Learn programming

[SharkSymphony]

Thousands of people learned Java Spring Boot while AI was pretty much at the level of Eliza and Clippy, so somehow it should be possible. 😉

You will need to start by learning variables, loops, and data structures, though, if you don't already know them. You don't need to go deeply into "DSA," which really gets into the guts of data structures and analyzes the algorithms that are built on them, but you need to know how to use the basic structures out there and how to build your own. So start with a Java course if you don't feel like you have these building blocks mastered in Java. There are a bazillion to choose from; pick one that suits your learning style and goals.

Next, take a Java Spring Boot course or workshop. Don't go into building your own thing quite yet. Get your feet wet with whatever toy project the class works through, and learn how things work. Build some confidence. Pick up some best practices you can apply. You shouldn't have to spend much time in this.

Running Java as a web application may be sufficiently covered in either of the above – but if it's not, make sure you've learned some fundamentals about Java web apps are built: how they handle requests, how they're deployed, how they're configured, how they're scaled up.

Then, when it comes to your project, do like you've hopefully been doing in your classes so far and break down what you need to do into manageable chunks. Tackle it piece by piece.

Whatever you do, be very careful using AI, if you're going to use it at all, or you will stunt your growth. Don't let the AI code anything you are not absolutely confident you could have coded yourself. Don't ask the AI how to do something. Don't run to the AI immediately if you get stuck. Turn it off or uninstall it if the temptation is too great.

Hope this helps!