Java programming tutorial for beginners

The aim of this and the following pages is to teach you how to program Java, assuming you've done little or no programming in the past. Before you proceed with this tutorial, you should probably read through the guide to getting started with Java: that guide will tell you how to install the necessary software you need to program in Java. Especially if you're a complete beginner, you should make sure you've followed the getting started guide before starting on this tutorial, as it takes you through the mechanics of using the Java development tools. (An exception might be if you are working with a programming tutor who has taken you through these mechanics, or shown you a different tool than the one that we explain.) In this tutorial, we're going to concentrate mainly on the actual Java programming language, not on the mechanics of using the tools.

As you read through the tutorial, you'll frequently see example program snippets. In general, you should try running them, and altering them slightly to see how your changes affect how they run. To see how to run them, see the page on running your first line of Java— you essentially follow this procedure, but insert several lines as necessary.

Topics

The topics currently covered in this tutorial are as follows. They're generally designed to be read in order and link on from one another:

• variables;
• for loops and nested for loops;
• the if statement and if ... else construct;
• logical operators: used to combine conditions, for example, in the if ... else statement;
• arrays;
• introduction to objects;
• arrays (continued): a look at more techniques, including a simple array sort, as an example of how to access an array.

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