How to start learning Java?

To start learning Java how far back are the learning materials still relevant?

• I'm looking to get started in Java and see there's a tremendous source of materials.  Looking to get an idea how far back I can go without falling into the territory of dated material for today's Java or if there are any certain things to look out for that simply don't apply anymore.

• Answer:

  For Basic ("Core") Java: If you don't plan to make GUIs in Java, then skip them. It's pretty much a niche now unlike in the earlier days. If you are building GUIs, then skip AWT (Abstract Windowing Toolkit). Skip the pre-Java 1.2 collections (pre-Collections Framework). The most important here are java.util.Vector, and java.util.Hashtable, and java.lang.Enumeration. You may see these in older code and older APIs (like the Servlet API) The Java language hasn't changed much between 1.0 and 1.4, until Generics were introduced in 5.0 (aka 1.5). But, coding style has changed. If you follow the coding style of older books they may be considered retro at best today. For Enterprise Java: Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) are what arguably ruined Enterprise Java. Skip EJB 1 and 2. EJB3 is much improved, but most people don't use it anyway.