Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Top 5 Free and Best Java 8 and 17 Courses for Beginners in 2024 [UPDATED]

Hello guys, if you are looking for some awesome resources, like books, tutorials, and courses to learn and master new features introduced in Java 8 and Java 16, then you have come to the right place. In the past, I have shared some of the best Java 8 tutorials and books, and in this article, I am going to share some of the best and some free Java 8, Java 9, to Java 16 courses from Udemy and Pluralsight with you. There are 2 free courses in this list that are pretty similar to many paid courses you usually buy, and many of these are made free for just promotional or educational purposes by their instructor. You can join these courses to learn JDK 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and JDK 13 features in a couple of days.

I used to start learning with books a couple of years back, but nowadays, online courses are my preferred way of learning. There are so many excellent free courses available on Udemy, which you can join to enhance your knowledge.

Though, sometimes, I have noticed that free courses turn into paid internships, especially after the instructor reaches their promotional targets, hence you should check the price before you join these courses.

A good idea is to join these Java 8 and Java 9 courses now while they are free. Once you are enrolled in the course, you will have a lifetime of free access, even after it is turned into a paid course. Which means you can learn whenever you want.

Even if you are not learning now, you can learn later when you have got some time or priority changes, there is no harm to that. Though, it's better if you finish them early and leave reviews and feedback to their instructor as a token of appreciation.

It feels terrible if an instructor sees a lot of candidates join the course, but no one finishes it. When you take the course, learn something from them and leave reviews, then it makes everyone happy, much like a win-win situation.

Btw, these courses only focus on Java 8 and Java 11 changes, for a complete Java learning a recommend The Complete Java Masterclass course on Udemy. It's not free, but it's worth every penny you spent. It is the most up-to-date course and recently updated for Java 11 as well. I bought it last year at just $10, not really expensive.





Why learn Java 8 and Java 17 Features in 2024?

If you are thinking about what the benefit of learning new features of Java 8 and Java 9 is, then let me tell you that if you want to be relevant as a Java developer in today's job market, you better learn Java 8 now. I have mentioned this early in the year in my post about 10 things Java developers should learn in 2024, and I am repeating it, learn Java 8 soon er than later.

It's been more than 4 years since Java 8 was first released and it was received very well by the Java community because of several exciting features and language enhancements like lambda expression, Stream API for bulk operations, new Date and Time API for better handling of dates, Default and Static methods on the interface, Method reference, and many more such features.

Nowadays, more and more companies are adopting the Java 8 style of coding, and if you don't know write code in Java 8 style, like using lambda and functional programming concepts, you will be left behind.

Not just they are essential to be relevant, it also improve your productivity and makes writing Java code fun once you know the basics, and that's where these courses can help.

Coming to Java 9, it didn't have the spark of Java 8 but was still packed up with some exciting features, e.g. Modules and some API enchantments. Knowing those features will eventually help you to write better Java code and create a better application in Java.





5 Best Online Course to learn Java 8 and 17 Features in 2024

Here is my list of free online courses to learn Java 8 and Java 9 features from scratch. This list includes courses that are suitable for a beginner as well as experienced Java programmers who are not familiar with JDK 8 and JDK 9 features.

It's not required for you to attend all the courses, you can watch a preview and make a decision whether to join or not. At a bare minimum, you can join one course on Java 8 and the other on Java 9 to get yourself up to speed.

And, since these courses are absolutely free, you have nothing to lose by joining them.


1. Java  Programming for Complete Beginners in 250 Steps

This is an excellent Java course for beginners, especially those who are starting the first time. It covers the latest version of Java, I mean Java 16, and instructors of this course also regularly update the course to include new features introduced in the latest Java version.  

If you want to learn Java from scratch, you can join this course. You will not only learn new features of Java 8 and Java 9 like functional programming, lambdas, and streams but also other essential concepts of Java.

Btw, You will be fortunate if you get this course for free because I am sure instructor Ranga will make this course paid very soon, once he reaches his promotional target. I see, more than 31K students have already joined.

Unfortunately it's not free anymore, it was free before but now Ranga has converted into a paid course but I have kept it here because it's really a great course to join and you can easily get it for just $9.9 on Udemy sales. 

Anyway, I personally like Ranga's teaching style and the way he presents concepts, like JShell, in this course, and Spring concepts in his Spring and Microservice course. You will learn a lot in a quick time, there is no doubt about it.

