Teaching with the Book
Java by Comparison was born in the classroom. Today, universities, companies, and study groups use it to teach clean Java code.
How to Teach with Java by Comparison
- Grade with code reviews. Point students to the matching item instead of writing the same explanation again. Each item shows the problem and the solution side by side, so students understand why.
- Accompany any programming course. Once students know basic Java syntax, the book fits basically any course with programming tasks. A FizzBuzz exercise is a good readiness check.
- Run the kata. The Java by Comparison kata is a two-hour exercise for pairs, with code, tests, and a checklist on GitHub.
- Play Comparison Jeopardy. In the game, students find the name of a comparison, which trains their naming skills.
- Start with the free material. The preface and three items are free samples, and all 70 comparisons are listed online.
The concept behind it is described in our research and in the story of the book.
Universities
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University of Bamberg, Germany
Where it all started. Student teams solve four group assignments per semester and get detailed written code reviews that point to the items of the book.
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University of Bamberg, Germany
Concurrency on the JVM with the same feedback concept: group assignments, graded by code reviews that refer students to the book's comparisons.
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Munich University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule München), Germany
The official module description lists Java by Comparison as literature, next to Java ist auch eine Insel and Das Java-Praktikum.
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Munich University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule München), Germany
The coding style that students follow in his lectures, enforced with static analysis in a template project, names Java by Comparison as one of the books it is based on.
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Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands
The book is on the course reading list.
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Stockholm University, Sweden
The Stockholm campus bookshop lists Java by Comparison as course literature for three courses at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences.
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OTH Regensburg, Germany
Simon Harrer and Linus Dietz told the story of the book and played Comparison Jeopardy with students.
Coding Dojos, Workshops, and Study Groups
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BMW Group, München
The first run of the Java by Comparison kata: 19 participants in pairs, 120 minutes, 39 of the 70 comparisons used.
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HUK-COBURG
A full-day workshop in Coburg: the story of the book, Comparison Jeopardy, the kata, and applying the comparisons to the team's own code.
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JavaLand 2023, Brühl
The kata as a conference workshop with Sebastian Rose and Falk Sippach.
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Study groups in Korea
Developers read the Korean translation together, chapter by chapter, and publish their notes, for example Javawesome (2021) and star-books-study (2023–2024).
Do You Teach with Java by Comparison?
We would love to hear about your course, workshop, or study group, and to list it here. Tell us about it. We also run the kata or a talk at your university or company.
