Introduction to Java Programming-Comprehensive Version (6th Edition) (GOAL Series) (Paperback)

by Y Daniel Liang (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now integrating Java 5 throughout, this reference introduces Java programming fundamentals – including problem-solving, object-oriented programming, GUI programming, data structures, networking, internationalization, advanced GUI programming, and Web programming.  Includes many new illustrations. Enhances examples throughout, using small, simple, and stimulating examples to demonstrate concepts and techniques.  Offers anearlier introduction to writing programs than the previous edition. Features a new chapter on recursion, expanding treatment from earlier editions.  A useful reference for anyone interested in learning more about programming.

About the Author
Y. Daniel Liang is the author and editor of the Prentice Hall Liang Java Series. His innovative Java texts have been adopted by many universities throughout the world. Dr. Liang is currently a Yamacraw professor of software engineering in the School of Computing at Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1328 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 6 edition (July 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132221586
• ISBN-13: 978-0132221580
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #260,303 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent textbook for learning Java..., August 27, 2006

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you prefer your computer technology learning in textbook style, then this is an excellent choice in books... Introduction to Java Programming - Comprehensive Version (Sixth Edition) by Y. Daniel Liang. It's an entire college-level course in Java in one very big (and well-written) volume...

Contents:
Part 1 - Fundamentals of Programming: Introduction to Computers, Programs, and Java; Primitive Data Types and Operations; Selection Statements; Loops; Methods; Arrays
Part 2 - Object-Oriented Programming: Objects and Classes; Strings and Text I/O; Inheritance and Polymorphism; Abstract Classes and Interfaces; Object-Oriented Design
Part 3 - GUI Programming: Getting Started with GUI Programming; Graphics; Event-Driven Programming; Creating User Interfaces; Applets and Multimedia
Part 4 - Exception Handling, I/O, and Recursion: Exceptions and Assertions; Binary I/O; Recursion
Part 5 - Data Structures: Lists, Stacks, Queues, Trees, and Heaps; Generics; Java Collections Framework, Algorithm Efficiency and Sorting
Part 6 - Concurrency, Networking, and Internationalization: Multithreading; Networking; Internationalization
Part 7 - Advanced GUI Programming: JavaBeans and Bean Events; Containers, Layout Managers, and Borders; Menus, Toolbars, Dialogs, and Internal Frames; MVC and Swing Models; JTable and JTree
Part 8 - Web Programming: Java Database Programming; Advanced Java Database Programming; Servlets; JavaServer Pages; Remote Method Invocation
Appendixes: Java Keywords; The ASCII Character Set; Operator Precedence Chart; Java Modifiers; Special Floating-Point Values; Bit Operations
Index

At over 1300 pages, you'd expect there to be quite a bit of material covering a wide range of topics. And you'd be right... Liang has written a textbook on Java, and it's one textbook that I'd probably buy even if I wasn't enrolled in a class. As you can tell from the contents, everything from the very basics of the language (like primitives) to highly advanced topics (like RMI) are covered in at least some level of detail. Once you get done working through the material (or the semester ends, whichever comes first), you should have a complete understanding of Java. From that point, you'll simply need experience. Each chapter is laid out with objectives, the material, quite often a case study that ties together everything in the chapter, a summary, review questions, and programming exercises. There's even an entire website devoted to supporting instructors that are using this book as their course reference.

One thing I noticed about this book is that early on they start using Swing examples to show programming examples using a visual interface. Most Java books have historically used command line programs to teach the language. It's an acceptable method, but it tends to make the use of GUI features something to be learned separately. Since there's a mixture of command line and graphical examples from the beginning, the mental divide between the two types of programs is greatly diminished. It probably means that Java will be thought of as a Visual Basic language that can be used to mock up applications. That's a good thing...

Excellent coverage of Java, clear layout of material, and aesthetically pleasing design... a good choice...

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introduction? Yes. Yet, so much more., February 25, 2006

By	Karan Karia - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Introduction to Java Programming, Comprehensive (5th Edition) (Paperback)

I actually didnt learn Java using this book. I used another book that the university prescribed. Although that was just introductory level, as i moved on to more advanced java programming, the need to understand JSP, the java.net api etc... I looked to books that would explain it well. Most java books out there at the advanced level assume that you have much programming experience and know a few other langauges. Thus they skip out a lot of important details that would otherwise be helpful to beginners and possibly even a good revision for experts.

This book had it all. It was perfect. After going through many books, I can safely say that any java problem i come across I look to this book first.

In fact I liked it so much for these advanced chapters that I decided to read through the whole thing, even the introductory chapters, just to see if i missed out anything while learning java.

All I can say is I wish i had this book while beginning to learn java.

A true beginner to expert book. Not just for Java, but programming in general. A must read!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rigorous introduction to programming fundamentals., October 18, 2005

By	Andrew - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Java Programming, Comprehensive (5th Edition) (Paperback)

There are too many Java programming books where the author just can't wait to get the student into Java API'S, Javadoc documentation, IDE's, GUI's, and so on. This is unfortunate because it does not prepare the student for the fundamentals of programming (understanding loops, arrays, methods, and so on) that you have to know prior to being able to manipulate the Java API's to produce "real-world" applications. This book provides excellent preparation for those students willing to work hard - the exercises are tremendously effective in forcing you to think not only about why your proposed solution works but why it doesn't work.