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Thinking in Java (4th Edition) (平装)
by Bruce Eckel
| Category:
Java language, Software development, IT, Technology |
| Market price: ¥ 588.00
MSL price:
¥ 578.00
[ 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 book that has many awards and raves from programmers worldwide for its extraordinary clarity, careful organization, and real life examples. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 16 items |
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Randall R. Hawley (automation technician, Eli Lilly & Co) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
Thank you again for your awesome book. I was really floundering (being a non-C programmer), but your book has brought me up to speed as fast as I could read it. It’s really cool to be able to understand the underlying principles and concepts from the start, rather than having to try to build that conceptual model through trial and error. Hopefully I will be able to attend your seminar in the not-too-distant future. |
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Josh Long (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
Thinking in Java leads you from almost absolute ignorance of programming and plants you neatly, and more enlightened, on the path to viable Java programming. All the contrivd metaphors aside, Thinking in Java is the de facto bible of Java programming and continues to speak to ideas that later become standards. The book discusses (and this is what makes or breaks any good programming book) not just how one would accomplish something, but more pertinantly, why someone would do something. Modern-day programming can be a haze of buzzwords without justification. This book does that, and it does it well. |
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Robert S. Stephenson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
Other books cover the what of Java (describing the syntax and the libraries) or the how of Java (practical programming examples). Thinking in Java is the only book I know that explains the why of Java: Why it was designed the way it was, why it works the way it does, why it sometimes doesn’t work, why it’s better than C++, why it’s not. Although it also does a good job of teaching the what and how of the language, Thinking in Java is definitely the thinking person’s choice in a Java book. |
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Erik Midtskogen (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
I love and have bought this book for all the reasons I loved (and bought) the first two editions, and I appreciate the expanded coverage and extra refinement of the new one.
I won't repeat at length what I said about the first two editions, but I will simply say that this book's title is very appropriate. It isn't just about how to do this or that in Java, but about a new philosophy of OOP as a form of communication. This way of thinking of things leads to methodologies - such as the Design Patterns movement - that are far more successful at dealing with complex and dynamic systems than the more simplistic and direct approaches taken by most previous languages and methodologies.
I won't say that Thinking In Java is quick and easy reading or that most readers will get everything the first time through. I've followed the three editions through, exercises and all, a total of five times now, and I was still learning new stuff the last time through. This is no fault of the book. Learning Java is like learning chess. The rules may be relatively simple, but the implications of those rules are very rich in interesting possibilities, and also potentially very complex. It is to the credit of this book that it provides an intellectual path to this infinite universe of power and complexity for non-genius workaday programmers such as myself.
Some other posters have complained that it takes too long to learn how to do some particular concrete task, or there isn't enough sample code to cut and paste into their projects, or that there aren't enough pretty pictures to guide them through how to do stuff. Thinking In Java is not a cookbook. It will do nothing to help the drag-and-drop scripting crowd that approaches the craft of programming as an exercise in cobbling together ready-made bits of code without bothering to understand how anything they are using actually works. It is doubtful that such people will ever understand and appreciate this book or the Java language itself, for that matter. I would suggest they they stick with Visual Basic until they have the time to devote to learning Object Oriented Programming, which VB is not. |
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Yvonne Watkins (Java artisan, Discover Technologies, Inc.) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
Bruce, your book is wonderful! Your explanations are clear and direct. Through your fantastic book I have gained a tremendous amount of Java knowledge. The exercises are also fantastic and do an excellent job reinforcing the ideas explained throughout the chapters. I look forward to reading more books written by you. Thank you for the tremendous service that you are providing by writing such great books. My code will be much better after reading Thinking in Java. I thank you and I’m sure any programmers who will have to maintain my code are also grateful to you. |
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Brian O'Neill (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
This is easily the most accessible Java introductory text around. The author goes through numerous examples for each topic and shows the why as well as the how, so that in the end the reader comes away with a more solid understanding. Each chapter contains exercises worth doing to become more comfortable with the code and the thinking behind the code. A lot of books today don't bother with exercises, and it's a nice addition to the text. The code included is simple, but adequate for its purpose, and it all works, unlike that in books from many other "experts" out there. If you are looking for the best book to get you started in Java, this is it. |
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Jeff (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
This book should be considered a part of the Java documentation. I call it a masterpiece in progress. I've read (and bought) all three versions and followed each phase (alpha, beta and final to press) of the book that has come out and I'm still not tired of going through it another time and read the updates. Each version gets better and better and more complete. It is the sort of book that a person would want to keep up to date. Think in Java has that combination of style and attitude that make it just right for a relaxing read.
