Learn Java

Before doing any robotics specific programming, it's important to learn Java fundamentals first! There are tons of great resources available online for learning Java, but some have been compiled below.

• https://www.learnjavaonline.org/
• https://www.w3schools.com/java/
• https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/index.html
• https://runestone.academy/runestone/books/published/apcsareview/index.html
• http://ice-web.cc.gatech.edu/ce21/1/static/JavaReview-RU/index.html

We know many incoming robotics programmers may have taken or currently are taking AP Computer Science, which also is taught with Java. While this class will give you a great baseline for what programming is like, and what Java syntax is, robotics programming is significantly more in depth than AP Computer Science covers. Some concepts, such as enums, annotations, functional interfaces, lamdbas, generics, varargs, convention, and build tools, aren't taught at all in APCS. This is why we recommend that even if you have taken (or are taking) APCS, you also review Java by yourself.

If you're new to programming, not to worry! You don't have to take APCS at any time, and can learn everything you need to by reading websites and doing projects. If you need some help learning programming, please feel free to message any software team member (or mentor) in #sw_general.