Where to learn JAVA/Android in Dublin?

DaveBif

Hello everyone,

I'd like to get your inputs about any good school to learn Java / Android programming in Dublin center.

I'd be looking for an evening course compatible with a full time job.
Lots of practice and starting from the basics (I've got no experience at the moment).

If any of you could throw some light it would be appreciated.

Thanks
Dave

Freddio

http://www.youtube.com/user/CornboyzAndroid

The Corinthian

Just to understand; are you looking to learn Android Java development (i.e. native Android development) and already know Java or you need to learn both Java and native Android development?

If the former, there are quite a few good series of tutorials for anyone with Java knowledge that will allow them to get into Android quickly - half the battle at the start is setting up Eclipse, TBH. This is one I'd recommend.

If you need to learn Java too, then I'd suggest you concentrate on that first, sans Android, first. You can do this too online, especially if you already have (OO) development experience, otherwise there's lots of courses out there that may suit. Once you have a good grounding in Java, move to Android related tutorials, as per above.

Maximus Alexander

I have been learning myself for the last 9 months or so to do the very same thing, however, instead of finding a course to do I have been self taught using books. There are some great resources out there online, but would definitely recommend picking up some decent books to get you started.

The first thing you need to do is learn Java, and I found the following book to be an incredible resource:

http://www.amazon.com/Java-Program-Harvey-M-Deitel/dp/0136053068

As a complete beginner, I found it very easy to follow while still being very comprehensive and providing answers to every question that came into my mind, usually on the next page!

After that, you will need to learn how to apply that knowledge to Android so the natural launch pad is the highly informative Android Developer site linked below:

http://developer.android.com/index.html

However, there are a LOT of other books and online resources available on the subject that can help a great deal.

After this, I began to focus on game development so unless that is what you're interested in, the other books I used might not be as useful to you.

This is a tough route to go and requires a lot of self motivation, but I found it gave me a great sense of accomplishment and encouraged me to really think for myself, understand things properly and start coming up with solutions to problems (which would sometimes later be validated when I discovered that my method was the same one employed by other programmers!)

Best of luck with it and if you do find any worthwhile courses or classes, let me know, because I still have plenty to learn!

DaveBif

Thanks a lot lads for all tips and info.

I don't know JAVA yet just followed several video tutorials and beginner books but I always get stuck when I need assistant or clarification on something (obviously the down side of self-learning...).

The goal would be to create some decent Android apps but IMHO a minimum of JAVA knowledge is needed in order to get some concepts of Android.

My idea is to find an evening course where I could also share experience with other guys or get guidance on-site from the tutor/teacher.

The question for you guys would be if you know about a school, academy, etc where to get more good learning with Workshops etc.


Thanks again
Dave

bundaegi

There is some good advice in the above posts. It is important to have a good grasp of object oriented programming (OOP) before attempting Android development. If you already know OOP it should be relatively easy to learn Java and then move to Android development. If you do not have any OOP experience then Java is a good language to learn OOP.

As for courses/workshops/etc., UCD have run Java Training courses in the past, but I don't know if they will be running again in the future. Also, Dun Laoghaire IADT run an evening course in Android Development. However, this course requires students to have prior programming experience.

Timmaay

Another alternative to Java is this http://www.basic4ppc.com/, saves all the hassle of Eclipse, which will wreck your head!