Course Overview
Transform your Java development skills with this comprehensive course on generics - one of Java's most powerful yet misunderstood features. This course takes you from basic type safety concepts to advanced patterns used in production systems.
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Eliminate ClassCastException through proper generic type usage
- Design flexible APIs using PECS (Producer Extends Consumer Super) principle
- Implement type-safe collections without raw types or unsafe casts
- Handle complex inheritance scenarios with bounded type parameters
- Integrate generics with modern Java features like Records and sealed types
- Apply advanced patterns like type tokens and heterogeneous containers
- Optimize performance through proper generic design choices
📋 Prerequisites
- Java Fundamentals: Classes, interfaces, inheritance, and collections
- Object-Oriented Programming: Understanding of polymorphism and encapsulation
- Basic Maven/Gradle: Ability to compile and run Java projects
- Development Environment: Java 17+ with IDE support
⏱️ Course Duration & Difficulty
- Total Time: 12-15 hours
- Difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced
- Format: Self-paced with hands-on exercises
- Certification: Available upon completion
📚 Course Structure
🏗️ Module 1: Foundations (2-3 hours)
Core Concepts and Type Safety
- Understanding the problem generics solve
- Raw types vs parameterized types
- Diamond operator and type inference
- Basic generic syntax and conventions
🎯 Learning Goals: Eliminate raw types and understand basic generic syntax
📝 Assessment: Convert legacy code to use proper generics
🔄 Module 2: Wildcards & PECS (3-4 hours)
Variance and Flexible APIs
- Understanding covariance and contravariance
- Producer Extends Consumer Super principle
- Bounded wildcards in practice
- Wildcard capture and helper methods
🎯 Learning Goals: Design flexible APIs that accept multiple related types
📝 Assessment: Implement utility methods with proper wildcards
🚀 Module 3: Advanced Patterns (4-5 hours)
Complex Generics and Edge Cases
- Type erasure and runtime implications
- Generic inheritance and self-bounded types (CRTP)
- Safe varargs and heap pollution prevention
- Type tokens for runtime type information
🎯 Learning Goals: Handle complex scenarios and avoid common pitfalls
📝 Assessment: Build type-safe heterogeneous container
🌍 Module 4: Real-World Applications (3-4 hours)
Production Patterns and Integration
- Serialization with generic types
- Integration with modern Java features (Records, sealed types)
- Performance considerations and optimizations
- Migration strategies for legacy codebases
🎯 Learning Goals: Apply generics in real-world scenarios
📝 Assessment: Refactor existing project with comprehensive generics
✅ Module 5: Assessment (1-2 hours)
Knowledge Validation and Next Steps
- Comprehensive coding challenges
- Code review exercises
- Best practices checklist
🎯 Learning Goals: Validate mastery
📝 Assessment: Complete capstone project
Ready to master Java Generics? Start with Module 1: Foundations or choose your preferred learning path above.