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Summary: JAVA Programming for Dummies
Review: It's too bad you're forced to give this book at least one star. It's misleading. The one good thing I can say about the book though, is that the coding errors embedded in the examples do serve to strengthen the readers debugging skills.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for ambitious dummies
Review: Java Programming for Dummies is probably one of the most ambitious books in the Dummies series. The book gives an excellent introduction to Java programming, mainly covering web applet programming. The writing style of the authors, Donald J. Koosis and David Koosis, perhaps isn't as funny as those of other Dummies-writers, but what they lack in the joke department is weighed up by nice and easy-to-read explanations of difficult subjects. They have concentrated most of the text on how to program web applets, a wise choice considering this is an introductury text on Java programming. Even though this is a book for the absolute beginner in Java programming, the subjects are so well and thoroughly explained that the book can be used as a reference later on! My only complaint is that the book's covers should specify that the reader should have at least some programming experience. I soon understood that without my sparse knowledge of Visual Basic, I wouldn't have understood the programming concepts as fast as I did. Perhaps this shows that Java programming isn't suitble for Dummies right away. But this book makes Java programming understandable for us dummies too!
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Summary: This book is a disaster
Review: Java Programming for Dummies was my first taste of Java and it almost turned me off forever. I didn't bother to finish the book. Instead I got a copy of Java Software Solutions (Lewis/Loftus) and I'm glad I did. Java Programming for Dummies may be OK for those who don't want to understand what they are doing, but those of us who want to understand should avoid this book.
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Summary: Please DON'T buy this book
Review: Perusing through my local bookstore, I happened upon a copy of this tome. Liking the Dummies books of C for dummies and HTML 4 for dummies, I purchased it. The book was very confusing-a lack of examples and code samples. It spent too much time discussing basic programming concepts (if-else) yet lanched into full-fledged Java. Also, it lacks a directory of commands in Java. Java is such a diverse language, it is impossible to learn in such a small book. Save your money-buy "Thinking in Java". This book now has a handsome place on my bookshelf-never to be opened again.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad book on Java !
Review: Probably would be better book on Java...if it was easier to follow along with and didn't have so many errors in the program listings. This is the main stumbling point of the book. I mean, if you were good with Java it might be better...[In a future edition], don't make as many errors and explain "Mind of the Programmer" notes better. Other than that, it is a very introduction to programming in Java.
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Summary: A very poor introduction to Java programming!
Review: The book is not geared to novice programmers at all! The examples given are too complex for the concepts being discussed. Far worse then this is the fact that the authors make use of language features in the examples that are only discussed much later in the book, or not at all. For example, they use the terms Integer and String from the beginning, without ever explaining the concepts of types in languages. The code itself is inconistent and of a poor standard, the authors follow no consistent naming conventions, and use extremmely non-descriptive variable names, eg. int a and String s. Chapter 5 is a nightmare for novices, introducing, in one poorly written chapter, the concepts of event-driven programming, choices, class structure, interfaces and more! And all this without ever clearly defining any of them! All in all, the book is not worth the price, effort and time one would waste on it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: The book starts off okay. You get your feet wet with a simple 'Hello World' example. But then the book jumps into Sprites and Javabots and other relatively complex material. It expects you to swim before you can tread water. Sorely lacking are concise explanations of what the code is actually doing, and how to get from point A to point B. Don't bother with this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Helpful to know C/C++
Review: The first 4 chapters are an excellent introduction for beginners. Chapter 5 and later, however, would be easier to understand if you are already familiar with C/C++. The book tries to cover a vast landscape in shotgun fashon with selected examples, topics, and humorous breaks, but the explanatory text is often too superficial for novices. I spent a long time trying to figure out the complex example in Chapter 5, before deciding to go on hoping it would become clearer later. Several code examples generated that 'shrug the shoulders' type of response
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Summary: Avoid this book at all costs.
Review: The title of the book says it all. I was a dummy to buy this book. If you want to learn Java, this book is not for you. I good ground-level book is "Teach Yourself Java" by Joseph O'Neil. A good 2nd book is "Just Java" by Peter van der Linden.
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Summary: IPL'd my head
Review: There's a certain non-linearity about the Java language that presents a large obstacle for some programmers, especially older dummies like me. I had tried several Java books but just didn't get the concepts. It was like learning all the chess moves and none of the strategy. This book's strongest points are the explaining of a program's organization in the way that a programmer would think it, and the explaining of the exact sequence of events as the program executes. Very nice ways of illustrating focus and event handling. Having been through this book, I can make more sense out of other Java books. This book has a mildly entertaining style, just enough humor to keep the subject matter light without getting in the way.
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