Customer Reviews

Murach's Java SE 6: Training & Reference

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There have been a number of books and tutorials written about Java. The gold standard for me has always been "Learning Java" by Patrick Niemeyer and Johnathan Knudsen (O'Reilly & Associates). I have had a number of new programmers, enthusiasts, and members of the JUG tell me it is information overload. The book does contain a lot of information in its 828 page heft. As a result, I have been looking for a book just for beginners. I have found it.

I just completed reviewing Murach's Java SE 6. It is a very good resource for learning Java. This book does an excellent job of providing a firm basis for understanding the technology. The book is clearly and concisely written. The book is divided into 5 major sections which cover the essential Java skills to advanced topics on data access programming using XML and JDBC.

The teaching style is very clever. It typically takes the form of a page of information with facing page with examples. I found this to be very important in getting sometimes difficult points across. I typically take the "Show me the code" philosophy, and this style works for me.

The other technique that used is to convey a purpose for learning Java. This is done by using the various topics as building blocks to create an application. The final result is a completed application at the end of the book. It encompasses the lessons learned, and gives the new programmer a sense of accomplishment with a completed functional application at the end of the book. I love it.

I have found that people learn better with functional code examples. This book is replete with them. One of my greatest annoyances is to have code samples which do not work. This clouds the ability to learn because it forces the beginning programmer to question their abilities. The shroud of uncertainty should not be because the gold standard code is incorrect. I am pleased to note that I tried a number of code examples and they all worked.

My favorite section is Data access programming with Java. Chapter 20 covers working with XML. This is a must for any programmer. XML is the new black, and anything that can help you learn this important technology is a must. In chapter 20, the topic of StAX is covered. This is the best simplified example of using StAX I have seen. After reading the information, and performing the examples, I felt I had a better understanding of this technology.

I only have a few minor negative points to mention: the title is a little misleading. The majority of the information in the book really details Java SE 5 enhancements with two notable exceptions: StAX and an introduction to Derby (Java DB).

My overall impression is that the book is an outstanding resource for new and seasoned programmers. This is a great book to add to the reference shelf.

This book provides a cornucopeia of subjects that most intro to Java books briefly touch on, such as threading, setting up the Java environment on the windows pc,and the tutorials and instructions on using the various Java IDE's. I found these tutorials concise and easier to follow than on the Java web site.

As always, Murach's treatment of OOP concepts impressed me. By displaying these concepts in a real-world application it reinforces your learning heads, leaps, bounds and miles over OOP object models of cats, widgets, etc.

Best of all the code examples work! I can tell you how about the frustration of typing a 2-page code sample to realize, oops,the code sample doesn't work.

The main area the book failed to meet expectations revolved around the weakness of its database section. Providing only a command line version of the database application reduced my rating from 5 to 4.

There are probably a couple of hundred changes and improvements that have been included in the new release of Java. The problem is that after three or four releases, the new product additions bring a decreasing amount of utility to the package. By version 3 or 4 the stuff that we really need is there.

Java 6 has two additions that fall into my definition of really nice new things. One, is that Java continues to get faster as new editions come out. There's nothing you have to do to make it run faster so there isn't much said about this in the book.

The second new thing is that Java now incorporates an integral database. It's a relatively new database called Derby. This is a small database, written entirely in Java as part of the Apache project. In this book there is a lengthy chapter, some 32 pages, covering the use of the database from Java. This book does not include a discussion of Derby SQL, that will have to be another book. [Note: Derby is the same product as IBM's Cloudscape database.]

This book is a general introductory book to Java it starts with downloading the software from Sun and carries it forth to rather complex programming. It is, as is standard with the Murach books, very professionally done, tightly edited, complete, and probably the best book on the subject.

I found the book to be excellent and much easier to understand than many other java text sold today. The book teaches the basics very well and is a solid foundation for anyone who wants to learn basic java programing skills in days instead of weeks or months. The expansions are clear and the examples are well thought out.

