Customer Reviews

On to Java (3rd Edition)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is quite simply an amazing book. As a programmer I have encountered many technical books and even more in the way of documentation and I have never found anything quite like this. The author has a unique style that is quite possibly the most forthcoming and concise presenation format one could find on the topic. In honor of this I shall write my review in the same style of the book:

1. My first book was Core Java 2 (Fundamentals). As a VB developer trying to learn Java, this was

the most elementary book offered by Sun. While the book promises much depth, lack of organization and clarity impeded my ability to work through it. In the second chapter one is already importing classes and fiddling with CLASSPATH variables.

2. In extreme contrast to this, On To Java focuses on syntax in a step by step format that thoroughly covers even the most basic Java "Hello World" type application. Upon this the author builds concepts such as data types, methods, classes and so on in a very methodical step-by-step format.

3. Although this material is more of a drawn out tutorial that focuses on a single application and develops it throughout, it's concise and deliberate format is something that I've found to be lacking in *all* other Java documentation I've perused, including the excellent material from the O'Reilly people.

4. Therefore this is a book for a person who wants a quick but thorough start on Java, who wants to be advised of even the most straight forward syntax before they begin importing classes and looking at sample applications and who wants to focus on the language rather than a specific vendor's product.

5. The limitation of this book is that it is *not* a reference by any means. After one has been through the material they will not draw on this book for supplementary input. However, the authors intention I'm quite sure is that this material is a primer- a preliminary step whereas the complete references are meant to augment one who is already versed in the basics, structure and syntax of Java. Moreover the JDK includes such documentation.

1999 Edition, Java 1.2: If you want to learn Java, get this book and get it now. I wasted my money on 10 other Java books before I bought this one and not ONE of them even came close to getting me to understand the Java language like this book did. It's easy and exciting to read as you learn more and more in each subsequent "how-to" section. If you want a book full of Java applets then buy one of the other 10,000 books out there, or visit a web site. If you want to learn Java, do yourself a favor and go buy this book.

I agree with all the reviewers who gave this book 5 stars. And want to add that this book is a good, quick read. I started looking into Java with the O'Reilly books (Java in a Nutshell and Java Examples in a Nutshell), and while those are also good and more in-depth I would recommend this book first. It is simply more intuitively organized and a breeze to read. I can't explain the presence of the one star reviews, except to say that this is not a book for people completely new to programming. This is the best book if you are adding Java to OO languages you alread know.

I have read many books on Java, and I can state unequivically that On To Java is by far the most practical guide to core Java syntax and programming idioms that I have read. If you want to fully understand how to use basic Java programming elements, this is the only good book I have found. Programming explanations, examples and excercises are very clear and build in increments up to very full programs. Even experienced programmers can gain a lot of insight into the structure of Java by this remarkably clear treatment of Java programming; however, the best audience is those who are new to Java, particularly those who have wasted a lot of time getting lost in books that primarily cover OO theory (without showing application) or specific API's (i.e, books that you read and then realize you still cannot write proper code). Ironically, by focusing on concrete examples, On To Java provides one of the clearest explanations of the tenets of OO (as opposed to theory-laden treatments).

There are large sections of Java technology that this book does not cover, including JDBC and EJB, but there are plenty of books that specifically target these subjects. If you read On To Java, you will be well-prepared to tackle any API-specific book.

If your are an old C/C++ hand or if you learned Java a long time ago and did not use it for years, this is the perfect Java introduction for you. It contains high density contents organized in lists of items. No fluff just pure knowledge. Right now this is the first book I use to look up the simple Java concepts. I do not have to wade through long texts or examples to find or not to find something.

If you prefer an easier paved or more pedagogical introduction you are probably better of with the books from Cornell, Eckel, van den Linden, which I use if I do not find what I look for in the Winston book.

If you know have a good working knowledge of Java be warned. The content of this book is the basic and only the basic stuff. You might be bored by this book.

If you have a grasp of the basics of the Java language, you should also learn a little about how to properly use Java and pick up a book like Joshua Bloch "Effective Java".

A perfect selection for someone who is an experienced programmer and wants to pick up Java quickly. This book is full of good content, little or no time is wasted while progressing from section to section (incidentally, every paragraph has a section number, which are used throughout the book to cross-reference important points - closest thing to hyperlinking on paper!). This book is definitely geared for someone who wants ground-up Java explained by a programmer to a programmer.

This is probably the best introductory text on Java that I have read. First, what this book is not: It is not about beans, servlets, applets, J2EE, etc. This is a book about the Java language, much the way the orginal K&R was about the C programming language, pure and simple. On To Java does not attempt to go to the same lengths to instill an OOP mindset as does Bruce Eckel's excellent Thinking In Java, but it teaches just enough OOP along the way.

I REALLY liked this book because each concept is covered in a very succinct manner in a chapter just a few pages long. No long-winded discussions here: each paargraph has been distilled down to the fewest sentences necessary to get th epoint across. The author has also taken the unique approach of numbering each paragraph so that locating referencs to earlier material is easy.

When it comes to learning a new programming language, I'm a hands on kind of person. On To Java uses a simple movie rating application, and builds it chapter-by-chapter. The book provided me with just enough hands-on to be useful, and the example code was short and to the point (a complaint I have about Eckel's book, by the way).

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has already been introduced to the concepts of programming and has some previous programming experience.

I think at introductory level, it is the best book to understand basics of OOP and JAVA. It seems as if Author has written whole book in one sitting. There is such a flow in writing of sections of book that you are tempted to read more and more like a suspense novel.

If you want to learn Java with sound foundation, start from this book. I learned Java for a certain period but still felt standing on sand until I got this book...

Basically, what all those 5-star reviewers say is true, but they either didn't really work through the book or they are leaving out some critical information. I found errors in this book and when I tried to report them, the website listed on the back was no longer active and there was no response to emails. Months after reporting the problems, their site still said there were no known errors.

Upon reaching the halfway point in the book, I found the project would not run as given in the text. I went to their website (which, like I said, appeared to be abandoned) and found some different code for the chapter I was on, but that wouldn't even compile! Luckily, I also had Geary's Graphic Java book and was able to get past the error using his approach. I felt that errors like this, along with the complete lack of support, were quite unacceptable from a second edition. Now they have a follow-up edition which appears to be simply rewritten for Java 2. The website referenced no longer exists and you now get redirected to Winston's book site, which does not even pretend to support this book! The last update to the known bugs was in 1997!!! I've sent him at least two emails on his errors since then!

I also found the segment numbering scheme to be distracting and strange. The "segments" are 1 or 2 paragraph subsections; they are numbered sequentially throughout the book. The author will say "please refer to segment number 238..." and I see this more like a GOTO in programming and therefore a cop-out by authors that didn't want to bother with numbering sections in the normal manner. This is just a personal peeve and I would only take off one star at most for it.