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Java in early programming education
September 18, 2019

Java in early programming education

Michael Kolling | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Oracle Java SE

I use Java to teach an introductory programming course. Java is still currently the best language to achieve my goals. First of all, the course is not about teaching Java. It is about teaching principles of object orientation and of programming in general. Java exemplifies the principles very well. OO concepts can be discussed easily and clearly.
Secondly, in the education space, Java has the best tooling. Python, for example, is also popular in the space, but does not come close to Java in the quality of IDEs and other tools available. If you agree that educational environments really matter, Java has no serious competition.
  • The educational tools available are better than for other languages.
  • A very wide range of teaching material and ecosystem is available.
  • Great support is available for teachers in the community.
  • In more recent versions, the Java language has become more complex. Language features are being added that help professionals, but get in the way for novices.
  • We have a very well rated programming course using Java.
  • The course has been stable for a long time, giving us chance to polish and fine-tune.
Many other languages could be used for initial programming. However, simplicity of concepts, static type system and available tool support in combination made Java come out top for us. Especially Python has become very popular recently. I think this is a step backwards, due to lack of static typing. This does not help beginners.
The Java community is open. The JCP allows people to get involved. It is easy to get information.

Do you think Oracle Java SE delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Oracle Java SE's feature set?

Yes

Did Oracle Java SE live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Oracle Java SE go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Oracle Java SE again?

Yes

In education, if you are teaching at university level, or in the later years in school, Java is a good choice.
If, on the other hand, you teach younger learners, Java is probably not the language you want. Free text editing is too hard for really young ones, and the concepts can overwhelm. I'd say, from age 16 upwards, use Java.