Murach's Java Programming : learning curve for java 9

[Harshaa Vardhan]

Head First Java and Murach's Java Programming are the two books I have recommended to friends and colleagues who have interest in learning the language.
This new version of the book covers both the basics and the latest features in java 9.
Creating and presenting content common to both beginners and experts must have been a really tough job.
Assume all the chapters have been revamped to include features in latest version
Is updating to java 9 time consuming for someone still using java 5 ? What are your thoughts ?

[Campbell Ritchie]

You have got lots to learn to get you from Java5 to Java9; apart from modules, there are things like fork‑join, NIO2, 0b000 numbers, and try‑with‑resources to become familiar with. And that is before going anywhere near Java8.

[Joel Murach]

Hi Harshaa,

Thanks for recommending our book. I really appreciate that.

Yes, it's hard to present content for both beginners and experts, though our target audience might be closer to beginners to intermediates. At any rate, explaining a concept clearly works well for everyone. It might help an experienced programmer grasp the concept immediately, and it might take a beginner a little while longer to get it.

Cambell is right that Java has changed a lot from Java 5 to Java 9, and there are many new features to learn. Still, I think the hardest part is learning the basics of the language in the first place. Besides, most of the new features make it easier to work with Java, not harder. Plus, if you update from Java 5 to Java 9, most (maybe all?) of your code will still work. Then, you can use the new features that you want to use to improve your code, which should ultimately make your code better and save you time. So, I suppose it's up to you for how time-consuming it will be.

[Harshaa Vardhan]

Will put in efforts to upgrade to java 9 and see how code quality could be improved. Thanks Campbell and Joel.

[Campbell Ritchie]

That's a pleasure

[Joel Murach]

As a way of saying thanks for all the great questions and discussion, I'd like to offer anyone in the JavaRanch community who is interested 40% off my book. To get that discount, just go here:

https://www.murach.com/shop/murach-s-java-programming-5th-edition-detail

Add the book to your cart, and use this promotion code when you check out:

CodeRanchJoel

This code should work until 8/22.

Thanks again, I have really enjoyed my week here at the Ranch.