Customer Reviews

Learn to Program with Java

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm not a professional programmer---just someone who enjoys writing programs as a hobby. I signed up for John Smiley's Java Study Group, which is a Blackboard.com based learning environment. The Study Group used this book as the course textbook, and I found it to be a wonderful vehicle to learn Java---which I think is a more difficult language to learn than Visual Basic.

First off, I should tell you that I'm a big fan of John Smiley and his books. I have all four of his Visual Basic programming books, and I used them to learn how to write my first computer program. I've also participated in many of his on-line courses, and subscribe to his Visual Basic mailing list. When John Smiley writes a book, he builds a community around it, with a support structure consisting of a web page and mailing list. If you need help, you can also email him--and he'll actually write back to you, although not necessarily the same day or with a
direct answer (he is a teacher after all!)

Here's my evaluation of Learn to Program with Java:

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE BOOK:

1. It's written so that anyone can understand it, in other words, you don't have to be a nerd to understand it. My husband is a computer programmer, and if I want to be spoken to in 'geek-speak', I would have let him teach me Java. I needed a book that patiently explained, in detail, the fundamentals of Java programming, not only the how-to-do but the 'why's' behind the language. This book did exactly that.

2. In each chapter he presents a demonstration program to illustrate the points he is trying to make.

3. Each chapter has a series of exercises for the reader to complete, with detailed instructions to guide you in completing it. By my count, there are about 100 of these exercises which contribute greatly to your learning experience.

4. During the course of the book, a real-world working Java program is developed. Each chapter has a series of exercises in which the reader is given instructions to complete the project, so that by the end of the book, you'll have developed your very own Java program. Many books concentrate on developing lots of small programs---with the result being that at the end of the book all you really know how to do is write small programs. At the end of this book, you'll feel capable of tackling your own real-world program.

5. There are lots of screen shots (hundreds) to help make learning Java easier.

6. I found the book very well organized and laid out. it starts out dealing with fundamental programming concepts like variables, If statements, and loops, and then progresses to the more difficult topics of Objects, the essence of Java programming. By the way, his coverage and explanation of Objects is the best I've ever seen--and my husband the Java programmer agrees :)

7. The book is written in the context of an actual classroom using fictional students. I feel this approach is one the books greatest assets, although I recognize that some readers may not feel the same way (see below under 'What you may not like'). 'Students' ask questions, and the author answers them. Just like a real classroom, some students ask 'good' questions and other students ask 'dumb' questions. I must admit that many of the 'dumb' questions are those I would have had myself (but been too timid to ask) if I had learned Java at an actual school. I actually found myself growing to 'like' some of these 'students'---and anxiously waiting for one of them to ask their next question.

8. The style of the book makes it OK to be technically challenged. I can't recall a single phrase such as 'of course', 'obviously' or 'it goes without saying' like I find in so many other computer books. If the author has an ego, he isn't using his books to stroke it.

9. The author has an uncanny way of answering questions in the text just about the time they pop into your head. Not surprisingly, he does this by having one of his fictional students ask the question. This is an amazingly effective learning technique.

WHAT YOU MAY NOT LIKE

1. The style of the book which I like so much, a conversational style built around a fictional classroom, can bother some people, especially those people looking to get right to the 'meat' of the subject. This style probably inflates the page count of the book by a few pages, and there is a bunch of 'he said', 'Rhonda asked' type comments scattered throughout. However, I found the style amazingly effective---imagine Mr. Rogers teaching your High School Physics or Calculus class.

2. The book doesn't jump right into Java--instead, there's an initial chapter on the Systems Development Life Cycle and how to develop a Requirements Statement to work from. Some readers might find this a 'turn off', but personally, I found it very useful, and use the methodology in the programs I write.

3. The book is definitely introductory. It doesn't cover advanced Java topics, but the topics it does deal with it covers better than any other book I've seen. Let's put it this way--after you're done with this book, you should feel comfortable in writing your own Java program.

If you need to move onto advanced Java concepts, you'll have no problem reading some of those other books.

4. The book doesn't cover Applet creation, something I really wanted to learn, but the author has posted a chapter on Applet creation on his website at:

http://www.johnsmiley.com/java/chapter14.htm

In summary, I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn Java.

Let me begin by saying that I'm the author, so let's get that out of the way.

I'm posting here to point out that the book has a tremendous amount of support materials that have never been advertised. Each of my books has a support page containing a current list of errata, downloadable files (completed exercises from the book), extra links to extra materials I have written and my email address in the event you have problems. I also run a series of online classes so that if you would like to learn with me in a more structured setting, you can do that also. You can access those materials via this link

http://www.johnsmiley.com/books.htm

I should also say that this book isn't for everyone---and you can read through some of the other reviews posted here to see why and why not.

