Java Programming: From the Beginning

Rating:
Summary: input statements
Review: All Java beginner books skip the input function in Java applications . You spend half your time wondering how you input anything into a Java program. Mr King solves the problem by writing a Simple Input class that you import like any other class and makes Java application input simple and fun. This increases your interest in Java and makes it more fun to learn. You can actually write useful Java programs from page sixty three.

Rating:
Summary: Great Work
Review: As a someone new to programing I deeply appreciate the approach taken by Mr. King. By concentrating on the fundamentals of the language his book gives one the solid foundation needed before moving on to more advanced areas. Upon finishing this book I have no doubt that my learning curve has been greatly reduced. This book will be as good for a long time to come due to the fact that it dosen't get caught up with what's "hot" in the industry this month. Rather, it gives one the understanding and tools to do whatever one wants with Java. Thanks Mr. King.

Rating:
Summary: Java Programming: From the Beginning
Review: Excellent Work, another Master piece from Prof.King. It is really useful guide like a instructor for the people who wants to become a Java programmer. Each aspect of the java programming has been explained so well and provides lot of clarity for Object Oriented Programming. Having read this book from begining to end, I have confidently moving with the journey to java programming.

Rating:
Summary: A must fore beginners
Review: Hi:
This book is a very helpful guide for someone trying to start and understand a complex language such as Java. This book introduces us little by little to the confusing web of Java structures, procedures, objects, instances, classes...
Besides, it explains how to use some data structures and arrays, sometimes with very complex but understandable excercises that makes the reader produce a clear mind for Java's complex procedures.
The bad part is that is does not dig into Java graphical interface. Being this a very complex part of Java itself, the book does not tell us how to make panels, menus and many other features that are needed for simple graphical programs. Although it explains something about graphical structures, the explanations are not very good and sometimes you will have to look for another source to understand how it works.

Rating:
Summary: It's so good !!!
Review: I am a beginner of Java Programming. I've read many books which are for the beginner and I especially find this one among those to be my pleasure ! With a simple style, the author (K.N.King) leads me into an intertesting world of Java ! It's indeed great and worth being purchased !

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding overview
Review: I am not a programmer nor do I wish to become one. My interest in computers is driven by what they can and cannot do. My interest in Java springs from the many books based on Java that teach interesting things such as artificial intellenge, problem solving etc. So my view is based on what I learned how to do, not on if this is the best book for a coder.

Perhaps it would be best to state what this book is not first. It is not a complete guide to Java. There are many topics this book does not address at all such as swing. The Dietel book is denser and has many more details than does this one and might be more appropriate for a pure coder.

This is a book for beginners to Java. It does a great job of giving one a feeling for the language without bogging one's mind in all the gory details. It also did a good job of capturing my imagination as how to use the language to model things I am interested in. For me, this is superior to the Dietel book.

Another point worth mentioning is the speed this book can be read. I had no problem working through 1 to 2 chapters each evening. This ease of reading is do to three factors; good organization, good writing ability, and the focus on the main themes of the language.

Someone looking for a solid overview of Java would do well to buy this book. A hard core coder that is beginning with Java could use this book as a quick suppliment to the more detailed manual they are using.

As a knowledge of C would also be useful to me, I plan to purchase the author's book on that subject as well.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding overview
Review: I am not a programmer nor do I wish to become one. My interest in computers is driven by what they can and cannot do. My interest in Java springs from the many books based on Java that teach interesting things such as artificial intellenge, problem solving etc. So my view is based on what I learned how to do, not on if this is the best book for a coder.

Perhaps it would be best to state what this book is not first. It is not a complete guide to Java. There are many topics this book does not address at all such as swing. The Dietel book is denser and has many more details than does this one and might be more appropriate for a pure coder.

This is a book for beginners to Java. It does a great job of giving one a feeling for the language without bogging one's mind in all the gory details. It also did a good job of capturing my imagination as how to use the language to model things I am interested in. For me, this is superior to the Dietel book.

Another point worth mentioning is the speed this book can be read. I had no problem working through 1 to 2 chapters each evening. This ease of reading is do to three factors; good organization, good writing ability, and the focus on the main themes of the language.

Someone looking for a solid overview of Java would do well to buy this book. A hard core coder that is beginning with Java could use this book as a quick suppliment to the more detailed manual they are using.

As a knowledge of C would also be useful to me, I plan to purchase the author's book on that subject as well.

Rating:
Summary: Truly from the Beginning
Review: I came to this book with almost no programming experience but good analytical abilities. I wanted to learn the equivalent of what is covered by a CS1 course, and this book fit my needs exactly. This book is an interesting read, clearly introduces topics, and avoids unnecessary wordiness. The exercises and programming projects are thorough. There are always one or two more lengthy projects included in each chapter for those who want the challenge. I used this book to learn Java on my own, and I found myself eager to open it each day. I agree that there is no coverage of Swing, but there are other books devoted to that topic which one could move on to. I highly recommend this for those who are new to object-oriented programming and want their first taste of what this field is about.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for newcomers to programming
Review: I came to this book with almost no programming experience but good analytical abilities. I wanted to learn the equivalent of what is covered by a CS1 course, and this book fit my needs exactly. This book is an interesting read, clearly introduces topics, and avoids unnecessary wordiness. The exercises and programming projects are thorough. There are always one or two more lengthy projects included in each chapter for those who want the challenge. I used this book to learn Java on my own, and I found myself eager to open it each day. I agree that there is no coverage of Swing, but there are other books devoted to that topic which one could move on to. I highly recommend this for those who are new to object-oriented programming and want their first taste of what this field is about.

Rating:
Summary: Concise and well-organized
Review: I chose this as a textbook for our introductory programming course here, and I've not been disappointed. Though I don't ask my students to read it, many of them have been - and that itself speaks volumes for how readable this book is.

Most books tend to get overfull with needless details. King generally avoids this, parceling out the information without getting bogged down. Often, King splits what would normally be a chapter into two halves: The important half comes at the beginning, and the less important alternatives come later. It works well.

My biggest complaint is that the book takes longer getting to worthwhile programs than I'd like. Don't expect to write programs to do vaguely interesting things until around page 150 (when the author finally gets around to incorporating repetition into programs).

King has definitely been selective in choosing what to cover. This certainly isn't one of those encyclopedic textbooks. It's enough for a semester, and that's it. (Some examples of what King basically skips: recursion, throwing exceptions, bit operators, defining interfaces.) I consider this selectivity to be a feature; it certainly distinguishes this book from much of the competition.

I've looked at a lot of Java textbooks for beginning programmers. Most seem to have been published in the hurry to capture some of the market. This is not among them. It's an excellent choice for those who want to learn how to program.