The Java Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics
The Java Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics by Isaac Rabinovitch, Jacob Royal, Mark Hoeber, Scott Hommel, Sharon Zakhour and Tom Risser
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Number of Pages:
- 672
- ISBN:
- 0321334205
- Product Group:
- book
- Publisher:
- Prentice Hall
- Publication Date:
- Oct. 12, 2006
- BooksForGeeks.com ID:
- 1296
Written by members of the Java Software team at Sun Microsystems, this book is a hands-on guide to the Java programming language aimed at any developer looking for a proven path to proficiency with Java SE. It uses a tested, interactive approach and features real-world problems that help you learn the Java platform by example.
Reviews for The Java Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics
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Best tutorial in Java by far
Rated out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2010
The Java Tutorial from Sun is now legendary in its scope and completeness, with sections on the core classes and Java Swing, plus JSP, together with the myriad of other APIs that have grown up in the last 13 or so years. There is also an electronic version of the language specification which is essential reading for deciding how and why what you thought would happen didn't.
Fortunately for Java and its users, Sun made electronic copies freely available to anyone to download and install on their PC. In a way, this is more satisfactory than a printed book, since hyperlinks take you to other related sections. Moreover the review and correction cycle on the electronic versions is quicker than that of printed editions.
Many programmers (and managers) will be happy to have electronic copies of the tutorial(s) plus the full API documentation that comes with Java, a complex hypertext labyrinth taking you up and down the class hierarchies. These two resources are a must on any system, but then a printed copy is also worthwhile too. Often it is easier to find a reference by picking up the book and thumbing the pages rather than navigating an HTML multi-document. Thus, buying the printed books gives you a distinct advantage.
The current volume covers the basics and so its pace is gentle, loaded with examples, and gives a thorough groundwork for anyone coming fresh to Java. There is also enough of interest to hold the attention of more experienced programmers who will rapidly want to rush past the usual "Hello World!" programs.
If you enjoy the style then I recommend you read the The Java Language Specification (Java Series) next. This is a complex book, but essential to the programmer's development. You will also need to pick up some skills in Object Oriented Programming along the way, which will teach you to use interface methods to access and set the properties of an object, and also Design Patterns, which are frequently occurring interfaces which you need to recognise and deal with. After that, just read (and view critically) as much code as you possibly can.
Thus this book is the first step on the road to mastering Java and the latest programming methods.