I wrote this book for beginner level programmers, and the book is written in a unique style.

You (and I) can thank the now defunct Wrox Publishing house for the style of the book that some people absolutely love and others (primarily hotshot programmers with lots of experience) hate. The book is written as if you are participating in an actual classroom---many people, particularly those learning on their own or in an Independent study setting find comforting.

My thanks to the many people who have written to me to tell me how much they've enjoyed my books and how they have helped them achieve their goals of learning to program.

John Smiley

I'll be the first to tell you that buying this book was a hard choice for me---I'm a skeptic, and whenever I see high praise for a book (especially when the author is a teacher) I figure it's just a bunch of his students posting reviews hoping to get an 'A' in his course. Also, unlike the other reviewers, I wasn't turned on by the thought of reading about a college programming class. If I wanted to sit through a college classroom with a bunch of people asking questions, I'd probably take a college course---but I hate the idea, and I really thought I'd hate this book. I was wrong.

I've been trying to learn Java on my own for the last two years, and I've bought and returned probably about a dozen. What made me buy the book is the fact that the reviewers said the book contained a working project developed during the course of the book.

That's what I needed desperately. Most books on programming have lots of examples--but they don't lead to anything. This book takes a single idea---a program to calculate student grades--and works with it until you have a completed Java program. By the end of the book, I actually knew how to write my own Java program.

I should say that despite what I thought, the cutesy classroom dialog didn't bother me all that much---it's an interesting way to write a book.

The author also has some additional material on Java posted on his website (including a chapter on Applet creation which interestingly isn't written using the cutesy classroom style--I'm not sure which one I like better).

As I say, I'm a skeptic at heart, and I'm giving this book five stars. Why? It's the first Java book I haven't returned. I'll probably keep it--or give it to one of my friends who needs to learn Java.

It took me a week to read this book. Granted I am an experienced programmer. Regardless, Prof Smiley truly knows how to teach programming. This book is really geared towards beginning programmers and I don't think there is a better book out there. If you want to learn how to program using Java as the language then I recommend you start with the book. There are plenty of authors that claim to have a beginning text--Prof Smiley actually delivers.

Yes you will hear the complaints about typos and the like. John Smiley has a website with the ERRATA for this book. Remember its a first edition. And the book provides you with his email address. He actually got back to me on the same day.

Are you someone who wants to learn a programming language, Java in this case, but find your eyes crossing when you read books on the subject? If so, then stop here, because you have found something special. The author, Professor John Smiley is no ivory tower teacher or computer nerd... He is a professional educator who understands how difficult learning computer languages can be and is expert at making that knowledge accessible to the beginner. In addition, I have emailed questions to the author, who answered me promptly and meaningfully each time. Professor Smiley truly offers the complete package.

The book reads like a narrative of the author's experience in teaching a class on Java at Penn State University. The text follows the development of a small project (a student grades calculator) through the various stages of development -- each stage introducing new concepts and features.

By writing about a simulated classroom, the author answers your questions and gets you over the stumbling blocks, even as you form those questions and encounter those blocks. My experiences with other similar books is that these normal conceptual blocks can really slow my learning experience and turn me off from proceeding. This never happened with this book.

The examples are clear, illustrative, and easy to follow. The material assumes negligible programming experience in any language, and teaches good style and programming technique which are applicable in any language. The topics addressed are enough to get anyone started in Java, including: * how to write an compile Java source, * operators, * program flow, * classes (functions, methods, and properties, constructors, etc), * I/O, * good programming technique (including a very useful discussion of the System Development Lifecycle), * GUI, and more.

By the time I was finished with the text, I had, as advertised by the title, learned to program in Java, and was well prepared to take the next step in my education in this langauge.

Who should read this book? It's not for not advanced students or current Java programmers, but it is a great way to start your education on a difficult and useful subject. However, I hope Professor Smiley (and his publisher) will consider writing intermediate and advanced version of this book as well.

I also heartily recommend the author's books on learning to program with Visual Basic -- a subject for which he is already acclaimed.

Read the entire book in five days. I am an experienced programmer and have been using other books to complete my Java skills (taking the certification exam shortly). And all I can really tell you is that Professor Smiley should continue to publishing because he really knows how to teach. Many authors, for example Ivor Horton, know the language they are trying to teach but loose something in the attempt. John Smiley, on the other hand, knows how to teach the topic so that anyone with any motivation can learn the subject matter. You will not find a better text to teach you programming and the Java language. I personally have read Beginning Java 2 by Horton and the Core Java and neither book makes the subject matter as accessible as Learn to Program with Java. I hope the Professor Smily considers writing an advanced Text for Java.

