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In exactly a month I will face a Java exam. My problem is that even if I know all Java theory (the exam won't face GUI), I have problems creating programs: sometimes I can't understand how to make a fast program or how to implement what I want my program to do. So how can I improve my Java habilities? What kind of exercises should I work on? Should I follow some guides or tutorials? Should I re-study all the theory till I understand better?

P.S. If this isn't the right Stack to post this on I will just close the question and look better for the right one

  • Experience. Lost of practice on lots of platforms. What's fast on one system is not necessarily fast on another. Knowledge of algorithms helps as well. Continual learning is a must for the professional. – StephenG - Help Ukraine Dec 26 '16 at 14:26

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I'm going to go ahead an assume that it's a Java 101 type of exam.

The best way to go about studying for it, in my opinion, is to practice applying the basics. Things such as Data Types, Conditional Statements, using Arrays, etc. A good place that has stuff like this is CodingBat as it gives you answers too. You could even just have a read through a beginner's Java book (a quick google search will bring up loads which you can find a PDF easily).

Then if you want to work on general problems that encompass everything you could do the problems at places like HackerRank (Which is also good practice for coding interviews as many companies use this) or the easy problems at reddit.com/r/dailyprogrammer. There are tonnes of other resources out there but if you would like some more just comment on this.

Good luck in your exam and I hope this helps you a little bit.

Rob Antcliff
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  • Yes it's about Java 101. Anyway thank you for your links, the first one is really helpful...anyway I have two books and I'll surely integrate the study with exercies and your links. Thank you again! –  Dec 26 '16 at 16:03
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After a certain point, I found that reading books and doing tutorials didn't do much for me. Instead, what helped was doing projects. I've been doing code golf over on code golf and programming puzzles, the Euler problems, and just my own projects I want to work on. If you think something's cool, go for it. This sort of unstructured, try to solve problems with code work can be very helpful, and I know that it has taught me personally a whole lot.

Of course, this may not give you enough experience in using specific methods, which is why you should study in other ways as well. However, this will get you more familiar with your language and give you more problem solving skills. Good luck on your exam!

auden
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