If there is one book on Java that I always recommend it's Think in Java. This book is a must for any shelf no matter if the programmer is a newbie or a guru. The completeness and style of the book is a testimony to why each version that comes out keeps receiving kudos from so many people throughout the Java industry. Not kudos for just one version of Think in Java but for all of the versions. It's the attitude of book that makes a person want to roll up their sleeves and help out with the next version. |
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Roxy (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-10 00:00>
This book is a must have for Java programmers. It's not a useful reference for the language (hence my 4 star review), but it does let you get inside the minds of the creators of the language. You understand how it was intended to be used. This is huge and is more important than pure reference or how-to info, which you can get from lots of other books. |
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Yu Xiangyu (MSL quote), China
<2007-01-10 00:00>
The book is organized very well. The contents, the order, even the examples are selected elaborately. If you want to learn Java, you can't miss this book. if you want to learn OOP program, it is also a good choice. |
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Patrick Thompson (MSL quote), Australia
<2007-01-10 00:00>
This books is plain inside. His prose and explanations were ostly good, but a time just a little too verbose for me (no criticism but it just didn't do it for me: I prefer succint explanation + example: he can wax lyrical just a little bit, which lends some warmth to the work, but also for busy people uneeded....so it's a personal judgement). The code examples in the book are probably the ugliest I've ever seen in a while (font wise...the code is presented as pages and pages and pages of monospace...ah the humanity! Very intimidating for the novice! Compare to deitel: colored!)
Seriously, given the process this book went through: continual public online review, editing and criticism, means the errors are minimal and the content focused on what you need to know as guaranteed by peer-reivew (not a bunch of superfluous, repitition nonsense that pad out Deitel books)...This is a really great book that was diminished a little through corner cutting by a publisher. If you can get beyond the mediocre presentation, then you find an excellent book for the above novice programmer. It's quite a philosophical journey through the heart of Java at times. And coverage of most topics is quite strong (if a little weirdly ordered at times...but then that's a personal thing: eg. the introduction that the beginning is quite deep and intrduces some heavy-ish concecpts straight off the bat...but again this is a personal judgement: objects first or basics first? its 50-50 either way?)
Actually I should clarify that: if you're a beginner: This book is not for you I don't think. I tutor a student who is just starting out in Java programming and he managed to get about 20 pages into this brick and then quit -> he said it was too hard. He opened it, looked at the code and his jaw dropped!
Having read this book I can understand why. The presentation is not conducive to the beginner who needs more guidance through concepts rather than just slabs of text. That's the problem with writing a book this way (publically post-review-correct): the only people who interact are people who already know some Java or a lot of Java so this skews the process toward producing a book for them. Most beginners probably have never heard of Bruce Eckel and thereby didn't contribute to the making of this book. Hence they have been somehwat excluded from the process.
I can wade through pages of monspace Java code because I am not a beginner. But this is probably too overwhelming for one new to the language (it just hits them too hard I think). I recommend Kathy Sierra's Headfirst Java (foremost for the beginner!). FOr everybody else...what they hey why not! It's pretty good value and not a insipid and dumb as Deitel. And it's more concrete that Van Der Linden. It and Ivor Horton's Beginning Java are on about par I feel, for different reasons: Bruce, the language coverage (depth far exceeds Ivor!). Ivor: for breadth and succinctness. I feel Bruce is wanting you to understand backward- forwards-upwards-downwards-inside-out the language. Not dazzle you with simple Swing stuff (which only works for novices anyway). When you're finished Kathy Sierra, come back and try this. YOu'll be ready by then!
Hopefully version 4 they'll put a bit more effort into the graphical arrangement of the book: a few diagrams here and there wouldn't hurt...just to break the monotony. Seriously I think Bruce should get a new publisher...one who will fulfill his vision, not impede it with their cheapness.
Content wise: VERY good. Doesn't wallow in the cheap ooh-ahh factor of Swing that much, but does the langauge very well (I wasn't overly fussed on treatment of inner classes...but that's a personal thing I guess). Still this is one of the benchmark books for begining/intermediate programmers and that didn't happen by accident!
And as one of the benchmark books
Thinking in Java: Bruce Eckel
Beginning Java: Ivor Horton
Just Java 2: Peter Van Der Linden
How to Program Java: Deitel & Deitel
Core Java 2: Horstmann
I would rate them as such (in order):
For beginners: Horton, Eckel, Deitel, Horstmann, Van Der Linden
For Intermediate: Eckel, Van Der Linden, Horton, Horstmann, Deitel
Best all round: Eckel, Horton, van Der Linden, horstmann, Deitel
Best visual layout/ quality of publication: deitel, Van Der Linden, Horton, Horstmann, Eckel
Broadest view: van der Linden, Eckel, Horton, Deitel, Horstmann
Most useful code: Horstmann, Deitel = Eckel = Horton, van der Linden
value for money: Eckel, Horton, van der Linden, Horstmann, Deitel. |
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