The Best Java Projects for Beginners

Currency Converter

A currency converter project is when you create a program that translates given values of money from one currency to another — for instance, determining the value of $10.00 (USD) in British pounds sterling (GBP). Currency converters are useful for people traveling abroad, international investors, and businesses.

Building a currency converter will teach you to program a mathematical tool that tracks the relative values of two different currencies, which can fluctuate even over the course of a day.

Sum A+B

Sum A+B is a simple operation that you can program in Java. "Sum A+B" is a term for any simple integer addition sequence in Java. To do a sum A+B project, you will be programming the computer to recognize two integers and combine them in a simple addition exercise.

You can also use Java to program other simple integer math problems using code rather than mathematical symbols.

Number Guessing Game

A number guessing game may sound like a game for kids, but it is also a useful beginning Java project. In a number guessing game, the user will play against the computer. The computer will generate a random number (usually between 1 and 1,000), and the user must guess.

For every incorrect answer, the computer will tell the user "too high" or "too low" until, eventually, the user guesses the correct number and wins the game.

Reversing a String

Reversing a string is a Java project that allows you to rearrange a line of code. In coding, a "string" is a data type or sequence of characters. Strings are used as a common data type in programming across different languages.

When you reverse a string, you will change the sequence to run in the opposite direction of how it was initially written, much like writing a sentence in reverse order.

Snake Game in Java

Snake is a classic simple game that you can program in Java. When playing Snake, you start with a small "snake" that you navigate around a grid that grows larger as the game goes on.

You must keep your snake from running into the walls of the grid or its own "tail" or "body," which will cause you to lose the game.

Creating a Snake game in Java allows you to build and play your own game and ensure it runs smoothly as you go.

Create a Calculator

You've almost certainly used calculators before, but did you know you can create your own with Java? You can build a calculator to use online with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division functions.

Using Java to build a calculator allows you to program a large range of simple mathematical functions, including continuing a long series of equations and clearing for new problems. When you build a calculator, you will create something with many real-world applications.

Smart City Project

A smart city project is a Java-programmed guide for a given city geared towards tourists and other visitors. Smart city projects consolidate a large amount of information that visitors to your city need to know. This includes information on hotels, transportation, maps, pathfinding, attractions, and more.

You can also program a smart city project to enable users to book tickets, reserve restaurants, and more.

Budget Tracker

Creating a Java-based budget tracker can be not only a good way to improve your programming skills but also to track your finances. People use budget trackers to enter their earnings, spending, and different types of expenses to make sure that they are following the budget they set for themselves.

Making a budget tracker with Java means programming ways to track actual spending and income against the previously set budget.

Brick Breaker Game

Brick Breaker is a simple, fun game that can be programmed in Java. When you play Brick Breaker, you start by shooting a ball toward a wall of bricks. The ball breaks bricks that it hits, then bounces back toward you.

As the game continues, you must bounce the ball against the walls to target the remaining bricks and "catch" the ball with your cursor. Breaking all the bricks means you win, while you lose a life if you ever fail to catch the ball.

Fortune Teller

Creating a fortune teller can be a fun way to use Java for a recreational reason that's not a traditional game. There are different types of fortune tellers you can program with Java, including those based on simple folded-paper origami fortune tellers and fortune-telling programs where the user simply types in a question.

Fortune tellers require programming some knowledge of how to respond to input text or commands for the questions asked.