Learning Java Programming (almost) at Stanford

In one of the very first blog posts I've mentioned the fascinating opportunity provided by Stanford University initiative which allows anyone in the world who has Internet access to watch complete sets of lectures on various subjects including Computer Science & programming.  In fact, I believe that without such opportunity it would've been virtually impossible for me to make necessary advancements this quick.  So let me describe the courses I've chosen to 'attend'.

First, the current and the only course I am attending right now is CS106A (which is Computer Science Programming Methodology).  It is a starter course, quite basic, but challenging enough.  Professor Mehran Sahami, who conducts this course, is above and beyond any great words I might've thought to write here.  He makes it very energetic, fun, and engaging study.  Even though the series of these lectures were recorded back in 2008, the material is still relevant and it suits my 'entry' level in object-oriented programming perfectly!  I was also lucky enough to have a chance to get the textbook for the course which is called 'The Art and Science of Java' by Eric S. Roberts.  It's really well-written and provides lots of necessary details.

Second, after completing the course (which I plan to achieve somewhere in mid-March), I'll be watching CS106B course, the complimentary and highly recommended one.  This is a 'prerequisite' course for the iOS development course at Stanford, which is the third one, and presumably the last one to take.  During that last course I plan to enroll in MacOS X and iOS Developer programs to be able to code and publish the apps at both the Mac App Store and the iTunes App Store.  I've already started jotting down some thoughts and design ideas on what those first apps might be and how they'd look like, so hopefully by the time I finish my self-education there will be plenty of material to start with!

On the final note today I'd also like to mention that the color scheme of the web-site has changed, and some ideas about the header image are considered to surface during this week.