Java Programming, Third Edition,   ISBN:9780619213190

Customer Rating: 

This has to be the worst book in programming I have ever seen! I am taking a Java course at the moment and I can not understand why this book was chosen as the textbook. It's a good thing that I am not trying to learn Java for the first time, but only to review what I learned years ago!

First, the explanations are horrible, when they are given at all. When describing new methods, each parameter is explained, but there are no examples of how to use them and what they mean. This was especially obvious in the chapter on drawing objects. Pictures describing what the parameters meant were critical! I had to go to the Internet to figure out how to use the parameters in drawArc.

Next, telling me where to put the insertion point when making additions to code is completely ridiculous. Just show me what to type and let me figure out how to do it! A picture of the code with the new additions in bold is all that is required. But trying to figure out exactly what the changed code looks like is virtually impossible because it is interspersed with the "directions" for how to add it.

Last, the exercises at the end of each chapter are horrible. Anyone who would actually code this way would be laughed out of the industry. A "set" method would never query the user for a data value. This violates the whole Model-View-Controller paradigm. This textbook is teaching bad programming practices! Some of the exercises are impossible to actually code as written because pieces required to finish the exercise are not actually specified.

I do not understand how Course Technology, which has a fairly good reputation when it comes to technical textbooks, would waste any time on this.

Customer Rating: 

I used this text for my Introduction to Java class at Yakima Valley Community College. Farrell gave good coverage to all the important topics and assumed little or no programming background. Students appreciated the in-chapter examples and scenarios. There is no such thing as a perfect text book, but I've used this one for five years because it's the best I have found. The only opportunity for improvement I can provide is that I wish she would include screen captures of the complete program code instead of point and click directions in the "You Do It" sections.

Customer Rating: 

This is an average Java textbook. I have all of Farrell texts and this is her best one. The book is too simple to use in my Java courses as a text- but I primarily use it for reference...

Advantages:
1. Good chapter coverage (miss the section on Mutithreading)
2. Game Zone and Up For Discusssion are great
3. Nice programming exercises

Negatives:
1. Does not fully support Java 5 (i.e. Use of Scanner class, files, etc)
2. Heavy use of Applets (Applets are not as important as they use to be)

If you are looking for a good simple Java textbook- get this; otherwise there are better choices like Deitel, Liang, Malik, etc. for use in programming course.

Customer Rating: 

In the interest of full disclosure I'll let you know that I am one of the reviewers of the 4th edition of the book. I use this book for a college introductory programming class and get good results. This book is a "gentle" introduction to Java. It is not a Java reference text. I use the Deitel "How to ..." book for my advanced Java class but that book would be way beyond what my introductory students could handle. This book assumes you know nothing about Java and little about programming. There is good coverage of topics based on what you need to know to get started in Java. All the basics are covered.

Object-oriented concepts are explained well and simply. The short examples provide reinforcement. I compare these examples to the examples in the Deitel book that can go on for pages. Each has its place but I believe shorter is better for the beginner. Several other reviews mentioned the difficulty of using examples that were done in pieces interspersed with text explanations. It looks like these reviews were written before the current 4th edition was published (February 6, 2007). Most of the examples in the latest edition are complete applications with explanation before and after - not in - the code. The end of chapter exercises do contain a "You Do It" section where line-by-line instructions are provided.

It is still true that source code for the examples is not provided. This is not a problem for me as a Java instructor. The examples are short. I think students learn more by actually writing the statements themselves as opposed to loading pre-written examples and just running them. This may be a personal bias as I learn more this way. It gives you a chance to make errors and fixing errors sometimes teaches you a lot!

Customer Rating: 

You will learn how to create 2D shapes, Sockets, Math Operators, Conditional statements, console applications and Java Window Applications. The CD comes with the software for editing and compiling the Java code into an application. I recommend this book in addition or instead
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