When to Use If-Else and When to Use Switch-Case in Java Applications?

Before we dive into studying decision statements, we’d like to remind you to check out the previous post here. Pay special attention to comparison operators and logical operators. These operators will be the foundation for brainstorming and creating the most effective and precise decision statements. In practical use, decision statements are something programmers work with in almost every project, and it’s simply unimaginable to create any serious program without them. But what we want to emphasize is that your ability to construct a flawless decision statement in programming will determine not only the flow of your program but also the entire program itself.

What you’ve learned so far is how computers think, but with decision statements, you begin to think about how your program will function. If you’re a beginner and starting with simple, small programs, you’ll often create common and straightforward statements that are self-explanatory, and there’s not much to overthink in those cases. However, when you need to construct statements based on complex and challenging decisions, that’s where your programming thinking ability comes into play, and you’ll definitely make a lot of mistakes until you bring your programming experience to perfection. So don’t take decision statements lightly and just breeze through them. Instead, brainstorm a bit to solve some of your personal problems in a programming way.

A student codes a decision-based Java application

For example, if you’ve been studying a foreign language intensively over the past few months, but in your mind, you can already imagine how you’d create functions and put precise decision statements in them to ensure your functions recognize and return the correct results of grammar in any grammatical tense. Think about how the program would work with grammar, even if you’re not actually writing a program for the language you’re learning, as if you were going to create it. Why? Because that’s how experienced programmers think, even when they’re not coding. Years of coding instill in a programmer the habit of improving and motivating themselves. When you learn the Java programming language, you’ll be told that control statements in programming languages are used to manage the flow of program execution based on changes in the program's state.

Decision statements are just one category of control statements. Control statements are divided into conditional statements, loops, and jumps. Decision statements are conditional statements. Other categories include loops, which are iterations, and jumps, which are commands that help you exit loops and functions. You’ll learn about those later in upcoming posts. For now, we’ll focus only on decision statements. The Java programming language supports two types of decision statements: if-else and switch-case. The if-else statement is used when you have fewer conditions, while the switch-case is used when you have more conditions. Thanks to these statements, you control the program’s execution based on conditions known at runtime. Your capabilities and flexibility with these are vast, considering you can even nest one condition within another or multiple others. This is called branching. But let’s take it step by step and ease your learning process with practical use.

How If-Else Statements Work in Java Programming Language?

Using Java Operators Effectively: Examples for Every Level of Developer

If you have thoroughly studied data types, variables, and constants in the Java programming language; see the previous post here, then you are ready to get acquainted with operators in Java. If you are familiar with the C# programming language, and despite the fact that Java inherited operators from the C++ programming language, you may get the impression that C# has the same operators as Java. The only difference is that Java does not have operator overloading nor does it support pointers. C# does not use pointers, but it supports them in unsafe mode, which Java does not. Another difference is that Java categorizes operators in several ways. The most common way is that Java divides operators into four basic groups, with everything else classified as additional operators.

• Arithmetic Operators

• Bitwise Operators

• Comparison Operators

• Logical Operators

• Additional Operators

Students compare basic operators in Java with operators in other programming languages

In this post, we will focus in detail on the basic operators, while we will cover the additional operators in other posts once you have gained more knowledge of the Java programming language and when we start programming more complex Java applications. For now, make sure you fully understand how to use operators in Java. If you don’t know how to create the simplest calculator application in any programming language, then you definitely don’t know how to use arithmetic operators in programming. Therefore, it’s best to start with arithmetic operators.

Arithmetic Operators: First Steps in Programming

A Guide for Professionals, Understanding Variables, Data Types, and Constants in Java

A Java program consists of code written in the Java programming language, which is then compiled into bytecode. Bytecode is an intermediate code that can be executed on any platform with a JVM - Java Virtual Machine. When a Java program is run, the JVM loads it into memory and executes it. During execution, the JVM uses various processes to run the program, including a bytecode interpreter and an optimizer for faster code execution. One of the key aspects of a Java program is its object-oriented nature. This means that programs are written using objects and classes defined in the code. Objects are instances of classes, and classes define the attributes and methods that describe the behavior of an object. Java programs typically consist of multiple classes that work together to perform a function.

