10 Tools Java Developers Can Learn in 2024 - Beginner to Advanced [UPDATED]

Hello guys, we are now one week into 2024, and I am sure all of you have already made your goals about what to learn in 2024 and how to achieve them. I have been writing a series of articles to give you some ideas about the things you can learn and improve to become a better, all-around developer in 2024, like learning new programming languages, frameworks, and libraries. These three things are extremely important and help you to become a better Java developer but as some wise person said, "you are only as good as your tools", you should also look to upgrade your tools, learn new tools and improve your understanding of old tolls which are still going well.

To help you with what tools you can learn in 2024, I have come up with a list of 10 essential tools for Java developers, which I am going to share with you guys in this article. In the past, I did share some useful testing tools for Java programmers, and this article is an extension of that as it covers much more than automation testing tools.

It includes essential coding tools like IDEs, Project Management tools like JIRA, Source control essentials like Git, and Build tools like Maven and Gradle. There is a good chance that you are already familiar with some tools, and in that case, you can simply ignore them or learn it to further improve your understanding of them.

These are essential tools that mean as a Java developer in 2024, many companies expect that you already know these tools. They often screen your resume to find a reference to these tools and mostly ignore your resume if you forget to include your experience and knowledge about these tools.

Btw, this is also my second list of tools for Java developers, last year, I have shared the top 10 tools used by Java programmers in their day-to-day life, which also included some of the more general day-to-day tools Java developers used. If you need more tools, you can also refer to them to get more ideas.

10 Best Tools Java Developers Should Learn in 2024

When I say essential tools means something which you must know, but the list also contains some tools which are more advanced and even if you don't know you can work well, but knowing them will further enhance your reputation and make you more valuable and possibly can also help you in your career growth, particularly if you are looking to become a DevOps engineer in 2024.

I have tried to include tools from code repository, project planning, build and deployment, testing automation, and infrastructure automation. As a senior Java developer who is responsible for managing the project end to end, these tools will help you to do your job more effectively.

Anyway, without any further Ado, let's see some of the essential tools for Java programmers.

1. Git

I think Git and Github should be the most essential tool for all Java programmers, including experienced developers and they, should learn and master advanced Git concepts like branching, merging, and reverting changes. I know many of you already know Git, but those who are still working in SVN and CVS seriously consider learning Git and Github this year.

There is no way you can avoid Git anymore, even if you don't use it in your current project. It has become a standard source code repository, and most of the new development is using Git.

If you are a beginner, I suggest you check out the GitHub Ultimate course to start with.  Even if you know Git, you can still learn things, like the Git command line, to further improve your knowledge. All the time and money you invest in learning Git will serve you for a long time.

2. Docker

Docker is a tool that allows users to quickly assemble apps from components and work collaboratively. If you are working on web development, like developing and deploying applications for the cloud, then Docker is an essential tool to learn.

This is appropriate for managing containers of an app as a single group and clustering an application's containers to optimize resources and provide high availability. If you are serious about learning Docker, then I suggest you first go through Docker and Kubernetes Complete Guide before using it in your project.

3. Kubernetes

Along with Docker I also recommend you learn Kubernetes or K8 in 2024. This is the tool I have been using for deploying into cloud and bare metal from past year. Kubernetes is now essential for many companies who are following cloud first policy. 

It not only take care of deployment but also scaling. K8 can scale up and down depending upon traffic to your application. You can also use to rollout new updates without any downtime. It can leverage blue green model or canary deployment model to rollout update without degrading your service quality. 

I believe that going forward, Kubernetes will the the most popular tool for deployment both in cloud and non-cloud environment and having this in your CV will boost your chances of getting a DevOps and Senior developer jobs.  

If you want to learn Kubernetes in 2024 and need resources you can  checkout Kubernetes for the Absolute Beginners, an hands-on course to learn K8, both concept and kubectl command on Udemy. It's also one of the up-to-date course to learn Kubernetes.

And, if you need more choices, you can also check out this list of best K8 courses to start with. 

4. Maven

This is another essential tool for Java programmers, which helps you to build and manage a Java project. It's been there for quite some time, and a good chance is that you already may have heard about Maven or used it in your project.

It not only help you to build your project, like compile source files but also run your unit test and can deploy your artifacts or deliverables to live environments. It also helps with managing dependencies, like all the third-party JAR files you use in your projects.

Without Maven, this can be really a nightmare. In short, all Java developers should know Maven in 2024, and if you are looking for an excellent course to start with, you can check out the Apache Maven: Beginner to Guru course from Udemy, one of the best courses to learn Maven.

