Customer Reviews

Starting Out with Java: From Control Structures through Objects (4th Edition)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Why pay $122 for this edition when it has no new information in it and the 3rd edition costs $9.27 used. This book is used for my 2 course class. The first course I took required the 3rd edition and I am going to take the second course that requires the 4th edition. When I looked at the 4th edition, I was shocked that someone would write a new edition that didn't contain any new information. Now, I'm not saying this is not a great book. I loved this book. This edition should never have been written. Don't take my word for it. Here is what the book itself says. In Preface titled "Changes in This Edition" it says "Improved Qrganization in Chapter 3". That means he moved some things around, no new information in Chapter 3. "New In the Spotlight Sections" This is new, it is additional problems with detailed analysis. This is nice for reinforcing what's taught, but it doesn't teach anything new. "Video Notes" These are viodes on the website to accompany the text. This is nice to reforce the text learning, but no new information there. You can get the early edition and go to the website and view the videos without buying this edition. "Additional Programming Problems" This is nice but it had suficiant problems to start with. NO NEW INFO. If this text is required by your class, ask the teacher if you can use the previous edition. That is what I'm doing.

This is an excellent text for students to learn Java, and Object-oriented programming. The introduction of control structures first allows the beginning programmer to master the ideas of loops / selection, before tackling the more abstract concept of objects, and classes. The examples and explanations are very gentle on the reader. The frustration level for beginners is quite low. I have taught Java programming for almost 10 years, and have used many different texts - this one works for students who have little (or no) programming experience.
Colin Archibald, PhD

This book has pleased me a lot.I have 2 other books for Java which are waste and I never open then from the day I started reading this book.Tony Gaddis has explained every concept in detail.I am a beginner and this book is a very good choice for beginners.The examples in this book are explained so well with no errors which makes it even more good. I want to learn EJB also if his book is available.

If you read the reviews of this text and its earlier editions, you'll see that it's nearly always praised by intro CS profs and students alike. Only this 3rd edition has gotten a real 'ding' by a reviewer, and that came more from that one individual's problem with Amazon than any real fault found in Gaddis' text itself. The guy's anger is understandable, though, as the price of this thick *paperback* book is simply absurd - as is the case with so many college textbooks these days... especially those in subject areas considered the gateway to lucrative careers. How can the publishers possibly justify their pricing? They can't... it's mostly greed. They figure CS students will just borrow a ton of money for their education and then pay off their inflated loans with their huge salaries, later!

Anyway, end of rant. What I would suggest, though, is to consider using an earlier edition of Gaddis' text - used - if ninety plus bucks is too much for you. For the purpose of introductory programming in Java, very little is lost in using the first edition, "Starting Out with Java 5". As I write this in 2008, Java is 13 years old and has become a mature language; very few basic features or keywords are deprecated anymore, and all of the latest and greatest extensions are mostly beyond the introductory level of this textbook. What the first edition did well - build a firm foundation for understanding programming structures and object oriented features in basic Java - all editions still do extremely well. The second edition, and the third, however, are incremental improvements... not essential to getting one's students off on the right foot.

I used this book for a into to Java class in college. This was a very good book. It was easy to follow and the examples were great! One of the few text books I've actually liked using.

Starting Out With Java 4th edition is a great book and really took a total beginner in Java to proficiency. Everything that is covererd in the book is explained very clearly and there are a ton of code examples. The questions at the end of each chapter are challenging by just the right amount so they all make sense, but none are too easy.

If you want to learn Java and have no prior experience programming I'd recommend this book.

This book is really helpful for learning how to program in Java. It has several programs in the CD that correspond with the examples in the book

I had to read this 900+ page book over the semester for a Java/intro programming class. It explains things well for the most part, and the code examples are helpful, but the book is way too long, and kind of expensive. For its length, it doesn't go very deep into the language (e.g. it doesn't talk about packaging applications or any server-side things you could do with Java), but still a good starter book. I would have preferred to read one of the Java For Dummies books instead (same info in less than half the length) if not for the fact that class assignments were based on those from this textbook.

The book also comes with a CD with sample Java programs and development environments, but I never had to use the CD. (Better to download current software instead.)

To those who say to get an earlier edition, be warned that the questions are not all identical. There are changes to the program challenges since the previous edition which means you could get an F on programming assignments if you're not careful.

I love the approach that this book takes.
out of all the java educational book out there this
book really tough me everything i needed to know
about java programming.
I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Great Book overall, this was the textbook for our class and I learned a tremendous amount from it.Author breaks things down in a easy to understand manner.I recommend this to any beginner who would like to learn Java.Also the author has videos tied in with certain sections of the book that are extremely helpful for understanding the concepts.