When the program is started, the JVM first loads the main class and executes its `main` method. Other classes are loaded as needed to execute the program. Another important feature of Java programs is memory management. Java uses a GC - Garbage collector mechanism, which automatically removes unused objects from memory to free up space for other objects. This process is automatic, so as a Java programmer, you don't need to worry about memory deallocation directly. If you're interested in learning more about the Java programming language, click here. Assuming you're not a complete beginner in programming and may have some experience with the C# programming language, you'll best understand how the Java programming language works by paying attention to the differences between Java and C# in terms of their implementation and operation, despite the fact that these two programming languages share many similarities.

Students discuss what data type to use in Java code

The Java programming language is designed as a platform-independent language that can run on any platform with a JVM - Java Virtual Machine, while the C# programming language relies on the .NET framework. Memory management in C# is slightly different; C# has a mechanism similar to the GC - Garbage collector called the .NET Garbage Collector, and the programs are compiled differently. Additionally, C# has an intermediate code similar to bytecode called CIL - Common Intermediate Language. Although both languages are object-oriented, there are differences in language aspects such as syntax, conventions, access modifiers, and more.

If you're coding desktop applications, we recommend using C#. However, if we're talking about web applications or large projects and systems that run on the Internet, Java is definitely a better choice. Overall, if you know C#, learning the Java programming language won't be too complicated for you. As for variables, the rules are the same. Variables are declared by specifying their name and data type. The variable name can contain letters, numbers, and underscores, but it cannot start with a number or contain spaces. It's important to give variables clear and descriptive names so that their purpose in the program is easily understood later.

However, when it comes to data types in Java, both languages have strongly typed data types, but there are definitely some differences. Even basic types that seem the same in both languages are implemented differently. For example, in Java, the `String` data type is written with a capital letter, while the `boolean` data type is written instead of `bool`, which beginners often confuse. Declaring variables is the same as in C#, but note that the `String` object in Java expects double quotes " ", and single quotes ' ' are used for the `char` type. In the Java programming language, you don't have data types like `dynamic` or `var`. Java has fewer data types but introduces some like `enum`. So, you'll need to adjust some habits, regardless of the completely different environment, community, and resources.

Data Types in Java: Differences and Applications

Become an expert in programming with the Java programming language

Java is often referred to as the most widely used programming language in the modern world and is considered the best choice for developing web applications. We would also mention Android mobile applications, which have undoubtedly given it wings in recent years, despite the fact that you can create an Android application without knowing the Java programming language. Java, like C#, is an object-oriented programming language. Java was developed in the early 1990s and was initially called Oak, with its first version officially released in the spring of 1995 under the name Java. And to be clear, the Java programming language is not a product of Microsoft; it was created by James Gosling, Patrick Naughton, Chris Warth, Ed Frank, and Mike Sheridan from Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Don't confuse them with the key contributors to refining the original prototype: Bill Joy, Arthur van Hoff, Jonathan Payne, Frank Yellin, and Tim Lindholm. But remember, since 2010, the Java programming language has been owned by Oracle Corporation. Although the Java programming language was based on the concept of the Oberon programming language, developed by Niklaus Wirth, the creator of the Pascal programming language, Java adopted the syntax of the C programming language, and many of its object-oriented features were influenced by C++. Therefore, for all of you who are familiar with the syntax of C, C++, or C#, learning Java will be easy as many things will seem familiar, even though Java is a completely different programming language.

A girl is learning the Java programming language

What distinguishes the Java programming language is definitely its adaptability to changing environments and new applications. For three decades, Java has consistently incorporated improvements and innovations in the field of programming. Many developers believe that the Internet was the main driver for Java; while it’s true that the Internet was a launchpad for Java, the primary motivation for the Java programming language was the need for a language that would be completely independent of any programming platform and architecture, which Java successfully achieved.

This also means that you can learn the Java programming language on all operating systems. Unlike many other programming languages, which must be directed to a specific processor or have a full compiler designed for a specific target processor when translating into binary form something that is expensive and slow for compiler development Java is simply portable. With the advent of the Internet, due to its portability, Java became the number one programming language. The Java programming language is also founded, shaped, and continuously improved based on the needs and experiences of the professional programmers who create and use it. If you are looking for a programming language that is simple, secure, portable, object-oriented, multithreaded, platform-independent, interpreted, robust, highly efficient, distributive, and dynamic, then Java is the right choice and definitely deserves the admiration of every programmer. Take a look at the history of the Java programming language.

