What Java Programmers Should Learn in 2022
You’ve invested time and effort to learn Java programming, you know all the basics, and even more, you’ve found an excellent job and worked on exciting projects. But, does it mean you can sit back and relax?
The main trait of technology is that it never stops evolving. So neither should you if you don’t want your skills to become obsolete.
In this article, we’ve gathered some advanced skills Java programmers should master if they want to be up to par in 2022. We’ve also covered the study materials and courses to help you learn the skills and tools in our list.
8 features of Java to learn in 2022
Java is one of the most rapidly evolving programming languages. It’s been updated twice a year since 2018. So keeping up with it is quite a task.
Of course, you don’t have to learn every single new feature or tool. But you should be up to date with the most essential new features. The exact list of those features largely depends on the projects you work on. Here are some ideas on what to learn to stay up to date in programming with Java this year.
Jenkins
Jenkins is an open-source Java automation server. This tool is one of the most popular ones for continuous integration and delivery.
Jenkins is great for automating unit and integration tests, compiling projects, generating documentation, uploading artifacts. Basically, it’s the tool to master if you need to automate the non-human parts of software development.
Docker and Kubernetes
Docker and Kubernetes have become indispensable for most of the DevOps teams in recent years. These two are comprehensive solutions to manage containerized applications.
Docker is a platform for building, distributing, and running Docker containers. And Kubernetes is a container management system. Together they create a powerful combination that allows to manage and deploy containers in a distributed architecture. A lot of specialists in the industry refer to these tools as game-changer, so learning to work with them is definitely worth it.
Git
Git is one of the essential tools for a Java developer. It is an open-source tool for managing projects with a version control system. It proved to be great for non-linear workflows, integrity, and speed. Most companies have already learned to appreciate these features and are migrating their project to Git. If you are not comfortable working with it yet, it’s high time to learn.
Selenium
Selenium web driver provides test frameworks and an open-source API for testing web applications. It can also be used for automating web-based admin tasks. The tool shows great results in creating browser-based regression automation tests and bug reproductions scripts. Other features many of you will appreciate are running tests on several machines and managing multiple environments from one place.
RESTful Web Service
Writing REST API and implementing RESTful web service in Java with Spring is more and more in demand. Yet, there are not many developers who know both Java and REST well. So gaining the knowledge will give you an advantage.
Java 17 Development Kit (JDK 17)
Released in September 2021, the latest version of the JDK has a number of new features you might be interested in learning:
- New patterns: guarded pattern and parenthesized pattern
- Sealed Classes
- Always-Strict Floating-Point Semantics
- Strongly Encapsulated JDK Internals
- Context-Specific Deserialization Filters
- Foreign Functions & memory API
- New macOS Rendering pipelines
- New API for Accessing Large Icons
- Enhanced Pseudo-Random Number Generators
- Modernization of Ideal Graph Visualizer
- Console Charset API
- System Property for Native Character Encoding Name
- New SunPKCS11 configuration properties
- Configurable Extensions With System Properties
Angular or Responsive JS
If you are planning on delving into UI development this year, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with either Angular or React JS. Or both.
Angular is a TypeScript-based open-source web application framework meant for building mobile and desktop web applications. And React is an open-source front-end JavaScript library for building user interfaces based on UI components.
Apache Spark and Kafka
If you want to dip your toes into Big Data or cybersecurity in 2022 you’ll need to explore Apache Spark and Apache Kafka frameworks. These two technologies are open source and are well documented, so you won’t have any issues trying them out.
Big Data and cybersecurity are two of the hottest topics these days. Learning the technologies associated with them might give a great push to your career.
Where to learn new Java skills
There are hundreds of Java learning resources, both online and offline. Below we will recommend some of the best online courses and communities that will help you master the skills and tools mentioned above.
Online courses
CodeGym Java course This online course is a great way to learn new Java skills as well as polish the ones you already have. The course features over 1200 practical exercises with instant validation, a helpful community, and an informative blog.
Pluralsight platform This online study platform offers great courses on a lot of development skills in our list. For example, there are various courses on Jenkins, Kubernetes, and Git.
Way2automation This one is a good collection of tutorials on various testing tools and skills, including Selenium.
Communities
Asking the community to help you master a new skill or share information on the latest Java update is a great way to learn. Of course, you probably already know where to look for like-minded Java enthusiasts. But it never hurts to mention the communities we all so love and appreciate:
The skills and tools mentioned in this article are not an exhaustive list by any means. You might not need any DevOps skills in your current line of work, or you might already be proficient with Git. These tools and features are meant to give you an idea of what you might want to learn next.
But one thing you should have gathered from this article is - you do have to continue learning. Otherwise, you’ll never keep up with the technology and won’t be able to grow in your career.
(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)
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