The Java™ Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Mary Campione (Author), Kathy Walrath (Author), Alison Huml (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201703939 | ISBN-13: 978-0201703931 | Publication Date: January 7, 2001 | Edition: 3

(Pearson Education) A hands-on guide to proficiency with Java, with clear explanations of fundamentals such as objects, classes and data structures. The CD-ROM contains 3 Java tutorial books in HTML, all major versions of the Java platform, and more. Softcover. DLC: Java (Computer program language).

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Since the release of the Java Development Kit in May of 1995, the engineering team at Sun Microsystems has been hard at work improving and enhancing the Java platform. We have been similarly laboring to update The Java Tutorial to reflect the work of the engineers.

From the first page to the last, this edition now documents the APIs in the Java 2 SDK, Standard Edition, v 1.3. We have fully integrated SDK 1.3 updates into the text, plus we've added questions and exercises to help you practice what you learn. To help beginners avoid many common mistakes, an entire chapter is devoted to programming problems and their solutions. Convenient summaries at the end of each section are also new to this edition.

Like the first and second editions, this book is based on the online tutorial hosted at Sun Microsystem's Web site for the Java platform.Unlike the online version, this book solely focuses on the APIs needed by most beginning to intermediate programmers. Once you've mastered the material in this book, you can explore the rest of the Java platform on the Web site.

Our intent has always been to create a fun, easy-to-read, task-oriented programmer's guide with lots of practical examples to help people learn to program. Who Should Read This Book?

The book is geared towards both novice and experienced programmers.

New programmers can benefit most by reading the book from beginning to end, including the step by step instructions for compiling and running your first program in Getting Started (page 1). Programmers experienced with procedural languages such as C may wish start with the material on object-oriented concepts and features of the Java programming language. Experienced object programmers may want to jump feet first into more advanced trails, such as those on applets, essential classes, or user interfaces.

No matter what type of programmer you are, you can find a path through this book that fits your learning requirements. How to Use This Book

This book is designed so that you can either read it straight through or skip around from topic to topic. Whenever a topic is discussed in another place, you'll see a link to that place in the tutorial. Links are underlined and are followed by page numbers, like this: What Can Java Technology Do? (page 5).

All the sample code used in this book is available online and on the accompanying CD. The CD icon in the margin indicates that the code is available. At the end of each chapter there is also a "Code Sample" section with a table that specifies the locations of the examples on the CD and online.

We're dedicated to keeping this book up-to-date with the most current information.

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Java™ Tutorial, Second Edition

"This book stands above the rest because it has been available on the web and read by thousands of Java programmers. The authors have received an enormous amount of feedback about which sections are good and which sections are confusing; the confusing ones have been improved. I doubt that any other Java book has undergone such trial by fire...."

-Metroplex Java User Group, www.javamug.org/reviews/

Whether you're taking a class or learning on the job, The Java™ Tutorial, Third Edition, is a hands-on guide that lets you quickly become proficient with the Java programming language. Written by members of the Java Software team at Sun Microsystems, the book uses an interactive approach to help you learn the Java platform by example.

Since its first online release in 1995, the material in The Java™ Tutorial has been updated continuously to reflect reader feedback and new releases of the Java platform. This third edition has been thoroughly updated to cover v1.3 of the Java Platform, Standard Edition, as well as preceding versions as early as JDK 1.1.

You will find clear explanations of such fundamentals as objects, classes, and data structures. In addition, the book provides introductions to object-oriented programming, applet construction, and user interface design. Other topics include exceptions, I/O, and threads. To help beginners avoid many common mistakes, an entire chapter is devoted to programming problems and their solutions. Convenient summaries at the end of each section are new to this edition. Also new for this edition are "Questions and Exercises" sections to help you practice what you learn. The accompanying CD-ROM is filled with valuable resources, including:

• All three Java™ Tutorial books in HTML: The Java™ Tutorial, The Java™ Tutorial Continued, and The JFC Swing Tutorial.
• All major versions of the Java platform, versions 1.0.2 through 1.3 for the Solaris and Win32 platforms. The latest Java platform for Linux, Standard Edition v1.3, is also included.
• API documentation for the Java platform.
• Source code for all examples.