Explore the Evolution of Java: From Its Inception to Today

Otkrijte zašto Google preferira Kotlin programski jezik za razvoj Android aplikacija

Prema podacima iz 2021 godine, Srbija ima relativno visok procenat korisnika pametnih telefona. Prema podacima portala Statista, procenat korisnika pametnih telefona u Srbiji iznosi oko 50%, što znači da polovina populacije koristi pametni telefon. Ipak, za Srbiju ne možemo reći da zaostaje po pitanju pametnih telefona od najnaprednijih zemalja iako je moguće da još uvek nemamo dostupnost baš svih određenih tehnologija i usluga, koje neke zemlje imaju. Nego se u Srbiji svaki dan sve više u širokoj meri koriste pametni telefoni uglavnom za pretraživanje Interneta, korišćenje društvenih mreža, slanje poruka, gledanje video zapisa itd. Isto tako, Android je najpopularniji mobilni operativni sistem u Srbiji, sa procenjenim udelom od oko 80-85% na tržištu mobilnih uređaja. Ali šta je to Android, što zaista znamo o njemu osim da ga većina korisnika koristi svakodnevno? Android je mobilni operativni sistem koji je razvio Google, zasnovan na Linux kernel-u i otvorenog koda. Android je dizajniran da radi na mobilnim uređajima kao što su pametni telefoni, tableti, pametni satovi, televizori i drugi slični uređaji. On omogućava razvoj aplikacija za ove uređaje i obezbeđuje infrastrukturu za njihovo izvršavanje. Android se prvi put pojavio na tržištu 23 septembra 2008 godine, kao konkurencija iOS-u od strane multinacionalne tehnološke kompanije Apple. Prvi uređaj koji je pokrenuo Android bio je HTC Dream, poznat i kao T-Mobile G1. Od tada, Android se razvio u jedan od najpopularnijih mobilnih operativnih sistema na svetu, sa preko 2,5 milijardi aktivnih uređaja širom sveta. Međutim, da li je to jedini razlog da je Android postao jedan on najpopularnijih platformi za programere? Naravno, da nije!

( Android platforma sve više privlači programere )

Postoji više razloga, zašto se veći broj programera okrenuo i posvetio Aplatformi i kodiranju Android aplikacija. Jedan od najbitnijih, jeste definitivno izuzetno veliki broj korisnika Android operativnog sistema, koji je definitivno i dalje u porastu. Međutim, Android je takođe otvorena platforma, što znači da je dostupan za besplatno korišćenje i modifikaciju. Ovo je privuklo mnoge programere koji žele da eksperimentišu i kreiraju nove aplikacije i funkcionalnosti za Android. Google je obezbedio mnoge resurse i alate za programere koji rade na Android aplikacijama, uključujući dokumentaciju, vodiče, forume i razvojne alate. Jedan od njih je definitivno Android Studio, IDE - integrisano razvojno okruženje za programiranje Android aplikacija. Ovo je olakšalo razvoj aplikacija i smanjilo nivo složenosti za programere. Ali šta je sa monetizacijom, za programere u Srbiji; mogu li oni koristiti monetizaciju na Google Play Store? Tačno je da to nije pre bilo moguće, ali danas 2023 godine, programeri u Srbiji mogu koristiti monetizaciju na Google Play Store-u. Google Play Store omogućava programerima iz više od 190 zemalja, uključujući Srbiju; da objavljuju i prodaju svoje aplikacije i igre, i da zarade novac od njih. Programeri mogu zaraditi novac na različite načine,  uključujući naplatu za preuzimanje aplikacije, prodaju unutar aplikacije, oglašavanje i pretplatu. Google Play Developer Console pruža programerima alate za upravljanje i praćenje prihoda, kao i statistiku preuzimanja aplikacija. Programeri iz Srbije takođe mogu koristiti AdMob, Google-ovu platformu za oglašavanje u mobilnim aplikacijama, kako bi zaradili novac prikazujući oglase u svojim aplikacijama. Da li su ovi razlozi dovoljni, da možda čak i vi pređete na programiranje Android aplikacija? To zavisi isključivo od vas i vaših okolnosti, dok je naša preporuka definitivno DA!

