Beginning Java 2 (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Beginning Java 2 is one of the two best introductory Java 2 books available. (The other is Peter van der Linden's Just Java 1.2.) Assuming nothing more than curiosity and tenacity, this book explains how to create programs with the Java programming language. And not just simple, academic programs either--the applets and applications that Ivor Horton describes in later chapters take advantage of the latest features of Java 2.

After a brief introduction to the characteristics of Java, Beginning Java 2 digs into variables, data types, operators, control structures, and basic Java syntax--the stuff you absolutely have to understand in order to get anything done. Horton then explains streams, files, and threads before getting into the graphical stuff, where he details how to build attractive, functional user interfaces with the Swing components (with solid coverage of the Java 2 event model). Later chapters address Java2D graphics and database connectivity. The author treats object orientation as integral to the rest of Java programming, which is appropriate to the language.

Readers get to see how concepts work, as regular Try It Out sections include illustrative code listings and the resulting output. The author and publisher deserve kudos for printing the complete source code of example programs rather than just key excerpts. These example programs also appear on the publisher's Web site. --David Wall

Product Description

This book has now been updated to cover JDK 1.3. This updated book is Beginning Java 2- JDK 1.3 edition, by Ivor Horton (ISBN- 1861003668).

The Java 2 platform, which is the release name for JDK 1.2, was released in December 1998. Java 2 is an important stage in the evolution of Java as a serious programming language. There are no substantial changes to the language - instead JavaSoft have focussed on extending class library support for common programming tasks.

This includes an improved, device-independent set of graphics libraries, the Java Foundation Classes (JFC), which includes Swing, Java2D and improved printing. These answer many of the criticisms of the original AWT graphics packages, and are both very flexible and very complete.

There's also a new Collections API, a set of classes to help you look after collections of related objects. There are also substantial changes in threading, serialization and JDBC 2.0.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1110 pages
• Publisher: Peer Information Inc.; 1st edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861002238
• ISBN-13: 978-1861002235
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #936,531 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and comprehensive, July 29, 1999

By A Customer

There is a lot to like about "Beginning Java 2." It provides excruciatingly detailed coverage of Java, written in a clear, intelligent way. The author does an effective job of tempering the extensively technical content with a friendly writing style that is never flip or insulting to the reader.

I also appreciate the abundance of examples, illustrations, and diagrams, which support the text well and are easy to read. Pertinent code samples are shaded in gray, which enhances readability. Diagrams are clear and and are supported with well-written callouts.

Although the book's title is "Beginning Java 2," it could be daunting to readers with little or no programming background, especially as they progress beyond the first two chapters. Chapter 1 provides an excellent introduction to Java and object-oriented programming concepts. The first part of Chapter 2 provides a good introduction to variables and data types. About the middle of Chapter 2, however, when the author begins discussing additional mathematical concepts, the reader is led into deeper waters and at this point, "absolute" beginners may start to feel overwhelmed. This doesn't mean that they should abandon the book, but they may need to take additional time to absorb the concepts.

Each chapter concludes with a summary of its content and several practice exercises. Although such practice is certainly valuable, I would have liked to see an additional appendix with "answers" to the exercises so that readers could check their work and benefit from the author's expertise. Without such author feedback, the exercises are less effective as learning tools.

Overall, I see "Beginning Java 2" as a potentially valuable addition to the bookshelf of any programmer new to Java. I recommend it with some caution to "absolute" beginners -- although with patience, determination, and a commitment to learn, they, too, may find the book very beneficial.

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to Java but lacking in certain aspects, September 10, 1999

By A Customer

This book is a pretty good introduction to Java, especially for beginners. However I would like to point out certain drawbacks of the book:

1)As the previous reviewer pointed out, Horton uses too much of math to illustrate his examples. He'd be better off tackling real-world problems.

2)Lot of coverage is given to Input/output streams, filing, printing etc. Infact these topics span 3 chapters in the book which is a bit excessive.

3) There is absolutely NO mention of network programming. A chapter on network programming would be greatly appreciated instead of the excessive coverage of streams.

4)However there is excellent coverage and explanation of JDBC. Also threads are explained very well.

Overall the book is definitely worth a buy, especially for the beginner/intermediate programmer. Object-oriented concepts are very well-explained. Also it has much better coverage of Swing than books like Thinking in Java. It is definitely better than Just Java which I found to be too superficial and elementary.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good book, terrible cover, October 24, 1999

By	J. Park "JP" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I resisted buying this book despite the good reviews because I couldn't stand the thought of looking at Ivor's mug shot for two months while I went through the book. However, eventually I caved and the purchase was worth it. Ivor is pedantic and thorough so you get an excellent grounding in object-oriented programming languages as well as learning Java.

I also purchased Peter van der Linden's Just Java 2 which is also good. If you already have C or C++ programming experience, you can probably get away with Just Java 2 but if you are a relative newbie like myself whose only prior programming experience was in HTML and Pascal, you are better off with Horton.