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Summary: A Great Book for Teachers
Review: I am currently using this book for teaching JAVA to RPG Programmers. This is a wonderful book for learning JAVA and OO techniques. You will also learn JAVA's implementation of OO. Each chapter has do's and dont's of programming and other pitfalls in programming. It is fairly expensive and I think it is worth for a serious JAVA student. If you care for the contents of the book and not for the look of it, then this book must be in your collection.
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Summary: Ugly visual design
Review: After three editions and other 'How To' series, most people just can't stand the stupid 'Antz' and 'thumb up/down' visual designs that these books have. They're unprofessional, distracting and UGLY. It's "Antz" versus "A Bug's Life" kind of design. Contents of the book is what counts, but having good fonts style and appealling visual aids are equally important.
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Summary: What the real problem is:
Review: The problem with this book is not the content. . .although, after having previously read D+D's C++: How to Program, I am a tad bored by their reuse of programming examples (OO principles do not have to extend to books). The problem is that the damn thing falls apart. My D+D C++ book is in three pieces now. And the Java books, at four weeks old, already has a cracked binding. For books designed to be used both as tutorials and as reference tomes, they are not very sturdy. I much prefer O'Reilly and their "RepKover" books bindings.
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Summary: I changed my mind...
Review: I wrote an earlier review of this book that was good, but I've changed my mind. I read the second version of this book (not actuall this one) I've since read "Beginning Java 2.0" by Ivor Horton. THAT is the book you want! It's an excellent book for a much lower price! Read it's reviews, I think on average it got about 4 1/2 stars. I'm not an experence programmer, but I know how to and not how to write code and the Deitel book is how not to.
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Summary: Does the job
Review: I learned a lot from this book. It covers a lot of material and it does so clearly. The only problem I had was the chapter on threads, which were not explained very clearly.
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Summary: Excellent book for beginners
Review: I have about 30 books on java. This one is the best. A lot of examples and explanations are simple and complete.
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Summary: Lots of stuff covered but kinda muddled
Review: I thought that the text was fairly comprehensive, however, it jumbles up several concepts withing topics. For example, GUI components are introduced in the chapter covering control structures. It wasn't always clear what the main point of the chapter or section was. Having said that, the text does get you up to speed fairly quickly on a variety of topics and you'll be able to create simple applications and applets after reading the first few chapters.I also felt that it would be best to have an object-oriented and C++ background before reading this book. I felt the explanations of object-oriented topics wasn't very clear and that references were made to pointers and other features in C++ that may lead only to confusion for those that have never programmed with C++.
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Summary: The Best Book on Java Programming I've Ever Found!
Review: I learned how to program procedural languages during the 1980s and tripped and fumbled over learning object oriented programming in the 1990s (for me, programming is a hobby, not my vocation). My library is filled with books on how to program Java but no book ever took into consideration how to systematically teach the intricacies of Java in a formalized way. Until now. This book is the best book on learning Java that I've seen to date. It's a textbook, and anybody who's gone to high school or college should be familiar with how textbooks work. There are copious examples, sample problems (with answers), clear definitions, well organized passages and much more that you'll need to learn Java. If you've been having trouble learning Java, check out this book before you give up. You'll be glad you did.
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Summary: Good book ... maybe tough for complete beginners
Review: Contrary to the previous reviews, this is actually a great Java tutorial and even a 'programming in general' tutorial. I learned to program on my own in VB 5 by drag'n and drop'n and as a result, missed alot of stuff a CS major would pick up in college. I bought this book to fill that gap AND teach me Java at the same time. I can honestly say it works at both admirably, so far. Granted, the writing style is sorta' goofy but I feel like I am truely learning to program in Java, as opposed to just copying code and learning syntax. For those with NO prior programming experience it may be a bit much ... some extra patience may be required.
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Summary: You'll love it if you learn by examples...
Review: Okay, this book won't let you miss much. Every detail is covered IN DETAIL, but only to the intermediate stage. If you have no idea what OOP is, I suggest you get this book before any other. OOP (Object Oriented Programming) can be a little tough to understand, but this book's approach is very good. The book is LARGE (dense) and looks like the typical goofy Deitel tutorial, but it's actually a pretty good book. NOTE - If you already know C++, you'll probably want to skip this one. But if you currently know nothing, or you are a VB programmer, then this would be an excellent purchase. This is my gripe and the reason for three stars. While the self-study answers are provided, the solutions for the real exercises are NOT provided and they will NOT provide them unless you have some kind of arrangement with Prentice Hill. That was a very annoying discovery. You can't purchase the answers and they aren't available online, don't ever bother. If not for that BIG flaw, this is actually a very good introduction to Java, and the pace is very good for the beginner. If you don't buy this one, my advice is to look at Thinking In Java, Java Examples in a Nutshell, Core Java 2.0, or Just Java 2.0. Those are all VERY GOOD books and worthy of serious consideration. In addition, the ANSWERS are PROVIDED in those books! What a concept! You'll actually know if you have it down well enough to move on. However, once again, THIS book probably has the best introduction to OOP that I've seen, so if you don't know it, consider buying this one.
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