DEV-101 Development

Programming Foundations with Java

Build working fluency in modern Java from first principles: types, control flow, collections, generics, exceptions and I/O, with a real build and a real test suite from day one. Every exercise ships as a Maven or Gradle module with passing JUnit tests, so completion means running code rather than watched lectures. Learners leave able to read an unfamiliar Java codebase and add a tested change to it.

B2Foundation

7modules

49skill atoms

2role journeys

Curriculum

What this course covers.

7 modules, 49 named skill atoms. Expand any module to see them.

1Language Core7 skill atoms

primitives vs objectsvar and type inferenceString immutability and StringBuilderswitch expressionsloops and labelled breakinteger overflow and floating-point trapsrecords for simple data

2Classes, Interfaces and Inheritance7 skill atoms

class, constructor and instance statestatic vs instance memberspackages and access modifiersinterfaces and default methodsabstract classes and when not to use thempolymorphism through an interfaceequals, hashCode and toString by contract

3Collections and Generics7 skill atoms

List, Set, Map choicesArrayList vs LinkedList costHashMap and equals/hashCode contractgeneric methods and bounded typestype erasure limitsComparator chainingCollections.unmodifiableList and defensive copies

4Exceptions and Error Discipline7 skill atoms

checked vs uncheckedtry-with-resourcescustom exception typesnever swallow a catch blockfinally and suppressed exceptionsnull handling and Optionalfail fast with IllegalArgumentException

5Files, Streams and I/O7 skill atoms

java.nio.file.Path and Filesbuffered readers and writerscharacter encoding and UTF-8 defaultsStream API map, filter and collectclosing resources deterministicallyreading large files without loading to memoryJackson JSON round trip

6Build Tooling and Testing7 skill atoms

Maven POM and Gradle build scriptsdependency scopes and transitive conflictsJUnit 5 assertions and lifecycleparameterized testsAssertJ readable assertionsMockito basics for collaboratorssurefire reports and CI-ready builds

7Working With an AI Pair7 skill atoms

prompting with the surrounding code as contextAI is strong on boilerplate and syntax recallAI is weak on your domain rules and library versionsreading generated code line by line before acceptingverifying against a test you wrote yourselfhallucinated APIs and stale library idiomsthe engineer signs the commit, not the assistant

Where it fits

DEV-101 in the role journeys.

This course appears in 2 of our 45 role journeys. Here is what a learner takes immediately before and after it in each.

Java Developer

Foundation stage

AI-101→DEV-101→DEV-102

Backend Engineer

Foundation stage

AI-101→DEV-101→CL-107

Roles this course serves

Backend Engineer Java Developer

The capability ladder

This course is authored to band B2.

Every course we run is written to one rung of the CASI ladder, so a plan can be assembled to take a team from where they are to where they need to be.

What do B1–B6 mean?The CASI Capability Ladder — click to expand

Every course targets a band on the CASI Capability Ladder — our six-band proficiency scale, anchored to open standards (O*NET, ESCO, NICE, NIST AI RMF, Bloom's). A band tells you how deep a course goes, and what evidence proves it.

What the learner can doTypical evidence

AwareUnderstands concepts and vocabulary; uses tools with guidance

Knowledge checks

FoundationPerforms standard tasks correctly in familiar contexts

Guided labs, autograded exercises

PractitionerDelivers complete pieces of work independently

Scenario labs, proctored hands-on exams

ProfessionalHandles production-grade complexity, trade-offs and failure modes

Break-fix drills, design defenses

AdvancedEngineers systems end-to-end under constraints; leads others

Rubric-scored capstones, vivas

ExpertSets direction; recognised authority across teams

Portfolio + panel evaluation

A note on B6. Courses in this catalog target B1–B5. B6 is not taught — it is recognised, through a portfolio and a panel, once someone is setting direction for others. Every journey here is built to land a learner at B5.

Other Development courses at this level.

DEV-111

Run DEV-101 for your team.

This course runs at several lengths depending on how deep you need to go and how much of it your people already have. Tell us who is being trained and we will scope it.

Add it to a training plan Talk to our team Check your team’s level free

Programming Foundations with Java

What this course covers.

DEV-101 in the role journeys.

Java Developer

Backend Engineer

Roles this course serves

This course is authored to band B2.

Other Development courses at this level.

Modern JavaScript & TypeScript

Engineering in the AI Era: What Changes for Dev & Test

Object-Oriented Design & Clean Code

Data Structures & Algorithms for Working Engineers

Enterprise Java with Spring Boot

MERN Stack Development

Run DEV-101 for your team.