Of course somewhere along the line someone will tell you that the book is not in depth enough. Although, they are correct in saying that it is not the definitive guide to Java programming it's not meant to be. You will learn how to program using this book and you will learn enough of the core language that will lead you to more advanced topics. Lets just hope that John Smiley considers writing an advanced book.

I'm not an experienced prorammer, so it was perfect for me. This book has taken some criticism for how the college students sound like they are 10 years old, but as an instructor myself I know it is those "10 year old questions" that can really stump you. Mr. Smiley anticipates many of the questions a beginner would ask. This is where more advanced books like Deitel's "Java - How to Program" fail the beginner.

Another difference is Smiley's "single project" method. Deitel, like others, uses separate code examples to demonstrate separate concepts. At least for me, nothing sticks. With Smiley, developing one project throughout the book really reinforces new concepts. It also helps newbies learn something more important than language syntax, and that is how to program. I wish more authors realized that learning how to design and think through the solution to a problem comes before learning syntax.

I'm no expert after using this book, but I finally have a solid base and a sense of direction. Now I can use books like Deitel's to expend on my knowledge and fill in the details, and they will make more sense.

This books fulfills its purpose perfectly.

I'm a professional Visual Basic programmer, and to make a long story short, I was told to learn Java in a week in order to work on a short fuse project.

One of my co-workers, seeing the panic I was in, said it was too bad John Smiley hadn't yet written a book on Java, because she had learned Visual Basic in a week using his Learn to Program with Visual Basic book. In fact, it was sitting on her desk, and I took a few minutes to thumb through it. I said to her she must be kidding--the book read like a novel, not a computer manual--but she swore to me she couldn't put it down, and after completing the case study in the book and the exercises, she was able to confidentally program in Visual Basic.

While we were having this discussion, she did a search at Amazon and found that he had written a Java book. Before I could say anything, she ordered the book for me and two days later, I was using it to learn Java.

I must say that at first I thought the style of the book was pretty stupid---following a Java computer class at college---but it's amazing, once you get into it, you really can't put it down, and the level of detail and attention that the author uses to explain difficult concepts is great. I finished the book in two days, completed the exercises and excellent case study in the book, and was able to hit the ground running with my project at work.

In short, I loved the book, and I think that anyone--whether an experienced programmer like me or especially someone new to programming, will find it a useful and enjoyable way to learn Java programming.

I just want to thank John Smiley for writing the book "Learn to Program with Java"!
It's great, and a fantastic way of getting the subject over that doesn't leave you thinking "...but how did you make that leap??" or "...where did that come from?" and the classroom format I find really useful as it has a more 'real world' feel and the author has obviously heard all these questions from his students. I've not yet come up with one that hasn't already been discussed in the book!
I have 4 or 5 books or other 'learning aids' for Java and none have them have enabled me to really get to grips with, let alone get enthusiatic about, Java! (or any other programming language for that matter!!)
I'm not a programmer by profession (I'm a mechanical engineer) but I have long wanted to learn. I find the subject fascinating but until now have found it almost inpenetrable with too much jargon and 'geek-talk' in those books I have tried.
I haven't yet finished the book/course, but progress is good and I wanted to tell all potential purchasers that John Smiley managed to open a window that has so far remained firmly closed. I would be happy to recommend this book to anyone who asks, and will do so whenever I get the chance!!

I picked up this book as a self-study resource to prepare myself for a graduate program in systems analysis. Prior to reading this book, my only experience with programming was learning Pascal more than 10 years ago, as a minor subject for my business degree. I browsed several Java books before coming to this one, and none of them came as close as this for being layman-friendly. Professor Smiley does not assume you know anything about Java. As you read his book, you just have to visualise yourself sitting in one of his Java classes. He used a fictitious scenario to illustrate how Java can be applied to solve a real world problem, so you don’t have to learn or think in the abstract. Your fictitious fellow classmates asked questions that you yourself are likely to ask (a big plus if you are the kind of student who is too shy to ask questions in class), Professor Smiley is brilliant in anticipating questions â€" a knack which he developed over many years of teaching programming. The explanations are concise, but they don’t compromise on important concepts. You won’t become a master programmer after finishing this book, but it does give you a strong foundation on which to further develop your Java knowledge. If you have to take the first step in Java, take it here.