Book + Videos = Complete Learning Path

The two best resources for learning Java for FTC are the Learn Java Programming with FTC book and Coach Pratt’s Java video tutorials ~Approx. 8 hours. They cover the same core topics — variables, methods, classes, OpModes, hardware mapping, telemetry, and the rest of the FTC-specific patterns — but in two very different formats. Use them together; that’s the point.

How they work together

The book is your reference. It’s chapter-by-chapter, easy to skim back to, and great for reading slowly with code in front of you. The videos are your guide — Coach Pratt walks through the same concepts with live coding and on-screen explanations, which is invaluable when a chapter doesn’t click on first read. When you get stuck in the book, find the matching video and watch it. When you finish a video, open the chapter and re-read it. The repetition between the two formats is what makes the material stick.

Why the pdf book is free?

FIRST is a nonprofit youth robotics program, and many of the community’s best learning materials — this book included — are offered at no cost so that no student is locked out of learning to code for their team because of price. If it helps you, share the link with a teammate.

FREE Option

FREE – link for FREE pdf for the book – (Read on your computer or print it out yourself)

$12.99 Option

$12.99 Paperback on amazon – Click on the book below.

Here is a discussion on Reddit about the free book. Free PDF of Learn Java for FTC — r/FTC

Here is more about the book on GitHub. LearnJavaForFTC on GitHub

Learn Java for FTC Robotics

Companion video guide organized by the corresponding chapters in the book. Some Chapters in the book do not have corresponding videos. You will only use the book for these chapters.