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| Java Programming, Third Edition
Paperback
Edition: 3
Author: Joyce Farrell
Publisher: Course Technology
Release Date: 2005-04-07
ISBN-10: 0619213191
ISBN-13: 9780619213190
List Price: $96.95
Average Customer Rating:
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Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Java Programming, Third Edition, offers all of the dynamic elements of the second edition, plus many exciting changes. This text is designed for first-time programmers, but is also appropriate for those building on experiences in another programming language.
Instructor Perspective
| 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. |
An average beginning Java textbook
| 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.
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4th Edition - Try it, You'll Like It!
| 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!
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Works for me!
| Customer Rating: | I used this book for a Java development class. I felt that it was a good book and overall I have little ill to say about it. The examples are well written and do a good job of reinforcing what you read in the chapter. You read a little then do an example, then read some more, then add to the example and so on. You don't need any Programming experience to use this book just a decent understanding of programming logic.
The only criticism I could offer is that the editor should have used arrows when content is being continued on a new line for reasons of page space so that readers will know and understand (beginners can have trouble with this). It's a good book for learning the whole language from the ground up and for this reason it's worth the money. It's not an overnight crash course (if that is what you are looking for).
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Java for Dummies or any other book is better than this
| Customer Rating: | First off... I am not a natural programmer. 70% of the class I am in are. Let it be known that I am not dumb either. I graduated with my first college degree in Biotechnology Magna Cum Laude. That's a 3.78 gpa for me, and pretty good for those who don't know the term. At least half of the students in your class already know how and why these programs work and function. That is where this book totally falls apart. I approach everything as a scientist would. I have to know the how, but more importantly the "WHY" and the thought process behind each new idea. Why do we set up the program this way? What is the reason for jumping around back and forth in every chapter??? She leads us through the exercises by the nose, but never shows the whole code or comments about the program as a whole.
She never goes through the following: This section of code will do this, we need a section to do that and a section to do this other thing. This feeds off that... etc.. What it totally misses is that logic involved with programming. When a problem is put forth, you stop and think about it. You lay out what this program needs to do. List all the variables you'll need, etc. Get the sections of programming ideas down, then start turning them into code.
This book ignores this thought process completely. I'm no slouch either. The exercises tell you to place your cursor here in the method of the class of the main... (if you can find it... there's no actual code listed in its entirety so good luck)
press enter... okay, now type this... Why??? Who knows, she never tells you why you want to place this little piece of code in this other part of the program... Then, you go to a totally different part of the program and type this... little snippet of codeWhy??? Who knows. You know what the individual line of code will do, but not WHY you put it in this particular part of the program. What makes it worse is half the time you're looking at the sections of code she had you make and you think to yourself, 'Self, What was she thinking, I wouldn't make it like that, who places code in that order?' What's the thought process behind these chunks of code?
If real programmers make their programs the way she takes you through them I gaurantee they'd all kill themselves by the age of 30.
At times you'll bounce around so much, you will go bonkers, I'm telling you.
I am learning more from the Java for Dummies books than I did in a class with an actual professor using this horrible book. Bring a different book to class, use the different book. If the programs your instructor wants you to write don't have to be done using this book, then, don't get it. Or at least get it but get another book and read them both. Trust me, it sounds like more work, but it's acually a lot less work as you won't waste hundreds of hours interpreting this confusing book.
I wonder if she made it confusing to maintain her own Job Security...
Thanks, |
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