Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for beginners or more advanced!
Review: This has to be the best programming book I have ever read. Concepts are explained in easy-to-understand text, and the book layout couldn't be any better. Beginning programmers and advanced programmers alike can learn from this book. I have been using C, C++, and assembly language for about 5 years. This book has different "paths" you can take depending on your previous programming experience. Well worth the price. No other book I have read--on any language--even compares to the quality of this book. If you want to learn Java, get this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Java overview for experienced programmers
Review: This is a good intro tutorial for experienced programmers familiar with Object-oriented programming(OOP), but people not familiar with an OOP language like C++ will find the explanations lacking and terminology confusing, even though it does try to explain OOP. For the experienced programmer, this books gives a good overview on the various features of the Java language, but you'll have to turn to another reference for more advanced subjects and class descriptions, though the CD does includes complete listing of the Java API. But this book can't really be recommended unless you have to have a book in front of you because the complete tutorial is freely available online and for download on Sun's site at http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/ where the tutorial is more up-to-date than the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book to learn Java from
Review: This is one of the better books for learning Java. It's clear text and frequent examples make it an easy read. One of the benefits of this book over every other single one on the market is that having been available on the web and read by thousands of Java programmers, the authors have gotten an enormous amount of feedback about what sections were good and what sections were confusing. The confusing one have been improved. I doubt that any other Java book has gone under such testing by fire (except for possibly the specification manuals). If you are learning Java, you can't go wrong with this book. Even if you have been using Java for a long time, you can probably find a few topics in this book that you are not that familiar with that will make this book worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book on Java
Review: This is perhaps one of the most well written technical books I have come across in a long time. It helps to have OOP background, to understand the way java works. The book is not a tutorial in the sense that some would expect, but it explains the fundamentals and attributes of the language in a very clear way. I have had this book for several years now and still refer to it (as a programmer) every now and then to review the fundamentals of how some things really work, so in that sense it is still valuable, especially due to the technical details. If users want to learn how to implement specifics on awt etc..., then they should buy a book that focuses on that, but this book does accomplish the objective of introducing java very well. This has been the source and perhaps a reference referred to by many when first introducing people to java. Problem is, the book is now probably well out dated, and the reader is adviced to buy newer editions, but this is still a great reference book on the fundamentals and mechanics of the language. Bottom line, I have no regrets for purchasing this book.
Rating:
Summary: NOT for BEGINNERS
Review: This was my textbook for a introductory college class for Java, and I never refer to it that much. Not too many examples to take a look at. It is good for a reference when you are more knowledgeable about Java. But don't think this is a handholding sort of book for the neophyte in Java. I wish there were more example for applets in the book. Anybody wants to buy my copy? The college bookstore is not buying it back, and I wonder just why.
Rating:
Summary: it provides elegant examples.
Review: Thought not good as a quick tutorial, the examples that a little bit hard to read turn out be elegant and practicle. Another feature is that you can try the applet on web before you learn it and this makes you motivated. I like the book despite its drawbacks.
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