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Getting Started with Oracle JDeveloper and ADF

1. Learn the Java language
Learn the Java language (at least the syntax) you need to have an understanding of the basic concepts of Java. The JDeveloper declarative development approach reduces the learning curve for developers familiar with 4GL-style tools. You can learn and build simple applications with ADF without an extensive knowledge of Java but more complex applications require knowledge of Java to take advantage of all the rich capabilities provided by ADF. So at one point or another you will need to code - so start by picking up your favorite "Java for dummies in 7 days with no previous knowledge" type of book and learn the basics of the language. Other references are: 
Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel ISBN 0-13:659723-8
Sun's online tutorials
While you are learning the basics of the language - you can use JDeveloper as your coding/running/debugging environment it can also help you with code template code completion and syntax error highlighting. To understand how to do these use the Introduction to the IDE Tutorial.

2. Start learning ADF
Self learning
The place to begin is with the Reviewer's Guide on OTN.  Start by reading the data sheets to understand what the framework does, and watch a demo to understand what is the purpose of ADF, also an excellent book is "Quick Start Guide to Oracle Fusion Development"  by Grant Ronald. Next start with the tutorial  Developing Rich Web Applications With Oracle ADFwhich will take you about 2-3 hours to complete - and will give you an impression of the development process and if you actually read the explanation in it and not just follow the step-by-step instructions you will also understand what you are doing and not just how you are doing things. You can deepen your knowledge with two other tutorials: An ADF Faces focused tutorial and one about ADF TaskFlows. There are many other tutorials that you can follow here.

Instructor Led training
If you prefer instructor led type training. Please see the following page in OTN Java/ADF course list. You'll see a basic Java course to help you learn the language, and another course which is called "Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g: Build Applications with ADF I" - this is the ADF basics course.
Take advantage of ondemand courses on OTN such as Virtual Developer Day - Rich Enterprise Application Development with Oracle ADF.
3. ADF familiarization
A must do step, whether you took the instructor lead courses or choose self-learning, read through the Fusion Developer Guide .  After you played a bit with JDeveloper and ADF, this book will give you the inside scoop on what ADF does and how it does it.  It's a big book but it is worth reading it before you start doing any serious development - having the knowledge before you start to code will save you a lot of hours later on. Note that there are additional developer guides  that focus on the ADF Faces, Mobile and Desktop parts.  Another option for good books that will teach you ADF are:
  • "Quick Start Guide to Oracle Fusion Development" by Ronald Grant and the
  • "Oracle JDeveloper 11g Handbook" by Duncan Mills ,Peter Koletzke and Dr Avrom Roy-Faderman

At this stage you should have quite a good foundation that will let you start developing your application.
Once you are done with these books, you might want to go to the next level of knowledge which is covered in Oracle Press's "Oracle Fusion Developer Guide" by Frank Nimphius and Lynn Munsinger. 

4. Where to get help with additional Questions
 Once you do serious development you are sure to run into questions that weren't answered in your previous reading, see the My Oracle Support Community Forum or JDeveloper and ADF discussion forum which comes into the picture as the source for the community knowledge.  Also you can check with the Oracle JDeveloper Facebook page or on Oracle JDeveloper Twitter .
If there is still a question create a Service Request via My Oracle Support.

ADF blogs from Oracle Product Management etc :

Add to these the annual Oracle Develop conference which runs as part of Oracle Open World, and the other technical conferences such as ODTUG and IOUG and you have your learning experience complete.

Book References
  • Beginning Programming with Java For Dummies by Barry Burd  ISBN-13: 978-0764588747
  • Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel ISBN 0-13:659723-8
  • Quick Start Guide to Oracle Fusion Development by Ronald Grant  ISBN-13: 978-0-07-174428-7
  • Oracle JDeveloper 11g Handbook  by Duncan Mills ,Peter Koletzke and Dr Avrom Roy-Faderman  ISBN-13: 978-0071602389
  • Oracle Fusion Developer Guide  by Frank Nimphius and Lynn Munsinger ISBN-13: 978-0071622547
  • Oracle ADF Real World Developer's Guide by Jobinesh Purushothaman ISBN-13: 978-1949684828