Customer Reviews

Java Gently: Programming Principles Explained

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I am so sorry that I chose this book for my CS 1 course! I wish I could start the semester over. At first glance this looked like a reasonable book but by Chapter 3 I knew we were in trouble. Bishop introduces material too quickly, too compactly, and too abstractly. Her examples are huge and cumbersome. My kids are really confused and probably annoyed -- Here's another stupid college textbook that makes us feel like nincompoops! The title is *QUITE* misleading; this is *NOT* a gentle introduction to Java or programming principles. By the way, there's a cultural barrier, too, that North American students will find hard to hurdle. Just check out the "1 man went to mow" song on p. 68 to find out what I mean.

If you take a look at the reviews so far, you will see one common denominator: those who have little programming experience are greatly frustrated with this book. But programmers who need to learn a new language, seem to think that it is quite OK. I would have to place myself in the first category. I read the first couple of chapters as part of a university course, but soon abandoned the book. The learning curve is way too steep for beginners. The progression of themes bears witness of limited pedagogical insight. But I still believe that folks with plenty of programming experience may enjoy this book. I give it two stars, though, primarily because of the inappropriate title. This is NOT a 'gentle' introduction to Java. Maybe the third edition has improved in this respect (published December 2000)?

I have recently being appointed to teach Java and Object oriented programming to a class in my Institute. Upon poor advice from one of my colleagues, i recommended this book to my class. However i have found it to be a totally frustrating experience using this book as a class text. It is structured very poorly and the author seems to jump all over the place. she introduces complex examples early on the book without any proper explanation of the underlying concepts. She leaves the proper discussion of objects too late in the book and the object and class design methodologies are unclear and poorly explained. an awful book i have now switched to another book by Morelli called Java Java Java which is structured much more cleverly.

I'm a student at the University of Pretoria as well and I think this book is absolutely a waste. The Author started out well, describing every detail well, untill the fourth chapter. From there on it just looks as if she got tired of explaining her code examples. Most of the code later in the book gets split up and most of the time one doesn't know which code is part of which program. If you want learn java, try another book.

As a practicing professional programmer, I thought I couldn't have any problems with learning a new language...WRONG! This book is so error-laden as to be almost worthless. It does introduce topics in Java; however, it usually doesn't explain for 7 chapters what you just did nor why. Fine...I can accept that. However, the code, as written in the book, won't compile. Well, that can be a good thing...you have to learn how to fix code anyway, but you shouldn't have to do it right from the first program!! The errata that goes with the book is ridiculously long for a second edition. I had to use this book in a college class...you shouldn't unless you are a masochist.

I am a first-year student studying at the University of Pretoria.

The negativity reflected towards this book is surprising, until you consider the manner in which the readers approach the content. Reading the preface to the 2nd edition immediately gives the impression that the book is meant as an introduction to first-year students studying computer science. One can make no absolute assumptions about the programming experience of such students, and so it is that the more abtract concepts in the book, especially the object-orientated nature of Java, are explained in detail at the earliest point possible.

What I found very helpful in my introduction to Java as a first-year student, were the numerous class (and other) diagrams. They allow a visualisation of a program without first going into the details. This overview approach is essential in today's world, where it isn't always the close-up image of a problem that solves it, but a complete picture of all the details as a working system. Many comparable books on Java do not include any diagrams whatsoever!

Another commendable invention in the book is the Text class. It allows the beginner the opportunity to do i/o without first being introduced to the complexities of anonymous class definitions and the buffering of input and output. Java provides a number of different ways of achieving the same end, not all of which are accessible to the uninitiated. I must say bravo! to Professor Bishop for the painstaking way in which she introduces her world to the students.

I sincerely recommend this book to students learning Java and its related concepts for the first time.

I was surprised at all of the negative feedback this book has gotten. I am a professional programmer, and was thrown into Java by a company software need. Among the Java books I had at my disposal, I found Java Gently to be the one that made the concepts the most clear in a concise manner. I found myself constantly referring to Java Gently to grasp different Java concepts, switching then to more advanced books to obtain a more detailed perspective. I believe this is an excellent book for beginner Java programmers that wants to get their feet wet in Java. I am looking forward to a new edition that incorporates the new JFC classes.

The book started out like it was going to be useful, but for not. When things get interesting, she introduces "her" library to make things easier. Unfortunately, this teaches you "java gently", not java. There is also no attempt to explain the GUI. Without the GUI, what is the point?

I recommend the "The Java Tutorial" instead. It covers pretty much everything you will need to get started.

THis book was absolutly awful. It did not explain how to actually program. It was also bad in the writing where she just did not explain her thoughts to the full extent

As a student at University of Pretoria, we had the privilege of having Ms Bishop as our lecturer. And we had to fork over money for her book. (Can you really call that thing a book?) A book that was about to be released in 2nd edition not more than a month after we had to buy it. i.e. we forked over our dosh for a pricey, out of date textbook that was about to be replaced with a spell-corrected version. My idea of a book is a useful and descriptive entity which covers a subject with sufficient depth to make it worthwhile reading. Not so for Java Gently. The result - 6 months wasted trying to decipher the content of this book. If only we had been wider awake we would have boycotted this book and bought a decent one. Don't waste your money on this one - was written by a person who is not a good lecturer at all.