5. Jenkins

Jenkins is another essential tool for Java developers, particularly those who are hoping to become a DevOps professionals. This is a continuous integration tool, which means it can continuously build, test, and deploy your project.

In our case, Jenkins automatically runs the build every time someone check-in their code. IT also has scheduled nightly and hourly builds to automatically build and test our project.

If you are a senior Java developer, e.g. someone with more than 5 years of experience and you don't know Jenkins, then you should seriously consider learning it. If you decide to learn Jenkins, the Learn DevOps: Jenkins CI/CD with Docker is a fantastic course to start with.

6. Selenium

This is another excellent tool for Java developers, particularly Java web developers. Selenium is a tool for web browser automation, which means you can test your web pages like both JSP and static pages written using HTML and JavaScript using Selenium.

It provides a playback tool for authoring tests without the need to learn a test scripting language. It's becoming trendy nowadays, and that's why learning does not only help you to write better code but can make you more valuable.

If you are serious about learning Selenium in 2024, I suggest you start with Automated Web Testing with Selenium on Pluralsight to learn how to write an automated test for a web application.

7. JIRA

After Git, I think JIRA is the second most important tool for any Java developer or say any programmer out there. It has quickly become the #1 Planning and bug tracking tool for many organizations.

If you are working in an Agile team like following Sprint schedules and doing Scrum meetings, then JIRA is even more important. With all its capabilities to support Agile methodologies, it's a must-know tool for an Agile team.

You can even impress your manager and colleague by knowing JIRA in-depth like you can help your team to create a Sprint dashboard. If you are serious about learning JIRA in 2024, then Learning JIRA with real-world examples is a great course, to begin with.

8. Gradle

This is another crucial build tool for the Java developer. Similar to Maven, it also helps you to build, test, and deploy projects. It also manages dependency like Maven does, but it uses Groovy to write build scripts as compared to XML, which is used by Maven.

This means you can write more powerful and cleaner build scripts than Maven. It's an excellent tool for project configuration and building automation, and if you are thinking of learning Gradle or wants to know more about it, Please check The Gradle Masterclass course from Udemy.

9. Splunk

This is another useful monitoring tool that many companies are introducing in their development life-cycle. This supposes to help you to write better code by indexing your log files and using machine learning to analyze the content.

It turns machine data into answers with the leading platform to tackle the toughest IT, IoT, and security challenges.

Companies are using Splunk to search, monitor, analyze, and visualize machine data. If you want to learn more about Splunk, The Complete Splunk Beginner Course on Udemy is a good starting point.

10. Chef

This is another excellent tool for infrastructure automation, like building a new server and installing your application. The chef is a configuration management tool written in Ruby and Erlang.

It uses a pure-Ruby, domain-specific language for writing system configuration "recipes". With Chef, you can manage servers a large number of serves easily.

Time-consuming activities like manual patching, configuration updates, and service installations for every server can all be automated. In short, a useful tool for both senior Java developers responsible for managing their environments and DevOps engineers.

If you are interested in Chef and using it in your organization, then I also suggest you go through Chef Fundamentals to learn more about it.

11. IntelliJ IDEA

Finally, the most crucial tool for a Java developer, an IDE. I am sure you have already used an IDE as I hardly know a Java developer who doesn't use IDE, but most of the users just learn one IDE like Eclipse or NetBeans and simply ignore others.

The IntelliJ IDEA is one of them, which is ignored by many Java developers who use Eclipse, but it offers a lot more. You can learn it to further improve your productivity if you happen to know Eclipse already.

I generally found many complex projects are better to work in IntelliJ IDEA, their Java 8 support is also much better than Eclipse. Anyway, if you are serious about learning this IDE in 2024, then I suggest you go through IntelliJ IDEA Tricks to Boost Productivity for Java Devs to further increase your productivity.

and, if you need more choices, you can also check these best online IntelliJ IDEA courses.  Apart from this, some other tools you can explore are JPA Buddy and the AI-powered coding tool from Tabnine which is also available as IntelliJ IDEA extensions. There are many more excellent IDEA plugins and Eclipse plugins which you can also explore. 

That's all about some of the useful tools Java developers can learn and master in 2024 to make themselves more valuable and improve their productivity. As the saying goes, you are as good as your tools, it becomes increasingly essential for Java developers to get familiar with modern tools that can improve coding, unit testing, development, deployment, infrastructure automation, and continuous integration, especially if you want to become a DevOps Engineer or full-stack Java developer

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these best Java tools and libraries and agree that advanced Java developers will benefit from learning these tools, 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 want to start 2024 on an excellent note, then I suggest you join The Complete Java MasterClass, one of the most up-to-date courses. It's been updated for Java 17 and beyond recently and will be updated with new Java releases.