OOP concepts, Collections and Data Structures

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This course offers a deep dive into Java programming, progressing from basic concepts to more advanced topics. By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to write object-oriented programs, use Java collections, and implement complex algorithms. The course blends theory with practical exercises to ensure you not only understand Java but can also apply it confidently in real-world projects. The journey begins with an exploration of object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts, such as classes, objects, inheritance, and polymorphism. You will understand key OOP principles like encapsulation and composition, with hands-on exercises designed to solidify your learning. You'll also cover exception handling to handle runtime errors effectively, and explore the role of constructors, getter/setter methods, and static versus instance variables. Next, the course delves into working with arrays and array-based data structures. You will learn how to use Java arrays and multi-dimensional arrays for managing large datasets. Additionally, you’ll explore the Java Utility Arrays class and get hands-on practice with array-related exercises to deepen your understanding of how to handle data efficiently in Java. The final part of the course covers dynamic data structures, such as ArrayLists and LinkedLists, which provide more flexibility compared to traditional arrays. You will learn how to use iterators, implement queues and stacks, and understand the concepts of autoboxing and unboxing. These advanced topics will prepare you to build more complex Java applications. This course is perfect for beginners with a keen interest in Java programming, as well as intermediate learners who want to deepen their understanding of OOP and Java collections. While no advanced prerequisites are required, a basic understanding of programming concepts will help you get the most out of this course.