Learning Java

Well, I personally cannot learn programming out of a textbook. I tried, but it never really clicks until I'm in front of a PC doing it.

If you're at the stage of the class where your professor is just presenting these concepts to you, maybe try and do some more hands on work in your free time. Work through the code yourself and see how the syntax interacts with the data being passed through it, it might help cement these concepts in your mind. I believe NetBeans is a free Java IDE/compiler.

make notes... either in notebook or on pc notepad, word, and so on.

do you know any other languages? if no, i would suggest to start with something less oop ;)

If you don't have any experience with programming, I suggest you start with Javascript.

Main reason for this suggestion: you can easily run it in your favorite browser, no need to install any fancy IDE.

You will find lots and lots of code examples on the web and if you get stuck you'll probably find a solution on stackoverflow.com

Edit: if it's only about java loops, there are basiclly only 4 different types you need to care about all of them listed here

(a) for(variable declariation;bool condition;variable modification)

(b) for(declaration : expression)

(c) while(bool condition){ ... }

(d) do{ ... } while(bool condition)

personally I'm not a big fan of (d), because I don't like to test conditions after the code has run, but there are scenarios where this is useful

using collections, fuck everything you learn on C about pointers and dynamic memory managment... the garbage collector is your friend now, and it doesn't like looped lists, so don't

EDIT: oh wait, you are a begginer on this.
well, not sure what you can do to remember the syntax... the words used are pretty descriptive... try to use a refence card while you are coding, get a shit with the basic porpuse and example syntax of each sentence...
other thing you could start doing is using MORE descriptive names for your mehtods and variables, don't use "int a, int b, Double g" is a pain in the ass to follow that code latter, and comment, like a mad man/woman.

well, if you speak german, there is a common book Java ist auch eine Insel

besides that:
find small projects and use the language you learn, using it is the only real way to learn a programming language.

look here for lots of things you can do.

I'm reading atm a book about C# but it contains a more info about programming and tips for it with using examples on C# . If you can split your mind you can give it a go. The authors got a Java book on same principle but its only in bulgarian.

My advice for you is hold on for a short time to study programming logic first. Everyone wants to "get the job done" first, but understanding logic will help you a lot learning not only Java, but almost any programming language. After you understand it well, translating the concepts to language-specific syntax will be much easier. There are some easier languages for beginners too (Pascal for example), at least to understand things well... You don't need to build Facebook as your first project.

Besides being a horrible language it has some of the worst IDEs in existence. Eclipse and Netbeans are abominations. If this is a free online course then you can always go to a more practical language first and go back to it if you really, really want to make android apps.

Try to make small classes that get something from the keyboard, store the info in the attributes and then print them...when this starts to seem easy, make bigger classes that have use smaller classes as members, and then use collections such as lists and arrays.

PS: altough java is a slow and horrible language and its IDEs are written in it, I suggest you to use NetBeans, it has a good code completion and refactoring.

Uploaded a summary for you that I wrote during the time I studied Java in the last year. clicky
Might help you.

The same approach when it comes to any kind of learning: figure out how you learn best, then go do it.

I hear one of a few things every time it comes to programming:
It's too hard.
It's easy once you get it (usually from a shit programmer).

The bottom line is, learning the basics of the language is easy. Not being a shit programmer/developer is where the hard part is - this entails knowing the nuances of your language, avoiding bad practice and understanding what the compiler does in order to incorporate nice API/architecture tricks.
Java (mostly) takes memory management out of the equation for you, but you still need to be wary of what your code is doing.

I dunno, I never really liked Java seemed slow and shit to me. I always felt C# .NET as being fast and simple to use. Then again, C# is a lot like Java in terms of syntax, but it just feels so much more snappy for me.

Just continue to do what you're doing, there's nothing THAT strange in the syntax, you'll get used to it.

I can recommend the "Head First": Java

I never read that book, but if it's as good as Design Patterns, it might help you.

Mind if i ask what online course are you taking? I'm interested in learning Java when i'm done with a few other languages, primarily Python and Javascript

Go to codeacademy.com. Idk if they have java yet, but if you learn a simple language then it'll be a lot easier to learn other languages. Also try codingbat to test your skills. After that youtube and practice does wonders.