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Head First Java, 2nd Edition [ILLUSTRATED] (平装)
by Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates
| Category:
Java language, Software development, Computer science, IT, Technology |
| Market price: ¥ 448.00
MSL price:
¥ 418.00
[ Shop incentives ]
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A wonderful job of explaining not only the how-to, but also the "why" of Java fundamentals, in very down-to-earth language. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 18 items |
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Ken Arnold (coauthor with James Gosling, creator of Java, The Java Programming Language) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
It's fast, irreverent, fun and engaging. Be careful - you might actually learn something! |
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Scott McNealy (Sun Microsystems, Chairman, President, and CEO) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
It's definitely time to dive in - Head First. |
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David Graper (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
I've been a professional programmer for years and I had to learn Java fast to stay in my current engagement. The "Learn-Java-In-24-Hours" style books had appealing titles but instead I decided to try this weird, truly different approach to learning because O'Reilly published it. (I have been familiar with O'Reilly for years and always recognized them as a top-flight publisher, although their books often had a formal, college-textbookish tone that made them better reference books than read-thru books.) I was put off by the graphics-intensive comic book style when I paged through the sample on-line at Amazon but decided to give it a try.
think they're really on to something here. I can only speak for myself, as someone who already has a background in programming, but I believe the book actually works. Over a couple weeks I read the book, did the little puzzles and exercises which the authors were so insistent that I do, and was really surprised at the depth of knowledge I came out with at the other end.
Sitting in a developer's meeting yesterday I was really surprised that, while I clearly didn't have the years of experience the other coders had, I had no problem keeping up and was even able to contribute. I'm now moving in to the new assignment fairly well and am confident that I'll be able to pick up the details of this language now that I've got such a good grounding from this book.
I've now ordered the companion O'Reilly volumes on Enterprise JavaBeans and Design Patterns and am curious to see if they can maintain the same level of quality. Those skills would really seem to set a programmer apart, a critical consideration in a world where the competition is getting better (and unfortunately cheaper) every day. |
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S. Johnson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
After reading a great book titled Thinking in Java (JAVA 1.4)" by Bruce Ekcel. That book is so far the best book I have read on JAVA so far. It has TONS of information and for the most part the author does a very good job in explaining the information. However my main complaint with the TIJ book was that it was very hard to read at times due to the author's writting style.
I ordered Head First Java to fill in some subjects that didn't quite stick from reading Thinking in Java and just to basically get a second perspective of the language from another author.
This book does an excellent job in explaining JAVA concepts and the authors' fun writing style make it easy to follow along. The pictures make concepts easier to grasp. The code in the book works for the most part but there are some errors in the code, however if you have been following along they are easily caught.
As others have mentioned this book does not cover EVERYTHING on Java 5. Off the top of my head, I can tell you that this book does not explain anonymous inner classes or reflection. This book however does enough to get you started writing Java apps and has made some concepts that didn't quite stick with the TIJ book easier to understand.
This should not be your ONLY Java book because some things ARE left out that would make some of the program more robust. A perfect example of this fact is that annonymous inner classes are not taught in this book, which are very good for coding actionListeners for GUI components. But with that being said, this book should definetely be one of your first because many of the topics they do go over are taught very well. Once you finish this book you should be more comfortable with the more "advanced" books like Thinking in Java which is also a greak book as I have already read the 1.4 edition. After finishing this book, I plan to read Eckel's Thinking in Java (Java 5 edition) book next and I suspect it will be easier to follow along.
You do need a little programming experience to be able to get the most out of this book as it assumes you already know some things.
For what this book is supposed to do it does an excellent job and has been the best Java book I have read so far as far as presentation is concerned.
I also got Head First Patterns and am eager to read that book as well.
Stay away from the Learn JAVA in x minutes/hours books! If you want to learn Java the right way, go with Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel AND the Head First book. |
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G. Marwaha (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
This book is unquestionably a winner in this aspect. The authors, Kathy Sierra & Bert Bates are both experienced java trainers and it shows in every page of this masterpiece. They have attempted a meta-cognitive style to teaching a technology subject and in my opinion, it worked well, not just because they used meta-cognition, but because they applied it correctly. But beware, since this book is geared towards beginners, experienced java programmers might not find a lot to learn from here; unless you want to do a fun revision on the subject.
The authors commence by providing a chapter full of advice about how to read this book to get best results. From there, they walk you through Object Oriented Programming. They talk about “What Objects Are,” “How the same behavior in different objects behave differently based on its state” etc and provide you with a very impressive primer on OOP concepts.
