Complete Java Learning Roadmap: Beginner to Professional
Phase 1: Java Fundamentals (1-2 months)
Setup & Environment
Install JDK (Java Development Kit)
Install an IDE (IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, VS Code)
Understand JVM (Java Virtual Machine), JRE (Java Runtime Environment), and JDK
Core Java Basics
Data Types & Variables
Operators (Arithmetic, Logical, Relational, etc.)
Control Flow (if-else, switch)
Loops (for, while, do-while)
Arrays (1D & 2D)
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
Classes and Objects
Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism, Abstraction
Methods & Constructors
Static vs Instance members
Basic Java APIs
String Manipulation
Date and Time API
Wrapper Classes
Practice
Solve simple coding challenges (e.g., on LeetCode, HackerRank)
Implement basic OOP concepts in small projects
Phase 2: Intermediate Java (2-3 months)
Collections Framework
List (ArrayList, LinkedList)
Set (HashSet, TreeSet)
Map (HashMap, TreeMap, LinkedHashMap)
Queue (PriorityQueue, Deque)
Iterators & Streams
Exception Handling
Try-Catch-Finally
Throw & Throws
Custom Exceptions
File Handling
Reading & Writing Files (BufferedReader, FileWriter, etc.)
Serialization & Deserialization
Multi-Threading & Concurrency
Threads, Runnable Interface
Synchronization & Locks
Executors & Thread Pools
JDBC (Java Database Connectivity)
Connecting Java to MySQL/PostgreSQL
CRUD Operations
Prepared Statements
Practice
Build small applications using JDBC & file handling
Work on coding problems involving collections & concurrency
Phase 3: Advanced Java (3-4 months)
Java 8+ Features
Lambda Expressions
Stream API
Functional Interfaces (Predicate, Consumer, Supplier)
Default & Static Methods in Interfaces
Optional Class
Design Patterns
Singleton, Factory, Builder
Strategy, Observer, Decorator
MVC (Model-View-Controller)
JVM Internals & Performance Optimization
Garbage Collection (GC)
Memory Management
Profiling & Debugging
Unit Testing
JUnit & Mockito
Writing Test Cases
Test-Driven Development (TDD)
Practice
Optimize Java applications for performance
Apply design patterns in real-world problems
Phase 4: Java Frameworks & Enterprise Development (3-5 months)
Spring Framework
Spring Core (IoC & DI)
Spring Boot (Microservices, Auto-Configuration)
Spring MVC (Web Development)
Spring Data JPA & Hibernate (ORM for Database)
Spring Security (Authentication & Authorization)
RESTful Web Services
Creating REST APIs with Spring Boot
JSON & XML Data Exchange
Postman Testing
Build Tools & Logging
Maven & Gradle
Logging with Log4j & SLF4J
Docker & Kubernetes (For Deployment)
Containerizing Java Applications
Running Java Apps in Kubernetes Clusters
Microservices & Cloud Deployment
Deploying Java Apps on AWS/Azure/GCP
Using CI/CD Tools like Jenkins & GitHub Actions
Practice
Build a full-stack Java web app with Spring Boot & REST API
Deploy the app using Docker & CI/CD
Phase 5: Mastery & Specialization (Ongoing)
Explore Advanced Topics
Reactive Programming (Project Reactor)
GraphQL with Java
Distributed Systems & Event-Driven Architecture
Big Data & AI with Java
Apache Kafka, Apache Spark
Machine Learning with Java
Interview Preparation
Solve advanced coding problems on LeetCode
Mock interviews
Contribute to Open Source
Contribute to Java frameworks & libraries on GitHub
Join Java developer communities
Final Goal: Become a Java Professional!
Work on real-world projects
Stay updated with new Java releases
Keep learning & improving