Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)When I bought this book, I was unaware that it was written with the intention of being a class textbook for learning not just Java, but also the basics of computer science. Even so, this is an excellent Java book that will serve the reader well.
First, this book is extremely well organized. The table of contents lays out the biggest points of each chapter without cluttering. In turn, each chapter has its own table of contents, outlining more minor points. Things that relate directly to Java and the targeted course are outlined in black, while other topics such as coding suggestions, historical notes and bits of trivia are outlined in blue. This makes navigation through the book very easy and straightforward.
As any textbook has, this one has plenty of practice exercises. These exercises are very relevant to the topics covered and offer the reader some practice. If you buy this book and are turned off by the idea of doing a bunch of exercises, well, don't do them. Then again, practice does make perfect...
Many people like Java books that plunge right into graphics programming. I don't. This book does cover basic graphics and applet programming fairly early on (chapter 4), and that is not much to my personal preference. But, it's relevant in relation to the information in surrounding chapters.
The book even comes with a style guide, which is very nice when you would like some idea of coding standards. Perhaps you will adopt the author's suggestions, perhaps not. Either way, it's an excellent place to start.
This book covers some advanced topics, including XML, JSP, servlets, and relational database interfacing. The coverage is clear and occurs later in the book after the building blocks are out of the way.
There are some errors in the book. HOWEVER, there is an errata page, at the author's web site, that addresses the problems and gives very clear corrections. Most programming books seem to have errors in them, and this one is no exception. The fact that there is a very easily accessible path to get the updates (at no extra cost) is a big plus.
Before I got this book, I was using "Thinking in Java" (Eckel) as my primary book for learning Java. Big Java has taken TIJ's place. I heartily recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn the Java language.
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Offers an in-depth look into how Java relates to such technologies as searching, sorting, data structures, multithreading, networking, database connectivity, XML, and Java Server PagesPart I deals with fundamental principles of programming and problem solvingPart II introduces advanced concepts of the Java programmingReaders will find highlighted concepts and capsule introductions into advanced topics of computer sciencePerfect reading material for anyone interested in learning or reinforcing introductory programming concepts and who wants to take advantage of the exciting attributes of the Java language
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