Top 5 Free and Best Java 8 and 1 Courses for Beginners [UPDATED]





2. Java 8: basics for beginners [FREE]

This is a concise course to learn some key features of Java 8, like lambda expressions, method references, functional interface, default methods, Stream API, Optional class, etc.

You will not only learn those but also new Date and Time API and other less famous but useful changes.

Even though this course doesn't provide a comprehensive overview, you can check this out for a quick overview, especially if you are in a rush and don't have much time to spend on self-learning.


free Java 8 courses for beginners





3. What's New in Java 8 [Pluralsight]

This is a somewhat more comprehensive course on Java 8, and it covers almost all the features you need to know.

The author Josh Paumard has 20 years of experience in Computer Programming, and that shows in this course. You will learn about how lambda expressions and Stream API makes coding in Java fun again.

It not only covers significant features such as Date and Time API but also small API enhancements like StringJoiner and join method on String class for joining Strings in Java 8.

You will also learn about JavaFX and JavaScript using the Nashorn engine. Overall a great course to learn Java 8, but the course is not exactly free.




It's from Pluralsight, and you need a membership to get access to the course. The only way you can get access to free is by signing up for a 10-day free trial, which is not bad. Also, Pluralsight membership is worth money, you get access to more than 5000+ courses at just $29 per month.

There is also a good chance that your company might have a Corporate Pluralsight license, and then you can get this course for free on your company account.




4. Java Programming, Lambda, and more (Java 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8) [FREE]

This is another excellent free Udemy course to learn new Java features. Unlike the previous class, which teaches you Java from scratch, this course not only focuses on new Java 8 or 9 features but also on features introduced in subsequent Java versions like Java 10, 11, 12, and 13. 

This 12.5-hour-long course is as good as any paid courses on Udemy and we should be really thankful to instructor Syed Ahmed for keeping this amazing course free for educational purposes. 

Coming to the content, this course covers Java Shell, Modularity, Enhancement on Java Stream and Process API, Factory method on Collections, my favorite features, HTTP 2 client changes, and G1 Garbage collector enhancements.

Here is a summary of Java features covered in this course:
  • Text Block of Java 13
  • Switch Expressions and Enhancements of Java 12 and 13
  • HTTP Client API of Java 11
  • G1 Garbage Collector of Java 10
  • try with resource and factory methods of collections of Java 9
  • Lambdas, functional programming, and default methods of Java 8
  • New Date and Time API, LocalDate, LocalTime from Java 8
Overall one of the best free courses to learn new Java features from Java 8 to Java 13. If you want to level up your Java skills and want to learn these new features, I highly recommend this course to you.

best free course to learn Java 8 to Java 13





5. What's New in Java 9 by Sander Mak [Pluralsight Free Trial]

This is another impressive course to learn Java 9 features. In this course, Sander Mak, author of the popular book Java 9 Modularity, has explained some significant Java 9 changes.

The course is divided into 6 sections, the first section covers Java Modularity, and since the instructor is also the author of a book on Java 9 Modularity you can expect this is the most comprehensive coverage you are getting. In fact, his explanation is quite good compared to a difficult topic.

The second section focuses on a more exciting and interactive change from Java 9, the JShell. You will learn what REPL is and how to use JShell by following demos.

The third section focuses on small language and library improvements, like changes in Stream API, Optionals, Factory methods on Collections, and other improvements. This is the section you would love because you will be using these changes in your day-to-day life.




the fourth section focuses on HTTP/2 and Process API changes while the fifth section focuses on Desktop Java Enhancements, like JavaFX updates.

The sixth and last section focuses on Performance and Security enhancements and explains G1 Garbage Collection changes and the Compact String feature introduced in Java 9.

As with any other Pluralsight course, you need a membership to join this course, like a monthly or annual membership. Though membership doesn't cost much, like $29 per month to access their 5000+ courses, you can still get this and the Java 8 course free by signing up for a 10-day free trial, which is more than enough to complete these courses.


That's all about some of the best, free courses to learn new features of Java 8 to Java 17. I strongly encouraged you to take at least one Java 8 and one Java 9 course to get yourself familiar with new features, particularly the JDK 8 features like lambda expressions, Stream API, Collectors, Optional, and new Date and Time API.


Other Java and Programming Resources you may like

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you find these free and best Java 8 and Java 17 online courses useful, then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback then please drop a note. 

P. S. - If you are new to the Java world and want to learn Java from scratch but looking for free resources like free online training courses then you can also check out Java Tutorial for Complete Beginners (FREE) course to start with. It's completely free and you just need an Udemy account to join this course. 

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