Java Programming (Paperback)

by Joyce Farrell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Java Programming, Fourth Edition provides the beginning programmer with a guide to developing applications and applets using the Java programming language. Java is popular among professional programmers because it can be used to build visually interesting GUI and Web-based applications. Java also provides an excellent environment for the beginning programmer - a student quickly can build useful programs while learning the basics of structured and object-oriented programming techniques.

From the Publisher
CD included contains: Sun™ Java™ SDK, Standard Edition, v. 1.4.0; jGRASP™ 1.5.0; and the Data Files to accompany the text --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 840 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology; 4 edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423901282
• ISBN-13: 978-1423901280
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #349,783 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A confusing book, November 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Java Programming, Second Edition (Paperback)

I used this book for a beginning Java programming class. I have no idea why they chose this one over the thousands of other possible introductory books available. First of all, it's just poorly written. Here's an example from a section that introduces input dialog boxes:
"There are two components or arguments for the showInputDialog() method, the parent component and the string component. The string component is composed of a string or icon to be displayed in the dialog box. When no parent component is used, the keyword null is substituted."

Well, what the heck is the parent component?? You've said there are two components, you define the first but then only say what happens if you leave out the second.

The book is rife with these sort of inconsistencies and errors. Also, the author uses an annoying method of explaining (such as it is) concepts using code abstracts, then has you type in examples from scratch. She does this using a confusing step by step; type this - put the cursor here - now type this, process. You don't get a clear picture of the entire example until you have typed it all into an editor. Worse, you reuse your previous examples by having to delete sections and input new sections. This is very error prone. Then all she says is "run the program and observe the result".

It would have been much better if she had just listed the entire code example and said "copy this". The space spent in the step by step typing (probably amouts to a good 1/3 of the entire 663 pages) would have been better spent with an explanation of what the code you just typed in did and why.

There is no example code on the CD (or online) like just about every other coding book uses. Granted, I might become a better typist by inputting all the examples myself, but it makes using this text very slow and cumbersome.

Finally, it just doesn't seem like they put a lot of effort into the book. The best they can do to present concepts is code snippets, a few tables and some (small!) screenshots. Not one chart or diagram to illustrate how anything fits together. I counted maybe 6 flowcharts in the section on loops. That's maybe a half-hour's work in Visio... big deal. Granted, a lot of diagrams in tech books are page-filling fluff, but they do occasionally help to summarize a concept.

Avoid this book if you are looking for a text on your own. If you are taking a class using this one, I'd copy all of these poor reviews and forward them to your school and request that they choose another title.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not good enough for a second edition, September 24, 2002

By	Kamola Abdurasuleva (Longmeadow, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Java Programming, Second Edition (Paperback)

This book has nice stuff to read especially for beginners. BUT there are too many typos and they are in the coding and in the explanation. Tiny typos that make your program not compile. And what you do for an hour is looking for your mistakes. I was confused big time and had to ask programmers to help me out.
Additionally, the way she explains her examples are a little bit confusing. She tears them apart as if they are separate small programs and then at the end she will ask you to write the remaining of the code yourself by following her directions. She won't show the whole program in the book, you have to accurately follow her directions in order to input the information in the right place. I ended up reading the chapter three times and correcting her typos while I was reading. Though my review might not be that good, the book still has some nice things in it. I learnt how to do nice stuff (though I never programmed before) and her typos were as debugging exercises for me. Her Java Programming first edition book, contains less typos and better arrangement of the information. But there are no extra chapters that she added in the second edition.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginners, but not for serious study of Java, June 20, 2004

By	Andrew Ling "AL" (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Java Programming (Paperback)

This book is good for people who are beginners to programming with its simple style, but it should not be used for serious study of Java programming. This book does not cover Java in detail enough for you to use it for serious study. Beginners should use this text as a precursor to Java - How to Program and professionals should use this as a reference book. This book is more like a summary of the key features of Java. The price should be reduced to more like $19.99US.