Why Should I Learn Java Programming?

Why should I learn Java programming?

Learning an object oriented language like Java gives you the basic skills to learn another OOP language.

That's like saying I should learn Haskell to become a better programmer in every other language. I'd rather learn one that I can use straightaway.

Java is easy to learn.

Java is sometimes slow and can seem unwieldy.

Because Java is open source, it is used far more places than some of its competitors. One job placement firm did a marketplace analysis and found that 20% of the openings called for Java skills, either alone or in addition to other programming languages.

Marketability is a valid reason to learn a language, no matter how hard.

Java has a rich API, too.

Those applets are known for failing. Or, at least, generating a lot of incomprehensible error messages.

Java API are used for networking, database connections, inputs/outputs and utilities. What Java can't do is used by things like Apache.

Which is why badly built websites give you both Java and Apache errors.

Java is the go to language for mobile devices.

I thought that was Objective C.

Objective C is limited to the iPhone, but you can write apps for the iPhone in Java, too. You can use Java to build Android apps, Linux programs or web apps.

It sounds like Java is what I need to know if I want to be able to say "There's an app for that and I wrote it".

Java lets you write apps or web pages or web apps. It's versatile.

I heard it was cross-platform.

It's also device agnostic, meaning it doesn't care what device it is on, much less the OS.

I thought device agnostic meant you didn't have to pray it worked on your phone.