Show HN: Javvy – A fun way to learn Java on iOS and Android | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Javvy – A fun way to learn Java on iOS and Android

javvy-app.com

77 pointshgllnt26 comments

Interesting concept. I especially like that you've made it a little bit more fun, which could make it more accessible. If I'm not mistaken, these are bite-size tutorials? Will it lead eventually to a finished program? Building something that worked and was function/moderately useful was what perked my interest to dive further into development.

Thanks! Accessibility is still a big issue and I think that, yes, bite-size tutorials like ours are a great way to lower the "barriers to entry" - especially for non-technical people. The relatively small screen size of phones has an impact on the functionality of the programs we can show in Javvy but we're getting there!

I teach a beginning Java course at the university. I told my students to install your app... Apparently it's not free after a point... if you need testers, I have 40 students that are available.

This is "Duolingo for programming languages". Well done.

Thanks! We'd definitely love to see more people get "fluent" in Java.

I like the simple design. I just noticed that you guys are also behind Swifty. Which languages are you guys planning on next?

Thanks! Now that we're into Java, we might delve into COBOL. I'm kidding, we'll keep you posted on our future plans! It'll be something useful, that's for sure. :)

That's hilarious :D

Due to its status in the enterprise and the amount of existing business critical codebases in various stages of rot I tend to think of Java as the COBOL of tomorrow.

That's a hot topic, haha! Anyway, I really like this quote: "I'm sure there are still COBOL programmers out there, but I wouldn't want to be one of them."

Great job with your app! I'm enjoying playing with it. Java was a wise language choice given it is the language used by AP Computer Science A courses. I hope you will consider Javascript next, the Github code rankings show it as the most popular language: http://www.wired.com/2015/08/github-data-shows-changing-soft...

Thanks so much for your feedback on Javvy! Yes, Javascript: it's going to happen! By the way, in this article I cite Java as the most popular programming language (based on the TIOBE index): https://medium.com/@hellocode/getting-javvy-or-how-we-re-bri...

What are some good sites for learning Java, as it's used inside of large organizations? I already know how to code, but have run screaming from Java whenever I started looking at it. But where I work, it's ubiquitous.

I'd rather not learn on my phone. I have this giant desktop sitting in front of me...

Java appears to be the lingua franca of the enterprise world, for better or worse, and that means there's going to be a lot of mediocre code out there. Unfortunately, the only way around a lot of it is going to be to hold your nose.

You'd do well to learn the extras provided by Java Enterprise Edition - basically it bolts web services stuff onto the standard Java stack.

Second example was a little confusing for me "A variable can only remember one value at a time. If you want to change its value, simply use its name without the type."

The 'simply use its name without the type' might be better worded?

You might have a point there. Thanks for pointing it out!

I love how the first question is presented so the answer is the completion of a string literal, which is then printed. Very interesting approach to getting people engaged right up front. Nice job.

Thanks a ton! :)

Is this aimed mainly at beginners? I would be interested in brushing up on my Java, and would like to skip over the basic stuff like variables and conditional statements and stuff like that.

(Downloading now)

You can totally skip over the basic chapters and polish up your knowledge about OOP concepts and the like. Also, we'll keep adding more advanced stuff!

Hi, looks good, interesting way to learn about Java. IMHO it would be nice, if there were more space for user input (choosing from two options is not enough). Questions at the end are good example for adding user interaction, not just only revealing the answer.

There is something strange in 03-04, second line starts with "6 myBoolean ...". I don't understand it.

Also at 03-13 is incorrect result, it's false.

Anyway, looking forward for PHP. ;)

If you like this environment, https://www.codecademy.com/learn already has a php course.

Thank you for those suggestions; they're great! The tutorials are definitely going to get more options and the questions at the end of each chapter will become way more interactive in a future update! The 6 in 03-04 should be "boolean" and you're right about 03-13. Again, thanks! :)

very interesting, what about do this to other languages too, say php, lua, python, javascript...

Duolingo to "programming" languages that is.

At the moment, we've got one more app on Swift (http://swifty-app.com) but, sure thing, other languages are going to follow!

This looks great. I have a few friends involved in teaching K-12 education who have been exploring ways to introduce some of the younger ones to programming so I will be sure to pass this along.

Great! The setting should definitely work with K-12 kids. Thanks a ton! :)

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