Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
It has taken four years, but with Head First Java the introductory Java book category has finally come of age. This is an excellent book, far more capable than any of the scores of Java-for-novices books that have come before it. Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates deserve rich kudos--and big sales--for developing this book's new way of teaching the Java programming language, because any reader with even a little bit of discipline will come away with true understanding of how the language works. Perhaps best of all, this is no protracted "Hello, World" introductory guide. Readers get substantial exposure to object-oriented design and implementation, serialization, neatwork programming, threads, and Remote Method Invocation (RMI).
Key to the authors' teaching style are carefully designed graphics. Rather than explain class inheritance (to cite one example) primarily with text, the authors use a series of tree diagrams that clarify the mechanism far more succinctly. The diagrams are carefully annotated with arrows and notes. Also characteristic of the unique teaching strategy is heavy reliance on exercises, in which the reader is asked to complete partial classes, write whole new code segments and do design work. Though there's little discussion of why the exercises' correct answers are what they are, it's clear that the practice work was carefully designed to reinforce the lesson at hand. If you've waited this long to give Java a try, this book is a great choice. --David Wall
Topics covered: The Java programming language for people with no Java experience, and even people with no programming experience at all. Key concepts read like a list of Java features: Object oriented design, variable type and scope, object properties and methods, inheritance and polymorphism, exceptions, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), network connectivity, Java archives (JAR files), and Remote Method Invocation (RMI).
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Fast and great book!!
Customer Rating:
It was shipped and delivered way faster than I could expect!! The book was completely new and well packaged. Thanks Amazon, who is always free to trust!!!
Great book; it keeps your interest
Customer Rating:
I have no experience with Java, and very little with programming. This book is very easy to follow and does a good job explaining things. I've attempted to read other Java programming books and it was difficult to get past the first few chapters. I recommend this book to anyone looking to learn Java programming.
Too basic. Just a first step
Customer Rating:
This book is very very basic.
If you don't know ANY object oriented programming (C++ etc.) or have no access to any instructor AND have failed to learn anything from standard resources like the Java tutorial on Sun ... this may be a decent place to start and gain some confidence. If u know C++ or any other such language ... u are better off starting with the Java tutorials on Sun and then buying a decent book on Java.
The other issue with the book is ... every aspect of java is covered in one or two scenarios that makes your feel confident ... but the material on each topic is so high level that I doubt if you can go beyond that example armed with this knowledge.
In any case ... you will need a second book on Java ... so why buy this?
Better than my Java text book
Customer Rating:
I bought this after reading the first 5 chapters of my class text book and not being able to fully understand what I read. I found this book with better explanations and more examples that helps me grasp the fundamentals of Java. The authors explain the concepts in humorous and casual terms understandable from the beginning. The reading is very easy and I can retain this information. It has a wonderful format and it is very well organized book. I was able to compile some program in Java compiler without the IDE and I can debug, too.
This book is definitely a keeper in my library of references too!
I LOVE THIS BOOK
Customer Rating:
I have read this book many times. To me this is the required bible for anyone who wishes to learn Java.
The strongest part about this book is how it explaines object-oriented programming. But if you want a book with business application examples then this book may not be for you.
Still it should be on your bookshelf with your other Java and JSP books.
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