021.

If you are a Java beginner and want to become a Java developer then you are in right place.

Video

This article is pretty well explained in the below video tutorial:

In this article, we will discuss:

• Skills for Core Java development
• Skills for Java EE development
• Tools for Java development 
• Commonly used libraries for Java development

To become a Java developer, you should begin with Core Java development.

I highly suggest you to watch my YouTube video to understand more about the Java Developer Road Map - Learning Path for Java Developer.

1. Skills for Core Java Development

As a Java beginner, start learning core Java development. Here are the skills required you to work on Core Java development:

I highly suggest you to watch my YouTube video to understand more about the Java Developer Road Map - Learning Path for Java Developer.

Learn and master in Core Java at https://www.javaguides.net/p/java-tutorial-learn-java-programming.html

Core Java

Core Java is a base for all the Java EE frameworks and technologies so make sure that you have a good foundation in core java.

You can learn and master core Java at Java Tutorial | Learn Java Programming with Examples

Data Structures and Algorithms

Data Structures and Algorithms are the building blocks of any programming language.

As a programmer, you should have a good understanding of data structures and algorithms.

To learn and master Data Structures and Algorithms in Java at Data Structures and Algorithms in Java

Java Testing

Check out the JUnit framework and Mokito for unit testing in Java. As a Java programmer, you should have good knowledge of testing your core logic using the JUnit framework.

To learn and master the JUnit framework at JUnit tutorials

Knowledge on Databases

As a core Java developer, you should have good knowledge of databases.

Here are the commonly used relational databases and No SQL databases:

RDBMS:

• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• MS-SQL server
• Oracle

No SQL Databases:

• MongoDB
• CouchDB
• Elastic Search

Design Patterns(GOF)

In software engineering, a design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software design. A design pattern isn't a finished design that can be transformed directly into code. It is a description or template for how to solve a problem that can be used in many different situations.

As a core Java programmer, you should know the commonly used design patterns in Java.

The GoF Design Patterns are broken into three categories: 

1. Creational Patterns for the creation of objects; 
2. Structural Patterns to provide relationships between objects
3. Behavioral Patterns to help define how objects interact.

Learn and master all the GOF design patterns at All GOF design patterns.

Desktop Application Development

 In the Java community, you have Swing and JavaFX to develop desktop-based applications.

Swing is a legacy library for building the desktop app and JavaFX is modern so we suggest you use JavaFX for desktop applications. 

2. Skills for Java EE development

Once you are familiar with Core Java development then learn the below skills to work on Java EE development:

Java EE tutorials at https://www.javaguides.net/p/top-java-tutorials.html

JSP and Servlets

JSP and Servlets are used to develop web applications.

Learn JSP at https://www.javaguides.net/p/jsp-tutorial.html

Learn Servlet at https://www.javaguides.net/p/servlet-tutorial.html

JPA

The Java Persistence API (JPA) is the Java standard for mapping Java objects to a relational database. Mapping Java objects to database tables and vice versa is called Object-relational mapping (ORM).

JPA implementation is provided as a reference implementation by the vendors developing O/R Mapper such as Hibernate, EclipseLink, and Apache OpenJPA.

Learn JPA at https://www.javaguides.net/p/jpa-tutorial-java-persistence-api.html.

JAX-RS

JAX-RS is Java API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) is a Java programming language API spec that provides support in creating web services according to the Representational State Transfer (REST) architectural pattern.

There are two main implementations of the JAX-RS API:

1. Jersey Framework

2. RESTEasy

JAX-WS

Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) is a standardized API for creating and consuming SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) web services.

Hibernate Framework

As a Java EE programmer, you must learn the Hibernate framework to develop the DAO layer.

Hibernate is a java based ORM tool that provides a framework for mapping application domain objects to the relational database tables and vice versa.

Hibernate is probably the most popular JPA implementation and one of the most popular Java frameworks in general. Hibernate acts as an additional layer on top of JDBC and enables you to implement a database-independent persistence layer. It provides an object-relational mapping implementation that maps your database records to Java objects and generates the required SQL statements to replicate all operations to the database.

Learn Hibernate at https://www.javaguides.net/p/hibernate-tutorial.html.

Spring Framework

Spring framework makes Java EE development easier. Spring framework is a must-learn skill for Java EE developers.

The Spring Framework is a Java platform that provides comprehensive infrastructure support for developing Java applications. Spring handles the infrastructure so application developers can focus on your application.

Learn Spring at https://www.javaguides.net/p/spring-tutorial-beginners-to-expert.html.

Spring Boot

Spring Boot is basically an extension of the Spring framework which eliminated the boilerplate configurations required for setting up a Spring application.

Spring Boot is an opinionated framework that helps developers build Spring-based applications quickly and easily. The main goal of Spring Boot is to quickly create Spring-based applications without requiring developers to write the same boilerplate configuration again and again.

Spring boot is one of the essential skill for Java EE developers right now.

Learn Spring boot at https://www.javaguides.net/p/spring-boot-tutorial.html.

Microservices

Spring Boot and Spring Cloud is a great combination to develop a microservices in Java.

Spring Boot is the most popular and widely used Java framework for building MicroServices. These days many organizations prefer to deploy their applications in a Cloud environment instead of taking all the headache of maintaining a datacenter themselves. But we need to take good care of the various aspects to make our applications Cloud Native. There comes the beauty of Spring Cloud.

Spring Cloud is essentially an implementation of various design patterns to be followed while building Cloud Native applications. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we can simply take advantage of various Spring Cloud modules and focus on our main business problem than worrying about infrastructural concerns.

Tools for Java development 

Apart from Core Java and Java EE skills, it's important to learn about tools required for Java project development. As a Java developer, you should learn the below tools to work on Java development:

Commonly used libraries for Java development

It's also important for Java developers to learn commonly used utility libraries for Java development.

Here are the commonly used Java utility libraries:

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed the technologies, tools, and libraries required to become a Java developer.

We have discussed the below topics in this article:

• Skills for Core Java development
• Skills for Java EE development
• Tools for Java development 
• Commonly used libraries for Java development

I highly suggest you to watch my YouTube video to understand more about the Java Developer Road Map - Learning Path for Java Developer.