Customer Reviews

Sams Teach Yourself Java 2 in 21 Days (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I found most of the content in the negative reviews here bewildering. To take some examples:

"The code doesn't compile" - yes it does.

"They teach you deprecated code" - yes they do. This is because if you want to write applets, you have to use deprecated code. This is reiterated frequently throughout the applet section. They also teach you Java 2 code.

"They don't explain the examples" - yes they do, often giving line-by-line explanations. There are a couple of early examples that use yet-to-be-explained code, but they tell you this (it would be impossible to write functioning code with all you learned in day 1).

"They don't build on a foundation" - yes they do. The class concept is clearly explained, then the syntax, data types, then you move onto applet writing.

I suspect most of the negative contributors here are merely venting their frustration.

My only problem with this type of book is that it is unrealistically titled - you will only get through it in 21 days if you don't have a day job, don't take notes, and dont' revise.

Other than that, it was one of the better tutorials in this series.

An excellent criteria to apply to any book designed to teach a topic is that experienced teachers can find something to use in future lessons. Since I have taught Java for over three years and am currently teaching three sections using the JDK 1.3, I can humbly consider myself experienced in the language. There are two examples in the book that gave me the ideas for additional lessons that I have incorporated into my current classes.
However, that does not mean that the material is too advanced for beginners. On the contrary, the initial position and the movement is ideal for someone just learning the language. Some of the material that is new and improved in the JDK 1.3 is examined, although not in detail.
If you are in need of a book that will give you a quick overview of a language that you are unfamiliar with, then this book is a good choice if the language is Java. The examples are good, current and expressed in a form that is easy to understand.

As long as you understand Object-Oriented Programming basics, this is a good place to start for learning Java. Good as a primer before you get into a book that covers Java more deeply. Of course, to really learn any language you need about 8 books on it, so don't be surprised if there's some things this book doesn't cover. It teaches you the basics of class structures, etc. and spends a lot of time on applets. I'd say that if you wanted to learn to write applications in Java 2, this is not the book for you. It mentions nothing-to-little about the implementation of data structures in Java (i.e. stacks, trees) and reading from / writing to files. Also, it assumes knowledge of SQL for the later, advanced chapters.

I'd only recommend Teach Yourself Java 2 in 21 Days if nothing else is available.

First, let me say that a few have eluded to the "cutesy" writing style the authors intersperse throughout this book. It's not as sickening as they claim; in fact, it's actually one of the saving graces of the book, adding enough humor and "down-to-earthness" to keep the reader somewhat interested in it.

My beef is the confusing teaching style Lemay and Cadenhead present. It often leaves the reader frustrated and perplexed by jumping around back and forth in the book searching for a clear explanation on how to do anything within Java. Here's what I mean: frequently, new terminology is only briefly touched upon within a chapter (and it usually doesn't tie in directly with the chapter's subject matter), only to abruptly conclude with "We'll get into this topic more tomorrow" or "we'll cover this more next week". When the topic is reconvened later, you're automatically expected to have a thorough knowledge of it. This leaves you thumbing through previous pages trying to look for any explanation on it. I found that the first seven chapters are especially good (or should I say bad) at this. I can realistically say that at the end of the first week, some beginners still won't know the differences between variables, statements, and methods -- all basic elements taught "in detail".

The examples sometimes include elements that aren't even mentioned until several chapters later. As you're going through lines of code, there's the odd syntax with no details on what it actually does within the example. You're just excepted to accept it. If you're new to Java, and like to know what's going on at all times, this would prove to be quite mind-boggling. While this is admittedly unavoidable, there are so many times the authors could've started out with simple concepts (and examples to match them) and "build up" gradually.

Speaking of the examples -- I feel there should have been more in each chapter. Unless you're the type who remembers everything after being told only once, you'd need more examples and sample applications and applets to help the material "sink in".

This book does not try to help you if you are a beginner. It has codes which do not explain what the programming lines do, only what the program does. If you want a good java book and have no experience at all, get Java 2 by Ivor Horton.

I am a mainframe programmer and I wanted to branch into Object Oriented Programming (OOP). This Java book is an excellent source for learning both Java Programming and OOP concepts. All of the code samples were great and the authors explained in detail what the code was actually doing.

I was very pleased and would recommend all of the "Sams Teach Yourself..." books especially to beginners. I have also have the HTML and XML books and they are great as well.

