Java 2 From Scratch (From Scratch)

Rating:
Summary: Good idea, but beginners be wary
Review: When will authors of programming books get it? I'm still waiting for one who can really teach to a beginner. Haines' book is decent, and his project-based method (particularly the emphasis on design and process) is one that works well. But, as usual, the beginner will be lost very quickly in complex topics with little fundamental explanation.
Take the description of an object's interface, a crucial concept in OOP. 'An interface is nothing more than the abstract definition of a set of methods that you must implement if you want the functionality of the interface.' (p131) Up to this point, there's been no discussion of what an 'abstract definition' in this context means, nor a description of what is involved in 'implementing' a 'set of methods.' More basic concepts, like classes and inheiritance, are just as flimsily explained.
The book would be fine for someone with a good deal of experience in, say, an object-based scripting language like Javascript. It would be most appropriate for someone who's worked through another Java book (one of the 'learn some syntax, do an example, repeat for several hundred pages' types), but didn't really get the big picture of how Java is used in application design. Certainly the reader should be unafraid of long code examples.
Typically for programming books, the content is presented with little wit, personality, or sense of enjoyment. Throughout, the grammer suffers from the sloppy informality (and overuse of exclamation points!!) I'd expect from a college freshman.
In sum, not bad if you know the vocabulary and syntax of Java, but still can't 'speak it like a native.' For beginners, though, try something else first.