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Head First Java, 2nd Edition 2nd Edition

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Kathy Sierra (Author)
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4.3 out of 5 stars 578 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0596009205
ISBN-10: 0596009208
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Product Details

  • Series: Head First
  • Paperback: 688 pages
  • Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 2nd edition (February 19, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0596009208
  • ISBN-13: 978-0596009205
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 1.5 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (578 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent fast-track way to learn Java
By David J. Graper on October 6, 2005
Format: Paperback
I've been a professional programmer for years and I had to learn Java fast to stay in my current engagement. The "Learn-Java-In-24-Hours" style books had appealing titles but instead I decided to try this weird, truly different approach to learning because O'Reilly published it. (I have been familiar with O'Reilly for years and always recognized them as a top-flight publisher, although their books often had a formal, college-textbookish tone that made them better reference books than read-thru books.) I was put off by the graphics-intensive comic book style when I paged through the sample on-line at Amazon but decided to give it a try.

I think they're really on to something here. I can only speak for myself, as someone who already has a background in programming, but I believe the book actually works. Over a couple weeks I read the book, did the little puzzles and exercises which the authors were so insistent that I do, and was really surprised at the depth of knowledge I came out with at the other end.

Sitting in a developer's meeting yesterday I was really surprised that, while I clearly didn't have the years of experience the other coders had, I had no problem keeping up and was even able to contribute. I'm now moving in to the new assignment fairly well and am confident that I'll be able to pick up the details of this language now that I've got such a good grounding from this book.

I've now ordered the companion O'Reilly volumes on Enterprise JavaBeans and Design Patterns and am curious to see if they can maintain the same level of quality. Those skills would really seem to set a programmer apart, a critical consideration in a world where the competition is getting better (and unfortunately cheaper) every day.
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5.0 out of 5 starsDeceptively deep discussions
By Richard Barton on February 15, 2011
Format: Paperback
I started learning Java a few years ago, having had previous experience with C++, PL/SQL, ActionScript (Flash) and even assembly language. For some reason, even with books by Paul and Harvey Deitel, I found that I was not sure of what I was doing in Java. I could read the code and tell what a program was doing, but was having a hard time creating the new objects, interfaces and methods I needed for my project.

My wife bought this book for me and I didn't have the heart to tell her that a "silly" book on Java would not help me get where I wanted to go. How wrong I was!

The authors make it seem like they are very casual, even irreverent, about the subject. However, they actual do imbed the concepts into your mind with silly poems (roses are read, this poem is choppy, java is always pass by copy - or something similar) and crazy "debates" between objects and concepts. The light finally came on about what objects living on the heap was all about and that declaring an object variable is really declaring a reference to an object. Wow! so that's why you need an object.equals(object) method instead of just using object==object. The other books pointed that out, this book MADE the point in the brain.

I could provide lots more examples of how apparently silly games make the concepts live in your brain instead of just on the paper, but you really should experience it for yourself. I fully intend to investigate the other Head First books that are relevant to my work.
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5.0 out of 5 starsReally Good Book, But I Agree With Another Reviewer: Not For Beginners
By Larry on July 30, 2005
Format: Paperback
I like writing reviews on technical books because I think they are of enormous value to those considering buying the book. I buy a lot of books online and the reviews that I read are by far the most important thing that influences my decision to buy. Or not.

I also like to read what others before me have written. In this case - and for all of the "Head First" books I have read - I heartily agree with what virtually all others have written: these books are a great way to learn complicated, and oftentimes boring, subject material.

So I won't rehash what others have already written, except to say that if what you read was good - believe it.

I think the most important thing I can say about this book is that I agree with what Hye Nyoun Eum Kim wrote: NOT for beginners. I remember thinking to myself throughout the book that a fair, or at least some, amount of Java knowledge would be necessary in order to understand what the authors were covering.

If you already know Java and want to know it better, buy this book. If you are new to Java, and especially if you are new to programming, I still recommend buying this book. But do yourself a favor - check out other introductory Java books and buy one of those as well. A good starting point? I have bought the "Just Java" (by Peter van der Linden) books ever since Java 1.0 came out.
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2.0 out of 5 starsTo much funny, not enough fact
By Publius on March 25, 2006
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I really wanted to like this book. I bought the Head First book on design patterns and love it. It was the right mix of irreverance and information. So, I bought this book even though I have been a Java developer for over 5 years. I was excited to see how the Head First authors handled a beginners book for Java.

Not too well, in my opinion. Chapter Three, in particular, was a mess. This chapter introduces the notion of variables yet never explains what an integer variable is. No explanation is given of the float type. We are told that a byte holds 8 bits...but not told what a bit is. We are not told how to assign a hexadecimal value to an int. We are not told that if we assign a numeric value with a leading zero...the compiler will assume that you meant to use octal values. The reader is not told that Strings are immutable. These are all things that will trip up a beginner (the target market for this book). The author of this chapter doesn't even bother to mention that a Java array uses a zero-based index.

Both primitives and the notion of classes are introduced in Chapter Three. Yet, the author doesn't mention that all primitives (except boolean) have wrapper classes. Strings are introduced...but, no mention is made of the StringBuffer or StringBuilder (very useful and often used classes). These items are included in the back of the book in Appendix B.

There are so many things left out that I wonder if the publisher actually had any beginners read this book. Readers of this book will finish this book still ignorant of many Java essentials.

Here is one of their dumbed-down explanations for an object reference:

"Think of a Dog reference variable as a Dog remote control. You use it to get the object to do something (invoke methods).Read more ›
14 Comments 341 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsValue for money

Book looks like a drawing book, has good content in it.

Published 7 days ago by krishnaveer
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

undecided

Published 8 days ago by Jon
5.0 out of 5 starsWould highly recommend to any novice

Bought as a gift, and it was delivered on time. Package came in a large box, which seemed excessive, but the gift came on time, so I'm not complaining! Read more

Published 23 days ago by Arielle
5.0 out of 5 starsEntertaining while Educational

Entertaining.. humor helps with an otherwise dry subject.

Published 27 days ago by SteveB
4.0 out of 5 starsI just started reading it and it is very imformative ...

I just started reading it and it is very imformative, Unfortunately due to computer problems, I can't do any of the exercizes in the book,gotta wait until new computer comes. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsGREAT BOOK! I had a college textbook for Java

GREAT BOOK! I had a college textbook for Java, and my learning speed was somewhat below the normal speed, because due to the boring text that it has, and very confusing, like it... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsThe best Java book that makes learning easy!

Great book for beginners. Unlike most geek books, this book speaks with you! The authors have taken into consideration how one learns and have adopted the most effective approach... Read more

Published 2 months ago by WALANTAINE
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

this is great

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great tutorial! All Head First series books are excellent!

Published 2 months ago by William Arnett
2.0 out of 5 stars... distract from the concepts and add a ton of unnecessary volume to...

The goofy (and often totally pointless) cartoons distract from the concepts and add a ton of unnecessary volume to the book. Like, maybe half of the pages could be eliminated.

Published 2 months ago by M

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