I am a beginner in the world of programming. In addition, I know that Java is quite difficult to grasp. Thus, I knew it will take time for me to learn the language. When, I first read this book I had trouble understanding it. I was quite frustrated. However, I stuck with it and read it another time and another time. It took me about 21 days to read the book three times. Meanwhile, the Java light bulb in my head finally lit up. Nevertheless, here is my advice to the beginning Java programmers of the future:(1) BE PATIENT and eventually you will learn the language of Java. (2)Preview the chapters and read their summaries before studying them. (3) Read the parts or chapters of the book that were difficult to learn again and again, until you master them. (4)Try to understand and utilize rather than memorize the concepts of Java. (5) Read more than one related book on Java; you will realize that some books explain certain concepts of Java better than others and cover concepts of Java that some books fail to cover. Afterwards, you will agree that this book deserves 5 stars.

I cannot understand those people writing negative reviews about this book.I believe I can speak on behalf of many programmers new to JAVA. This book is one of the best, because after reading just six chapters, I'm now confident to say I know a lot about OOP, classes and methods. Let me tell you about my story. I bought "JAVA How to program" by Deitel, and after reading five chapters, I still cannot figure out what OOP is all about, the class and methods too.That book is good too, but the target audience is undefined, because the first couple of chapters dealed with GUI and structured programming a lot, without laying out the foundation of what classes, objects and methods of JAVA is all about. Then I remembered a friend who bought this SAMS book last year, so in desperation, I borrowed it and promised to return it after a few days, but failed to do so because I cannot put it down due to interesting topics and well laid out format. Now at home after coming from the office, even if i'm too tired, I can't help but read the book. I don't exaggerate, I just feel I owe this book a lot to post a comment and do the same good thing to other programmers new to JAVA by giving them this advise - BUY THIS BOOK, don't take my word for it, just try it and see what it can do for you. I'm still surfing the net for other references and would like to try Ivor Horton's book just for supplementary reference together with SAMS.

One would get very tired lifting all of the beginning Java books currently on the market. The combination of weight and numbers can be overwhelming to someone looking for a book to use in their initial study of the language. As more features are added and considered fundamental, it becomes harder for the author of any book based on a time frame to pick the "essential" topics and cover them in sufficient detail. Therefore, the end result is that all books based on an elapsed time should have the time considered as a guideline rather than as an absolute and that type of book should not be judged too harshly in this area.
With that as a precept, the questions to resolve are threefold.

Did the authors choose the appropriate topics?
Are the starting points in a location appropriate for beginners?
Is the coverage sufficient so that the student will have some significant grasp of Java after they complete the book?

In this case, all the answers are most definitely affirmative. Cadenhead and Lemay begin with the basics of the fundamental data types, expressions and operators. These concepts are then used to construct simple classes, which are then put together to make other classes via inheritance and interface implementation. Classes are then grouped together to make packages, and the implementation details of import and setting the CLASSPATH environment variable are examined. The first week ends with a lesson covering how to work with threads and exceptions.
Week two is devoted to creating GUI interfaces, handling events and drawing objects, with the topic of the final day being the construction and use of applets. Week three is devoted to some additional basic and advanced topics. Day 15 covers input/output, day 16 describes the serialization and inspection of objects, day 17 shows you how to communicate across a network, on day 18 you work with sound, day 19 is an explanation of how to create and use JavaBeans, the coverage of day 20 is how to move data using JDBC and XML and day 21 covers how to write Java servlets and Java Server Pages (JSPs). The coverage of each of these topics is necessarily brief, and the authors do leave a lot of things out. Nevertheless, I am convinced that enough is covered so that the students leave with a basic grasp of how each concept is used to construct programs.
Are there things that I would have done differently? Absolutely! I would have moved the coverage of input/output so that it was embedded inside the other lessons. Once classes and exceptions are covered, then sending data in and out of files can be done by adding only a few lines to programs whose primary purpose is to demonstrate other things. I would have made more effort to explain how threads can be used and abused in Java programs, covering them in a separate chapter.
In conclusion, this is one of the best beginning Java books on the market. No such book is ever perfect, but this one is much closer to perfect than it is to merely adequate.

"Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days" is a deceptively-named but good tutorial on Java programming (after all, could *really* learn Java in 21 days?). The authors take the reader gently through the major topics of Java: classes, methods, control flow, etc. The examples and the discussions provided are not particularly deep, but for a novice programmer, they are more than sufficient.

I would recommend following through the examples and tutorials in the book to get a basic understanding of Java. Decide what areas you want to focus on, and get more in-depth books on those subjects. Don't expect to be a Java expert after reading this book.

Two last things: I would recommend this book over O'Reilly's "Learning Java." That particular book is not a tutorial and novice programmers and is poorly written. Also, the second edition of the book will do just fine if you're just interested in learning the basics of Java. The second and third editions are not significantly different, and you can save yourself some real money by getting a copy of the former.