I'm hoping to get some advice on getting up to speed with modern
Java. If this question has been posted before, then please direct me to it..
I was quite a decent Java programmer in the years ending in 2005. I had my programmer and web developer certs, and could build well-designed
J2EE apps. In subsequent positions I moved into other languages and tech - PHP, front-end, some iOS, etc.
I'm keen to get back into Java, or to at least be able to look for jobs that require current Java knowledge. Of course, in the last 6-7 years, Java and related technologies have changed a lot, and much of it looks foreign to me. Can anybody recommend a reasonable way of getting up to speed with new concepts, APIs, and key frameworks? Let's say I had the luxury of spending a month reading up and trying new things, what would you recommend?
I've looked at some books that would surely give me good grounding, but I just don't have the time to re-learn everything as though I were a beginner (if only I had the luxury of time!). The theory and concepts are still with me. Books that I would love to be able to digest include Core Java 1 and 2, Java EE with Netbeans, the Java EE tutorial, Effective Java, the Well-Grounded Java Developer, and books on Spring. Are there any others that you can recommend instead of these? Or other tutorials or ways to get up-to-speed?
Thanks in advance for any advice.