Course to brush up Java skills?

[Simon Brooke]

From 1996 to 2007 I programmed almost exclusively in Java; I know the
basic language very well (although I may be a little rusty in places).
But I don't know things that have happened since Java 5 at all well, and
I'm not well up on Java generics.

The reason for this is that my employers increasingly see their future as
being Microsoft, and consequently since 2007 I've been working almost
exclusively in C#. I've come to the conclusion that I really don't like
the Microsoft environment. It's time to change jobs, and in my next job
I'd rather be working primarily in a heterogenous or non-Microsoft
environment.

So I want to brush up my Java, fast. I want a course for experienced
programmers which primarily focusses on new language features in Java 5
and Java 6. Ideally I want a short (3-5 day) intensive course, in the UK
(yes, I know you can do these things on-line but it seems to me better to
focus on it). And since it's highly unlikely I can persuade my employers
to pay for something which they don't see as a key part of their future
road map, I need a course which I can afford (up to about UKP2K). If it
did a bit of Clojure as well that would be a decided bonus!

Any suggestions?

 

[Roedy Green]

But I don't know things that have happened since Java 5 at all well, and
I'm not well up on Java generics.

Generics are the big thing. Annotations are a bit esoteric, more for
tool makers, like JAXB.

see http://mindprod.com/jgloss/generics.html

and follow the links to the various tutorials. They are by far the
hardest thing in Java to understand fully. I think the fundamental
design is Mickey Mouse. I don't know if something cleaner is
possible, but it certainly does not feel that way.
--
Roedy Green Canadian Mind Products
http://mindprod.com

Responsible Development is the style of development I aspire to now. It can be summarized by answering the question, “How would I develop if it were my money?” I’m amazed how many theoretical arguments evaporate when faced with this question.
~ Kent Beck (born: 1961 age: 49) , evangelist for extreme programming.

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

Generics are the big thing.

Very visible at least.

Annotations are a bit esoteric, more for
tool makers, like JAXB.

Or the large portion of Java developers working with Java EE.

(a good chunk of them are not on Java EE 5 yet, but eventually
they will)

Arne

 

[Lew]

Or the large portion of Java developers working with Java EE.

(a good chunk of them are not on Java EE 5 yet, but eventually
they will)

I've find JPA annotations (a subset of EJB3 but quite capable outside of EJB
contexts) to be very handy. Much easier than XML, particularly in the
plethora of cases where the data model isn't too complex.