Ten Tips to Make You a Better Programmer
In this video I’ll count down my top ten tips for improving your coding. Professionals will know these tips already (or should do), but beginners often ignore them, accidentally wasting a lot of time in the process. If you follow … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 25: Public, Private, Protected
Discover the meaning of public, private and protected in the Java programming language. Public, private and protected are confusing for beginners, but once you understand how to use classes, they’re actually quite simple. When the video is running, click the … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 24: Packages
How to use packages in Java. Packages are an important tool for organising your code; you’ll also need to understand packages to use other people’s code. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 23: Interfaces
A tutorial on interfaces in Java. Discover how you can use interfaces almost everywhere where you’d normally use classes, with one important exception. Interfaces have a variety of uses, including helping to specify functionality, helping to separate one class from … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 22: Inheritance
A tutorial on the important topic of inheritance in Java — one of the fundamental building blocks of OOP (Object Oriented Programming). (Apologies for the dodgy sound on this video). When the video is running, click the maximize button in … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 21: toString()
How to use the important toString() method in Java, and a bit about the Object class that’s the grandfather of all objects in Java. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to make it … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 20: StringBuilder and String Formatting
How to use StringBuilder, StringBuffer and why you should use them. This video also unveils the mystery of formatting strings with printf() and related methods; vital skills for any Java course or aspiring software developer. When the video is running, … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 19: Static (and Final)
A tutorial on the static keyword in Java. The first part of the tutorial covers the basic meaning of static; after that we look at what you can do with static, including counting objects, assigning IDs to objects automatically, and … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 18: Constructors
A tutorial on constructors in Java; what are they, how to create them, using multiple constructors with different parameters and calling constructors from within other constructors. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to … Continue reading
Creating Databases and Tables: MySQL for Beginners, Part 1
The first part of a tutorial series on the popular free MySQL database. In this video I show you how to create databases and add some data. Commands demonstrated in this video (these commands create a database called shop and … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 17: Setters and ‘this’
How to use setters, also known as set methods or mutators, in Java. In this video I also take a look at the ‘this’ keyword and when to use it. When the video is running, click the maximize button in … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 16: Method Parameters
How to pass parameters (values and variables) to your methods; a vital programming skill. I also discuss something that usually confuses beginners — namely, how data flows from one variable to another when you pass the variable to a method. … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 15: Getters and Return Values
Using get methods or “getters” in your Java classes, and how to return values from methods in general. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to make it full screen. Code for this tutorial: … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 14: Methods
How to add methods (subroutines) to your classes in Java. In this tutorial we’ll look at adding subroutines to our basic Person class, so that the Person objects can do stuff as well as containing data. When the video is … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 13: Classes and Objects
A basic tutorial on classes and objects in Java. What is a class? How do you create objects and classes and how do you use them? When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 12: Multi-dimensional Arrays
How to work with multi-dimensional arrays in Java and info on how multi-dimensional arrays actually work, plus some tips on how to remember which index is which. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 11: Arrays of Strings
A tutorial on String arrays in Java, plus another way to iterate through an array, and more stuff on references vs. values. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to make it full screen. … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 10: Arrays
How to use arrays of integers in Java; also some stuff on the important difference between values and references. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to make it full screen. Code for this … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 9: Switch
How to use the switch statement in Java; a construct that many programmers neglect but that invariably appears early on in tests and courses! When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to make it … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 8: Do … While
Do…while loops in Java, plus a look at variable scoping and multi-line comments. In this tutorial I tackle a task that’s often assigned to beginners on Java courses; looping until the user enters some particular input. When the video is … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 7: Getting User Input
How to get console user input in your Java programs using the JDK Scanner class. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to make it full screen. Code for this tutorial: import java.util.Scanner; public … Continue reading
Beginner’s Java: Test Your Knowledge of Classes and Objects
Started programming in Java a few weeks/months ago, but getting horribly confused about classes, objects, settter and getters and this? This page is for you. If you’re pushed for time you can treat this page as a test and just … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 6: If
A tutorial on the if() statement, plus some stuff on using break to break out of loops. When the video is running, click the maximize button in the lower-right-hand corner to make it full screen. Code for this tutorial: public … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 5: For Loops
In the fifth part of the Java tutorial for beginners video series using Eclipse, we look using ‘for’ loops and printf(). Code for this tutorial: public class Application { public static void main(String[] args) { for(int i=0; i < 5; … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 4: While Loops
In the fourth part of the Java tutorial for beginners video series using Eclipse, we look using loops to make your code repeat statements multiple times. We also take a look at conditions. Code for this tutorial: public class Application … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 3: Strings
In the third part of the Java tutorial for beginners video series, we look at working with text using the String class. We also get our first real peek at using classes and objects. Code for this tutorial: public class … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 2: Using Variables
In this second part of the Java tutorial for beginners series, we look at declaring and initializing variables — one of the most basic building blocks of any computer program. Code for this tutorial: public class Application { public static … Continue reading
Java for Complete Beginners (Video), Part 1: A Hello World Program
The first in a series of video tutorials on Java for absolute beginners, using the free Eclipse IDE. In this first video, I show you how to create a “hello world” Java program with a minimum of typing! Before you … Continue reading
Basic C++ Programming: Test Your Knowledge
Test your knowledge of the absolute basics of C++. The exercises below are designed for beginners who’ve been learning C++ for just a few weeks. Or months; I’m assuming you’ve got on to creating header files, and perhaps you haven’t … Continue reading