Visual J++ 6 from the Ground Up (From the Ground Up)

Rating:
Summary: Not many bugs
Review: Alot of reviews here state that it is hard to understand, and not well written. But this book was not aimed toward just anyone, it is written for programmers. If you have NOT previously learned a language such as C, C++, or Visual Basic, I can see why this book might be a little bit confusing with it's fast pace. But for people with a programming backgroud, such as myself, will find it very easy to understand, and very well written. I came from a solid background of Visual Basic, and partial C and C++, and found the book to be most enlightening. A must have for programmers wanting to learn the Java language.

Rating:
Summary: Not the only book you should have, but definitely a must
Review: Although, it is not the only book I have on Java and not the only one I would recommend, when it comes to Java in Windows, this book is far more informative than any other book on those topics. Because it is on VJ++ it pays close attention to details that are hard to get in a general book on Java and does a much better job than other VJ++ books.

Rating:
Summary: Great for C++ to Java Programmer
Review: I am a C++ programmer and wanted to learn to use Java efficently and learn it quickly. The other reviews complain that the book advertised for beginning programmers, my copy did not. The book description was 100% correct. If you have a good understanding of programming techniques and want to learn the syntax, and structure of Java using MS Visual J++ 6.0, buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Skip this one and save yourself the tylenol!
Review: I'm an experienced programmer who wanted to learn java and MS J++ 6.0. I made it half way through the first chapter when I gave up and decided to return the book. I'm sorry, if an author cannot get a hello world example correct as well as basic screen descriptions, it's not worth trying to figure it out. It seems obvious to me that the author has not tried his own exmples. It's as if he wasn't familiar with the subject matter prior to writing the book.

Rating:
Summary: Not a good book for a Java beginner
Review: J++ from the ground up is clearly false advertising. If you're a beginner in Java you should not use this book. I tried to do this but had to resort to another book. Now I try once more to get through this book. Sometimes this book is excellent but sad to say most of the time it is annoying. In some chapters the author is only repeating a lot of methods in a boring way. There are few code examples and many doesn't work. And finally I want to say that I think that the polluted Java this book represents should be prohibited and sent to hell.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Review - Lots of Bugs, But Lots of Information
Review: This book is driving me crazy! I'm up to page 564 and I find several more bugs in the examples presented. Since the book does not include a CD with bug-free working examples I am really tempted to knock on this book. It also frustrates me when an author prints source code that clearly has never been tested. But despite all the bugs, the book is fairly well written and covers many topics. It does a good job of explaining Java development for Windows, but is really poor at describing Java programming for platform independent applications. But then again I find Visual J++ to be a very poor development tool for platform independent applications. For that, purchase Borlands JBuilder 2 (it's a much cleaner environment). All in all, the book presents a lot of material in an easy to understand format, but don't expect many of the examples to work the first time. You will become an experienced Java programmer through the process of fixing the authors code.

Rating:
Summary: Not very good
Review: This book tout's itself as "Open This Book as a Novice and finish It as a Pro". This is a VERY incorrect self-assesment. As a novice, I found that the sample code in the book was just plain wrong. The book may be okay for someone with J++ experience but it certainly isn't written with the beginner in mind. Osborne did a disservice by giving this book the title "from the Ground Up". It probably would have been better titled "starting from the middle".

Rating:
Summary: Not many bugs
Review: This is a good book. Granted it seems like it would be for novices, it is not.THERE ARE NOT THAT MANY BUGS. You just have to watch your syntax. One of the biggest problems with novices starting Java is that the syntax is so strict. Be sure to use capitals when it shows to. :o) It doesn't matter if you are a experienced programmer or not, if you are not experienced at with C++ or at the least JavaScript then the syntax will kill you.

Rating:
Summary: One to miss
Review: This is NOT the book you need if your just beginning your journey into the world of programming. This book covers the basics quickly and moves on to advanced topics like the WFC and COM/DCOM. However if you are experienced in C++ get this book it will get you started very quickly into the world of Java