After working through the lessons in this proven tutorial, you will be well prepared to use the Java programming language in your school or workplace.

0201703939B04062001

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Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 3 edition (January 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201703939
• ISBN-13: 978-0201703931
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Deserves It!, August 7, 2001

By 

Greg Tomkins (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Java™ Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

dont you get sick of all these 5-star reviews ...? i sure do. but this time, i liked this book so much, i am sending one in anyway.

i don't mean to overstate things, and no, i am not related to Sun OR any of the authors, but this is simply one of the best 'computer books' i've ever read, even though it came from a vendor, and even though it's title (not to mention its topic) is rather pedestrian. here's why:

1) unlike many of the 'teach yourself Java' books, it finds just the right level of metaphor. am i the only one tired of the use of fruit, etc. when explaining objects? this book does that a little, but it also relates everything back to real-world problems that are complex enough to matter but simple enough to be graspable.

2) no irritating humour. I'm sorry, but i have had enough of computer-book authors who can't restrain their wit (like Bill Vaughan, so is otherwise a great writer).

3) a great explanation of threading. in all the other java books, i gave up after a few pages. i read the threading chapter in this book while driving home, and it made complete sense the first time round!

4) NO TYPOS. actually, i found one this morning. page 372, line 4, there is an extra hyphen. but that's it! it is almost unheard of, in my experience, anyway, to find such high quality in a 'computer book'. and personally, i find it insulting to spend $... on a book only to find the author didn't even proof their work.

5) after reading an explanation of interfaces in at least 4 other places, i THINK i finally get it, thanks to this book!

ONE BIG BEEF: having the answers to the exercises available only on the web is a major irritation. what were they thinking? for one thing, sun.com always seems to be the slowest site on the web. and that's assuming you have a networked PC handy, which i did not when i read this book.

i also agree that the space taken up by references to sample code was distracting and useless. on the other hand, there were 1 or 2 places (in the Swing chapter in particular) where the book did NOT include a printout of the complete source, which it should have.

notwithstanding the preceding comment, i believe this book was about right. it wisely omitted JDBC and stopped at a fairly skimpy coverage of Swing, which is correct, IMHO, in a book at this level. i also don't need another 4" thick book full of screen prints and fluff, which is what many of the competing books have.

all in all, i found that despite my interest in Java being modest at best, i literally could not put this book down. i read it almost nonstop cover to cover. no, i am not a freak, normally i fall asleep after two chapters. solid writing, well scoped, and near-perfect execution earn this a *****.

38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Java book if you have a Visual Basic background!, June 5, 2001

By 

Sisu (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Java™ Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

Coming from a Visual Basic background, a lot of other Java books weren't as helpful as this one (I bought the 3rd Edition of the Tutorial). The beginning chapters on OOP were very well written, I think it was the only Java book I've perused where every sentence made sense the first time I read it. The authors' use of metaphors to help make a point is done just right, not too little and not too much. If you have *some* experience with programming techniques, even just doing some .BAT files, I think you'll do well with this book. I had started reading Bruce Eckel's "Thinking in Java" before this one, but I think the best sequence for anyone else struggling with the transition from Visual Basic, etc. to Java is as follows:

- first read the Java Tutorial (3rd edition) and work through the exercises at end of each chapter
- second, read Peter van der Linden's "Just Java 2" for a very readable (sometimes funny) way to wade a little deeper into how Java does things.
- finally, and I have yet to do this myself, read Bruce Eckels' "Thinking in Java" to really wrap your head around object oriented programming and thinking like a Java guru.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book, October 17, 2001

By 

Samson Odock (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Java™ Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

this is a great book for anyone jumping from c++ to java.
after 2 semesters doing c++, i did not find it worthwhile to pay for java class so i bought the book. it was great, i read it straight through (like the author recommends) and by the time i was done i was able to transfer my c++ algorithms into Java code.
Java is now a piece of cake.
also recommended, "Core Java, Advanced" by Sun Microsystems.

later!