If you're looking for some free resources on Java, e.g. books, tutorials, and other learning materials, then you have come to the right place. There are so many resources available to master the features that were introduced in Java 8 and Java 9. In past, I have shared some of the best Java 8 tutorials and books. In this article, I am going to share some of the best and free Java 8 and Java 9 courses from Udemy and Pluarlsight. These courses are pretty similar to any paid course you might normally buy and many of these are made free for a promotional or educational purpose. You can join these courses to learn JDK 8 and JDK 9 features in just a couple of days.

I used to begin learning new programming features with books, but, nowadays, online courses are my preferred method of learning. There are so many good free courses available on Udemy.

Though, sometimes, I have noticed that free courses turn into paid courses, 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 free, unlimited access, even after it is turned into a paid course. This means that you can learn whenever you want.

Even if you are not learning now, you can learn more when you have some free time or priority changes — there is no harm in enrolling.

Why Learn Java 8 and Java 9?

If you are wondering about the benefit of learning the features of Java 8 and Java 9, then, let me tell: if you want to be relevant as a Java developer in today's job market, you better learn Java 8 now. I have mentioned previously in my post 10 Things Java Developers Should Learn in 2018, and I am saying it again, learn Java 8 sooner rather than later.

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

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, e.g. using lambda and functional programming concepts, you will be left behind.

Not only is Java 8 essential to being relevant in the Java community, it also improves your productivity and makes writing Java code fun, once you know the basics. That's where these courses can help!

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

Top 5 Courses to Learn Java 8 and 9

Here is my list of the free online courses to learn Java 8 and Java 9. This list includes courses that are suitable for beginners 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 on whether to join or not. At the bare minimum, you can join one course on Java 8 and another on Java 9 to get yourself up to speed.

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

Java 9 Programming for Complete Beginners in 250 Steps

This is an excellent Java course for beginners, especially those who are starting it for the first time. This course covers the latest version of Java, i.e. Java 9.

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, e.g. functional programming, lambdas, and streams, but also other important concepts of Java.

You need to act fast to get this course for free because I am sure instructor Ranga will make this course paid very soon, once he reaches his promotional target with more than 31K students that have already joined.

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

Java 8: Basics for Beginners

This is a very short course for learning some key features of Java 8, including lambda expressions, method references, functional interface, default methods, Stream APIs, optional class, etc.

You will not only learn those, but you will also learn the new Date and Time API and other less popular 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 rush and don't have much time to spend in self-learning.

What's New in Java 8

This is a 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 major features, such as Date and Time API, but it also covers small API enhancements, like StringJoinger and the join method in the String class for joining Strings in Java 8.

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

It's from Pluarlsight, 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.

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

Java 9 New Features in a Simple Way

This is another awesome free course to learn Java 9 features. Unlike the previous course, which teaches you Java from scratch, this course only focuses on new Java 9 features.

It's is an actual recording of a classroom; hence, it's better than other screen-based courses. The instructor is also very enthusiastic — you won't feel bored and sleepy.

Coming to the content, this course covers JShell, modularity, enhancement on Java Stream and Process API, factory method on Collections, and my favorite features, HTTP 2 client changes and G1 Garbage collector enhancements.

Overall, this course covers every single Java 9 feature that you should know.

What's New in Java 9 by Sander Mak

This is another awesome course to learn Java 9 features. In this course, Sander Mak, author of the popular book Java 9 Modularity, has explained some important 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 Modularity, you can expect this to be the most comprehensive coverage you can get.

The second section focuses on a more interesting and interactive change from Java 9 — JShell. You will learn about REPL and how to use JShell.

The third section focuses on small language and library improvements, e.g. changes on Stream API, options, factory methods on Collections, and other improvements. This is the section you will 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, e.g. JavaFX updates

The sixth and last section focuses on performance and security enhancements. It explains G1 Garbage Collection changes and the compat String feature introduced in Java 9.

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

That's all for now about some of the best, free courses to learn new features of Java 8 and Java 9. 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 programming resources you may like:

5 Free Spring Framework Courses for Java Developers

Top 5 Courses to learn Web Development in 2018

5 Courses to Learn Big Data and Apache Spark

Top 10 JavaScript Tutorials and Courses for Web Developers

Top 5 Courses to Learn Spring Boot in 2018

5 Free Data Structure and Algorithms Courses

5 Free Linux Courses for Programmers and Developers

5 Free Courses to Learn React JS Framework

Thanks for reading this article. If you find these free Java 8 and Java 9 courses useful, then please share with your friends and colleagues.

Read more: https://javarevisited.blogspot.com/2018/08/top-5-free-java-8-and-9-courses-for-programmers.html#ixzz5NmoOGzrC