Rating: Summary: A great textbook introducing Java 2 Review: I bought this book while attending to regular Java classes to complement my non-C programmer background.I soon realized that this is a textbook for a Java 2 introductory course. Its chained chapters must be read in sequence and thoroughly for full appreciation. Used in this way, it is wonderful. Ivor Horton is a great professor, does not leave anything behind and found in his organized and practical book the best order to provide one's first contact with the intricacies of Java. I also liked to see that examples runned as expected. Keep in mind that this book is not a reference work. It is not designed for your expedite picking of information bits needed when you are writing your own programs. The book teaches basic Java 2 - absolutely complete about the basics - but does not even mention more advanced features like networking or beans. You will need another book for that. True, the title "Beginning" and the introduction should hint us about this, but it is far from intuitive given the massive 1100+ pages of the book. Believe, the heavy size is due to Java's complexity and not to author's verbosity.
Rating: Summary: Good introduction to Java but lacking in certain aspects Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: Beginning Java 2, JDK 1.3 Edition Review: I have only read a few chapters so far. But i've discovered that if you have no programming experience, this book doesn't cover the basic concepts thoroughly. At the top of the cover it reads: "programmer to programmer". So the book assumes you at least have some background in other programming languages. In which case, if I had, I may have given the book 5 stars. But if your a true beginner to programming I think it would be a good idea to purchase a book that covers the concepts of java, such as "Beginning Java Objects/Jacquie Barker ". (recommended at their site-wrox.com). All the same i'm glad I have this book, it covers Java very well, plus I will be reading it as soon as I finish learning the basics. They also have an interactive website. Certainly not a waste of money considering the return. Java programming has vast libraries of information, so reading a couple of books should be nothing. But don't be put off, it can also be fun along the way, if you understand the concepts first.
Rating: Summary: Beginning Java 2, JDK 1.3 Edition Review: I have only read a few chapters so far. But i've discovered that if you have no programming experience, this book doesn't cover the basic concepts thoroughly. At the top of the cover it reads: "programmer to programmer". So the book assumes you at least have some background in other programming languages. In which case, if I had, I may have given the book 5 stars. But if your a true beginner to programming I think it would be a good idea to purchase a book that covers the concepts of java, such as "Beginning Java Objects/Jacquie Barker ". (recommended at their site-wrox.com). All the same i'm glad I have this book, it covers Java very well, plus I will be reading it as soon as I finish learning the basics. They also have an interactive website. Certainly not a waste of money considering the return. Java programming has vast libraries of information, so reading a couple of books should be nothing. But don't be put off, it can also be fun along the way, if you understand the concepts first.
Rating: Summary: Quite useful Review: I have used this since I started to learn Java. It has been quite useful, though the major handicap is that at several places, it uses continuation of previous examples, rather than fresh examples. This results in some discomfort in using this as a reference guide, although it is great as a sit-through reading book.
Rating: Summary: very comprehensive, well-explained and logical Review: Good points: [1] Logical and well organized, and well taught. Gives you first easy program and tells you about rough skeleton of a program main() and what a class is etc. [2] Very comprehensive gives you ALL the details you need without over burdening you. Bad points: [1] Although it tells you about the JDK (aka Java SDK) how its structured etc. It tells you to add commands to your autoexec.bat file it doesnt give you specifics details ie the exact text to add to you autoexec.bat file. I would suggest an improvement to Ivor Horton to make this 100% perfect as opposed to 99% by adding just 3-4 more pages in next edition ie telling people about the PATH and SET CLASSPATH commands and a few DOS command ie CD.. and CD <directory name> for newbies like me. This setting/configuring of the JDK (aka Java SDK) is the only thing other books have over this and its only weak point. But the 'teaching java' part this book is the best I have seen. Thanks Ivor you made my life sooooo much easy well done pat yourself on the back man, and please consider my suggestion :-)
Rating: Summary: An anlyst's view of Beginning Java 2 Review: Speaking as an operations research analyst who only writes programs on an occasional basis and has minimal exposure to object oriented programming, I found the text to be very clear and well thought out. That it assumes virtually no previous background in any specific language, e.g., C/C++, was most helpful. Its evolving sample programs provided clear insight into the points being made. All in all, a wonderful beginning text!
Rating: Summary: awesome intro to Java Review: Ivor Horton is a great writer. He explains Java very consisely and clearly in this book, which make it a must-have for anyone wanting to learn Java. Whether you're an experienced programmer or just a newcomer to programming, this book is great. I knew C cold before trying to learn Java. While I was not too familiar in C++, I have in VB and was familiar with OOP concepts. This book demonstrated in a clear fashion the OOP capabilities of Java, without giving a feeling of boredom. Furthermore, in latter parts, the book diverges from the traditional "beginning" books by covering not only the Swing package for building User Interfaces but how to connect Java programs to a database using JDBC.
Rating: Summary: A must have for Java Developers Review: I am a experienced Computer Scientist and didn't need the introductory work. I have handed my copy of this to co-workers who need to learn object programming. I can't say enough good things about this work. If you are new to programming or even if you are not you should have this sitting on your shelf. It has saved many an hour searching for an answer.
Rating: Summary: A Great Beginning for a Great Language Review: This was my first book for Java and I really found it valuable for someone that has some programming experience. This book can get you up and running in probably one sitting, it's easy to read and well written. Although the picture of Mr. Horton would scare a spider, it's a great book and well worth the price paid.
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