Overall an ok subject, teaches interesting but common sense java concepts (you could honestly learn about threading and rmi from Oracle's java tutorial site). Get ready to make GUIs for no reason which only add an unnecessary distraction to the actual subject matter (which whilst useful really distracted students from the actual focus of the subject). Lecturer cannot speak clearly and good luck if they bring the assistant lecturer on, they mumble a lot and don't sound confident in what they're even teaching. If youre comfy with java this subject is a breeze but if you're like me fresh from SWEN20006 it's a bit of a steep climb to get acquainted with all the new Java packages youll be using. Lecturer gave me a 3 day extension for the second assignment after a severe medical emergency which left me unable to study for 2 weeks and told me to respect the situation of the teachers who wouldnt be able to handle giving me an extra 3 days on top of what was given lol

If it is for semester 2, I strongly recommend you to take it. Very easy to get H1. Actually very easy to get 90 for this subject. Buyya is a very experienced and friendly professor.

The lecturer is terrible. He cannot really speak publicly at all.

The subject is really good but lecturer might not be a good teacher. I am taught by person who spend too much time talking about very obvious things like if you use Skype, Dropbox, Google, etc. But tutorials are very useful. Best approach would be to read main book (CDK) regularly and read lectures - you don't have to attend lectures if you don't like professor but never miss tutorials. If your tutor is Irum Bukhari, believe me, you are lucky! And projects are also very interesting and fits best to add to your GitHub profile.

Subject is good from practical and application point of you. Lot of theory to be mugged up for final exam. Require Java skill for projects. But its a core subject hence you have to score good in this subject.