Job & Edu

Head First Java, 2nd Edition

From O'Reilly Media

Binding : Paperback
DeweyDecimalNumber : 005.133
EAN : 9780596009205
Edition : 2nd
IsAdultProduct : 0
ISBN : 0596009208
Label : O'Reilly Media
Manufacturer : O'Reilly Media
NumberOfPages : 688
ProductTypeName : ABIS_BOOK
PublicationDate : 2005-02-09
Publisher : O'Reilly Media
ReleaseDate : 2009-05-11
Similar Products

Customer Reviews

Rating:
Summary: The perfect starter book for learning Java for programmers
Comment: This book's main specialty in my opinion is learning the language itself (versus use of language). It really helps you understand not only what is going on, but why you do things a certain way. This is what sets it apart from some of the other good Java books. However, I wish it had more real life code. A little less animals and shapes kind of stuff. It also seemed like Java generics (ArrayList) was kinda thrown in at the end. Also, database coverage was lacking entirely. Since almost all real applications these days (especially business apps) use them, it is an issue to not have a good bit of coverage of them.

Pros:
Good core explanation of the language
Good core explanation of object oriented programming
Easy to read and move at a pace that you like

Cons:
Not much "real code" that you would reference later
Not many "real life" examples. Lots of animals, instead of real life uses
A little lacking in certain areas like GUI design (of course Swing is pretty weak in this area...)
Database coverage

Your best bet is to get this book and read it cover to cover to really understand Java. Then grab Murach's Java 6 book to further that understanding and see the language used in real life situations including databases. You can also reference Murach's later too since it has good code examples.
Rating:
Summary: Cute, but useless
Comment: First, a general comment on programming books: Stop giving people useless code examples. People learn how to program by actually programming. When will someone make a book that gives you useful, practical, hands on exercises instead of useless code snippets?

Specific to this book is the fact that they're worse about this useless code than anyone else I've ever seen. They gloss through scores of different topics quickly, with little detail or practical use. You will not learn Java from this book.
Rating:
Summary: A great way to learn!!!!
Comment: Do you EVER remember laughing out loud while studying a computer language? (I'm not talking about the sleep-deprived, caffeine-induced, maniacal style). Well, I find myself laughing, and learning, in every single chapter of Head First Java. Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates write in an engaging style, combining fun visuals with effective analogies that truly make learning fun. I highly recommend the book.Head First Java, 2nd Edition
Rating:
Summary: The best Java learning source for non IT people.
Comment: Are you familiar with the "For Dummies" book series?

Well, the Head First book are like the next step of the Dummies books. Don't get me wrong, these aren't books that covers only superficial information, these are books that go deep into complex subjects, but the do it in a very brain friendly way. You can get a guru level by reading the Head First books, but it seems so simple that it feels almost like cheating.

I learned long time ago that I learn by visualization. For me, a simple graph could tell way more that a hundred spreadsheets. If you are like me (and I believe most of the people are), you will benefit a lot from these books.

Now, regarding to the Java book, its very good. I have read three books of this series, all of them very good, but the Java one is the best. I don't have a strong software developing background, but with this book I learned an acceptable Java in two weeks.
Rating:
Summary: A good book, but only if you already know Java
Comment: I have experience programming, and tried to use this to learn Java, and about OO programming generally.

I really wanted to like the book. It is (as many say) entertaining, and I like the idea behind the book (that people learn best from illustrated instruction that isn't too dense and serious).

After reading a few chapters and doing all the exercises, and some of the puzzles, I tested myself, and found that I hadn't acquired any ability to do even simple things in the language, even though I can program in Pascal well, and in C pretty well.

I switched to another book (Cadenhead's _Java in 24 hours_). At the end of that, I could do reasonable things such as write applications to find medians. I looked, also, at Weisfeld's _Object-Oriented Though Process_, which taught me about OO programming concepts. I like both these, and would recommend them.

Then I came back, and found this book entertaining, and occasionally informative. It is a slightly unsystematic tour through the Java language, with sidelights on topics you use, but which seem odd. The style is casual, but so are the explanations. I would have no good idea what encapsulation was from this book, for example.

Before I had bought the book, I would have liked to know how hard it is to use the book to actually acquire the skill of programming in Java. I regret having bought it, and would have preferred to just look through it in a library, or borrow it briefly from a friend.

Is it possible that many of these positive reviews are from people who already understand Java?