Zašto Kotlin, zar se Android aplikacije ne programiraju u Java programskom jeziku?

Unapredite svoj razvoj Java aplikacija sa Spring radnim okvirom

Kada tek počnete da učite Java programiranje, obično kodirate manje programe kako biste se upoznali sa osnovnim konceptima i pravilima Java programskog jezika. Kada steknete malo više iskustva, počinjete da razvijate sopstvene projekte, ali shvatite da ima još mnogo toga što treba da naučite o Java programskom jeziku. Za razliku od drugih programskih jezika, Java je vrlo kompleksan programski jezik i koristi se za razvijanje velikih projekata, što može biti zbunjujuće i za najiskusnije programere. Java programski jezik nudi mnogo mogućnosti, ali kodiranje u ovom jeziku može zahtevati veliki broj linija koda i često dovodi do grešaka. Osim toga, proces testiranja i uključivanja drugih elemenata u projekat može biti vrlo spor i zahtevan. Ako niste upoznati sa radnim okvirima za Java programski jezik, može biti teško da se nosite sa svim ovim izazovima. Stoga, preporučuje se da čak i početnici u Java programiranju uče i koriste radne okvire koji olakšavaju razvoj projekata. Radni okviri za Java programski jezik; kao što su Spring, Hibernate i Apache Struts 1 nude mnoge funkcije koje olakšavaju razvoj veb aplikacija i mikroservisa, omogućavajući programerima da brzo razvijaju i skaliraju svoje projekte. Korišćenje radnih okvira takođe može pomoći u smanjenju količine koda koji je potrebno napisati i smanjiti broj grešaka u projektu, pre svega zbog bolje optimizacije i organizacije svih poslovnih i drugih procesa koji proističu iz vašeg projekta.

( Spring radni okvir, jedan od najpopularnijih Java radni okvira )

Pogledajmo koji se to najčešći frameworks – radni okviri koriste u Java projektima.

• Spring – jedan od najpopularnijih Java radni okvira, koji se koristi za izgradnju veb aplikacija, mikroservisa i drugih aplikacija. Nudi mnoge korisne funkcionalnosti poput sigurnosni, obrada transakcija, kontrole pristupa i druge.

• Hibernate – popularan radni okvir za rad sa bazama podataka, koji omogućava programerima da lako izvršavaju CRUD operacije, kao i upite i pretrage u bazama podataka.

• Apache Struts 1 – je stariji radni okvir otvorenog koda za izgradnju veb aplikacija koji pruža odličnu podršku za MVC arhitekturu.

• Apache Struts 2 – je noviji radni okvir otvorenog koda za izgradnju veb aplikacija koji pruža odličnu podršku za MVC arhitekturu ali i podršku za AJAX.

• Play Framework – je moderni veb radni okvir koji se koristi za izgradnju brzih i skalabilnih veb aplikacija.

• JSF – JavaServer Faces – je radni okvir za izgradnju veb aplikacija koji se oslanja na komponente, dok omogućava programerima da brzo i lako izgrađuju korisnički interfejse.

• JavaFX – je radni okvir za izgradnju desktop aplikacija koji omogućava programerima da brzo i lako izgrade interaktivne aplikacije sa bogatim grafičkim interfejsom.

• Apache Wicket – je radni okvir koji se koristi za izgradnju veb aplikacija i koji se oslanja na komponente i omogućava programerima da brzo i lako izgrade kompleksne aplikacije.

• Dropwizard – je radni okvir koji se koristi za izgradnju mikroservisa.

• Itd.

Postoji još i drugih radnih okvira za Java programski jezik koji se koriste u različitim aplikacijama i projektima, dok izbor radnog okvira isključivo zavisi od specifičnih zahteva projekta i preferencija programera. Imajte samo u vidu da vi možete da koristite više radni okvira u istom projektu, kad to ima smisla ili bolje rečeno kad su radni okviri kompatabilni kao npr. Spring i Hibernate. Mi ćemo se u ovom tutorijalu baviti Spring radnim okvirom i mogućnostima koje on pruža.

Spring radni okvir