From there, it is all java. They cover basic syntax, powerful java library features, Inheritance, Interfaces & Polymorphism, Constructors, Math, Exceptions, Swing, Serialization, Threads, Networking and IO at a balanced level so that a beginner doesnt get overwhelmed, and at the same time they do justice to the concept as well. They skim through some of the advanced J2EE related concepts like Servlets, JSP, EJB and Jini which is understandable.
The author's portray the 80-20 rule very well by sometimes saying that, "This technique is what you will use most of the times" and "dont worry about the hard part because you might not even use it", which is really encouraging for beginners.
Overall, this book is "ava made easy" and written in such a fashion that anyone who is willing can learn java. I highly recommend it. |
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A. Wells (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
This book, as well as series, goes a long way to helping you learn. The concepts may not always be well enough explained. However, this is understandable is it is apparent that the collaborative authors seem to do all that they can to make the teaching and learning of the concepts fun.
I would highly recommend this book to any one who is just getting started with programming. I tried to learn Java through a number of other teach myself methods. It was not until I read Head First Java that I actually got it. Since then, I have moved on to more advanced concepts and have had a lot of fun with coding. Unfortunately, most books that deal with teaching development read like someone's thesis. Bates and Sierra have provided a book that is not only a very effective teaching tool but also a whole lot of fun to read. I wish all cerebral subjects were taught this way. If you like fooling around in the library, then you will love Head First Java and the Head First series! |
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J. Morrison (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
We adopted this book for our first-year programming sequence at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Our students begin their programming experience learning some Python. Both C++ and Java are bad languages to teach buck beginners. When I taught these to beginners I spent too much time untangling syntax and not enough on the core ideas of forking, looping and recursion. Python lays these issues bare. It also teaches good formatting habits.
Since our students know how to write simple procedural programs in Python, we wanted a book that assumed that ability. Heads First Java picks up in just the right place. We also wanted a book that emphasizes and exploits the fact that Java is an OBJECT ORIENTED LANGUAGE. Many books treat Java exactly as if it were C++. They push inheritance and interfaces into the late chapters of their books. Wrong! Poly- morphism and inheritance are bread and butter topics in Java. Head First gives them the early coverage they deserve.
This book does a good job of getting the student to think in an object- oriented way. It is doing a good job of preparing our students for the second-year course in Data Structures and Algorithms. |
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Brad (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
If you have ever tried to teach yourself to program in a OOP language by reading a beginners book only to understand the syntax without understanding why it is done that way, this book will finally teach it to you so you really understand the logic of it. Youll never get lost or bogged down because everything is explained, you arent forced to just accept it. The only critism I have is some of the code exersizes are a little complicated. The pool puzzels in particular are too difficult to be worth trying to figure out. Im half done with the book, and I cannot say its made me a java programmer yet, but at least I have a good idea of whats going on. |
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Hartwich (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
What sets this book apart from the typical techie "learn how to program X" book is the distinctive writing style and the liberal use of cartoon bubble text, clip art and corny lines. Think of this as a Dummies book on steroids (it is twice as thick). If you have a basic understanding of programming and would like to learn Java and Object Oriented Programming, this is a great read. It is entertaining and easy to read without being overly dry. It is NOT a reference book and if you already know OOP and Java you might prefer a standard O'Reilly tome. Likewise, if you despise the Dummies and Idiots book series (from other publishers), then this book is not for you.
While reading you should have scratch paper, pencil and maybe a computer to test the short programs on. On every few pages you'll find sample exercises and mini games to help you learn syntax and the finer details. Most of the time you will want to answer the questions to further your learning.
The 2nd edition is new and improved with additional chapters and corrections. I was slightly confused with the sparse instructions on installing and running your first class file but was able to figure it out using the web and tweaking the code. Each night I look forward to the next chapter and am saddened by my 1 a.m. sleepy eyes getting in the way.
I have been enjoying the whimsical nature of this book and appreciating its ability to teach a dry subject in an entertaining way. |
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Randolf Whittle (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
People have different learning styles. If you would prefer a dense techncial manual when learning a new language this is not the book for you. I have learned languages that way and usually, early in the process, you reach a point where a key concept is only explained one way, that one way is just difficult to understand, and you spin your wheels.
The Head First approach presents the same material in a few different ways, giving the user more than one chance at achieving understand- ing. It is not for everyone, but I do think it is for most. As someone that knows programming, but does not know java, I was able to skip over several pages of this book, but I appreciated the graphical elements of the book when I got stuck.
I did not work in notepad (as they suggested) but rather downloaded IBM eclipse (it is free) and had work colleagues that I could ask questions of when I got stuck (important part of learning a language, IMHO). I could not make the MIDI example make a sound. There were a few other technical gaps.
I do recommend this book for most people that want to learn java. I certainly recommend it for people that find they need more than the first three chapters of the nutshell books. |
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 18 items |
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