Things I Learned While Teaching a Java Boot Camp

April 26, 2014

Each time I teach a Boot Camp (be it Java or something else), I find that I learn a few things myself during the class. Sometimes syntax issues I have to look up for the students, or just better ways to explain some of the concepts. Other times it's more "big picture" ideas about the state of software development. So I thought I'd start blogging some of these "findings" as they happen. This week I taught a 5-day Intro to Java Boot-Camp for a company in Vacaville. Highlights from that class included...

Despite some of my bleeding-edge development friends proclaiming otherwise, Java does not appear to be "dead". I get booked to teach Java more often than I'm asked to teach HTML5.

There are still lots of COBOL programmers employed in California (this was my 3rd or 4th group of COBOL developers that have signed up to learn Java in the last 6 months).

COBOL is still actively in use by several major companies, including companies that I would have sworn had more current deevlopment practies already in place.

When describing abstract methods in a base class (i.e. the "empty" ones that only exist to make a compiler work), sometimes the best description for that is "this empty function acts as a conduit to the real functions".

Telling the students in advance that tomorrow's topics will be difficult and they should get a good night rest and bring coffee seems to really help. I did this before teaching Inheritance, Composition, and Interfaces.

Much like web developers (i.e. me) think most everyone understands the difference in front-end and back-end development, COBOL programmers have tools they too feel are ubiquitous with development. Neither of us was correct.

It's been over 20 years. There are still developers that don't know Java and JavaScript are different languages. Each time I teach Java, I mention that as a quick footnote. There is always at least 1 person frantically scribbling down what I said. Fortunately nobody has gotten up and left the classroom after learning such info. :)

-nolan