LG

This is a great book for both training and reference. I was a VB6 programmer and needed to get into Java and object oriented programming for work. I read this book about 3/4 of the way through from page one and did all of the exercises after each chapter. The book is split so that the left side facing page is narrative description and the right side facing page is bullet points. This is great in that it allows you to read on the topics you don't know and just use the bullet points for the stuff you do know. This is also nice for going back to something for reference while working on a program. I plan to finish reading the remainder of the book within the next couple weeks.

As a UNIX/C/C++/python programmer, this book has allowed me entrance into the Java world. I went to the Java Conference and was overwhelmed by all the choices, but this book allows learning of the different methods and how to put Java together. I am still in about the fifth chapter so I am not sure if it suitable for an advanced Java programmer, but it is easy for a beginning Java programmer to follow. I heartily recommend this book. It also is accurate and the programs actually work (which is not always the case with a programming book....)

I think this book is AMAZING. This is my 3rd Java book and I am impressed at every angle.

The layout is straight forward, easy to navigate, compact and to the point, and very professional. There isn't all the fluff that is associated with most beginner books (Heads Up series especially) and you will be learning the core PLUS writing your own miniprograms nearly from the start.

If you want to get straight to the point and learn realworld Java, this is the book for you. If you want a more holding-your-hand style of howto (which is just fine if you are starting a new language), look elsewhere.

This is a great book at a great price. I look forward to many more books from this author!

This book is really informative, a great reference and good for learning too. I bought it because it's a required text for a Java course I'm taking and it's brilliant.

The one thing I can say is the question at the end of the chapter are sometimes vague. That's why I didn't give this book a 5 star rating. At times I'm left reading and rereading a question for 10 minutes before I get an inkling what they're talking about.

I've purchased several of Murach's books now. The learning style in his books works well for very simple topics. When things get more complicated, this learning presentation of explanatory text on left, and code example on the right, simply does not work. I think the Author knows this, and when he approached more complicated subject matter in his books, he simply chooses to ignore content so that it would fit his presentation style. Works great for him, for you as the reader who really needs to know this stuff, not so good...

Also, the Author claims that they differentiate themselves from the competition by not releasing a book before it's time. That they release a book not according to the publisher's print schedules, but after it has been thoroughly reviewed by other programmers. I just can't believe this is true. I have found tons of errors in his books, and figures where the content is completely obscured by an overlay.

Other problems include his overall style. The problem with it is he spends 700 pages on the How, and not on the Why. There is no discussion of why things are setup the way they are. So, what he is really selling is a reference manual.

Of the books that I've read of his that are worth it, and where his style worked was his Servlets and JSP's book. Everything else is a waste of time. I would look for another Author.

Sorry, the truth hurts.

It's hard to know where to begin. Terrific - Fantastic - Superlative! Those don't do this book justice. If you want to learn Java, this is the place to start. The text is extremely well written and easy to understand. The format is perfect for the presentation of the material involved: A page of textual information/instruction and on the facing page, a detailed figure demonstrating the details and "how to" of the presented material. If you are already a programmer, you will very quickly and easily wrap yourself around the concepts and practices of Java. If you are not a programmer you'll be *well* on your way by the time you finish this book. Murach's Java SE 6 is the best programming book I've ever read and WELL worth several times the purchase price. The material is presented so that it can be used with a "simple" programming text editor or with either NetBeans or Eclipse - two of the BEST Integrated Development Environment (IDE) packages available (all three of which are FREE and downloadable). I chose NetBeans (for the GUI editor). The code and practice exercises are downloadable (also free) from Murach's web site in the format for the programming environment you have chosen! They have also provided tutorials for using NetBeans or Eclipse. A word of advice here (call it the voice of experience): READ THE TUTORIAL! It isn't long or laborious and there are "must have" gems of information there. Over all, you cannot go wrong purchasing this book!