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Summary: My favorite computing book
Review: I love this book. It's a joy to read -- the best, clearest Java introduction I've seen. I wish I had bought this book first instead wasting my money on others that I never even open anymore. This is the one I always go to first. In fact, I'm working in a small group of Java programmers right now and this book seems to be the favorite. The examples are outstanding because they cover design issues and illustrate the key concepts (that show the power of Java) like separating interface from implementation, polymorphism, etc. The fact that the author put the entire book on the web is a plus - I bought the book after I had already downloaded it. It's much nicer to have a paper copy to flip through, although the electronic version is a handy supplement to the printed because it's searchable.
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Summary: Great Book
Review: This is my favourite book on Java. I was able to learn the language from it and now use it as my main reference. The writing style is great, the depth of coverage just right, it is up to date, and the examples provide directly usable code.
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Summary: Best Java book money can buy!
Review: This is a book worth spending money on especially if you are a programmer who wants to learn Java from the groundup. I've had the pleasure of owning this book and going to the "Thinking in Java" seminar as well. Bruce Eckel's explanation of core object oriented concepts is exceptionally lucid and the style is very easy to understand. The examples are also very good and tell you precisely what you need to know before you go digging off for more specific details. An excellent book and a "must have" for any programmer worth his salt.
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Summary: Best primer on Java/OO programming available
Review: This is an excellent book. Don't think of it just as a great book on Java, but as a great book on Java *and* object-oriented programming. Read this book from cover-to-cover and do every exercise in it, and you'll end up being one of the two or three most knowledgeable Java programmers in your company.
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Summary: Bruce never ceases to amaze me
Review: I'm rather surprised at some of the reviews. One says that it's for experienced and another for non-experienced programmers. I'd say that this book could be used for both. In fact, Bruce never claims that this book is for beginner programmers. A pre-requisite is that you should have some programming experience. True, not necessarily Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), but some experience. The book even includes a CD on programming in C. I believe the intro to objects chapters were great. Since, I had a solid background in OOP already, I asked a number of non-OOP to read it. Most understood the concepts. Also, I don't know many peoople who understood OO concepts just from a book. When some colleagues (new to OOP) had trouble with these chapters, we reviewed a few topics and then the chapters made sense. In addition, the book reiterates those intro topics throughout the book in order to drive the OO concepts home.All that aside, Bruce seems to make the most difficult subjects so clear that I slap myself on the head and go "Why didn't I see that in the first place?". This book provides the best breadth of the Java language. I believe the book explains all concepts of a Java topic in great detail. I also like how he contrasts Java to C and C++ for those that have that background. If you're new to a topic in Java, I'd suggest starting with this book. You'll understand the concepts and be able to go elsewhere (other books, Java docs, etc.) for more detail. To me that's the key -- understand the concepts. If you understand the concepts from a language's perspective, you'll be able to easily delve into the details and because of that, be more productive. And that's what this book is all about -- Thinking in Java. One more comment. I would highly advise getting this book and his CD. It's just like being at one of his seminars, except not being able to ask questions. Plus, the CD is a bargain.
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Summary: OO Thinking
Review: Coming from a C, C++ coding background (and having a degree in Computer Engineering) I liked the book a lot. Java does not offer back doors to let you get around the Object Oriented nature of the language and it is necessary to move another step up the ladder to a more pure form of OO if you are to use the language successfully. Bruce helps move you up the ladder. Thanks!
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Summary: Sets a high standard in computing literature
Review: In terms of writing syle, this is certainly one of the best text books of any kind I have read. All of the core concepts are explained clearly, usually from first principles. The author explains how things were before Java, thus providing necessary context. Most importantly, he has his own voice. His enthusiasm for Java is not evangelical; it is based on what it can actually do. He does not jump on the bandwagon, looking down on those who don't "get it". The audience for this book is the intelligent artisan who has developed code before in some form. He certainly writes in a robust manner that assumes that his readers have thought about programming problems and issues. A great book for those who want a more complete understanding of Java in particular and modern programming in general.
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Summary: The best introduction to java you can find.
Review: This was one of the first books I have read about java. I've read several more books afterwards but this steel stays Numero-Uno.
The book is an excelent introduction to java.
The explanations are very comprehensible, and there are a lot of insights about Java, design paterns and professional programming.
After working for three years in java I find the explanations and insights very useful and I use the book as a langauge reference from time to time.
An excelent book !
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Summary: An excellent book despite some of the other reviews...
Review: I am at a complete loss for why some of the reviews find this book difficult to follow or that a "B.S. in Computer Science is required" in order to understand it. On the contrary, it is extremely easy to understand. It is clear and flows very well. While I do not teach Java for a living (I actually code in it for a living), I lead and mentor a Java development team and routinely tutor interested students in the Java language. My limited "teaching" experience has been consistently that each and every individual easily understood and retained the material covered in each chapter. Some of the individuals I worked with were very bright; other's not so much. Either way, both were successful with the book. With respect to other comments regarding too many examples or too lengthy examples, there is nothing that prevents them from continuing to turn pages if they already understand it. A single book cannot be all things to all readers. Each reader has a different skill level in Java and this book, any book, must do it's best to reach as many readers as possible. I think it did an excellent job. What I really liked about this book was that it was so incredibly easy to digest. You could tear through the material very quickly and retain it all. Before I read this book, my experience with object-oriented languages was limited to Smalltalk and Delphi (object pascal). I used the first edition of this book to teach myself Java. Once I got through the book, I turned around and started writing architectural-level components in Java. This book is well worth its price. Whether you are new to object-oriented languages or experienced with one or more, this book is an excellent introduction to Java that will provide you with the foundation you can really work successfully from.
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Summary: The Best
Review: This book is great. If you really want to know how java works... read it.
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