Free Udacity Course: Gradle for Android and Java

Want to more about Gradle? Sign up for a free course on Udacity!

Gradle for Android and Java 
https://www.udacity.com/course/gradle-for-android-and-java--ud867

https://www.udacity.com/course/gradle-for-android-and-java--ud867

When putting together an automation framework using Selenium WebDriver and Java, you need a way to store the dependencies. This is so you don't have to end up downloading every single third-party component, piece-by-piece. When I was taking a course in Selenium WebDriver 2 with Java, I was introduced to a tool called Maven to do this for me.

Maven was a pretty simple tool to set up. Gradle, though, is a bit more complex.

We have been using Gradle at my workplace ever since I first started my job as an automation engineer. It never was my job description to set up all the initial dependencies, the reporting and logging, design the build process, or set up the tasks, so Gradle was just another buzzword to me.

Lately, though, the senior members of the team have been using a lot more of its functionality. This is why, all of a sudden, blog posts on Gradle start appearing, such as:

• WebDriver development environment setup with IntelliJ, Gradle, Hamcrest, and ChromeDriver
• WebDriver development environment setup with Eclipse, Gradle, Hamcrest, and ChromeDriver
• A Quick Gradle Overview: Setting Dependencies and Running Tests

A Free Course in Gradle!

I was referred to a free course on Gradle through Gradle.org and its tutorial section.

The course was put together by Mark Viera, Core Engineer at Gradle, and Jeremy Silver, a Udacity course developer.

• Looking just for Gradle Information for your Selenium / Java automation framework? Take the first part of Gradle for Android and Java.
• Looking to build Android apps? Take Udacity's free course: Developing Android Apps: Android Fundamentals. 

Online course: John Purcell's Java courses

To help me up-to-speed with Java programming after a ten year absence of writing any type of code, I have been working since January through many helpful courses I have found online. A few that I have liked:

• Alan Richardson's Selenium 2 WebDriver Basics with Java 
• MIT's Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python 

Another favorite of mine is John Purcell's "Cave of Programming". John started out on Udemy.com, but has branched out to his own site. Every time he comes up with the next level of a course, he marks the earlier levels down until over time they become free.

Learning the Command Line Interface

When I started my Freshman year at Bridgewater State back on September 1990 as an eager Computer Science major and computer lab aide, there were two main platforms that were popular at the time: MS-DOS and Digital Equipment Corps VAX / VMS system, both which used a command line inteface (CLI). 

What did they look like?

• The screens had a black background. 
• Green, amber, or white were the font colors. 

Open up the Terminal on your Mac or Powershell on the PC, maximize the window to fill the screen, and that is exactly what it was like.