Java 5 books

[E Pam]

Hi,
I'm looking for a really good book for Java 5. It could be for beginners. I'm trying to pass the Java 5 programmer's exam and have the study guide but was looking for something like "Thinking in Java" but I do not see many books out there for Java 5. Also where is the best practice exam for Java 5?

Thanks,
E

[Campbell Ritchie]

Welcome to the Ranch.

Go to the javaranch home page and look for "Bunkhouse Books" here, if I copied the website correctly.

The book I prefer is H M Deitel and P Deitel, Java How to Program, Deitel Inc (Prentice-Hall) Upper Saddle River NJ, 2005. Make sure to get the 6th edition or the 7th edition which appeared about 3 months ago. Bit expensive I am afraid, and many people don't like the Deitel style. If you read several Deitel books you will find similar passages reappear; the bits about history of computing and procedural programming are very similar in all their books. You can find out whether you like the style by looking at Deitel's website where you can read the first few chapters free on a trial basis. If you don't like it, and a lot of people don't, you haven't lost anything. The Deitel books are all suitable for beginners, and go to quite an advanced level.

Thinking in Java is another good book (Bruce Eckels-see the Bunkhouse Books website I quoted earlier). You can get the 3rd edition to download free of charge if you look around. It's legal.

A book I have never used which seems very popular with beginners is called Head First Java. Might be better for somebody planning an SCJP exam than some other books. Again, see Bunkhouse books.

Two things I would recommend you avoid in a book:-

Lots of examples with everything inside the public static void main(String[] args) method.

When they get on to GUIs and adding controls to buttons, use of addSomethingListener(this) throughout.

Both of these are things I see quite commonly in books (and in the Java tutorial) but I don't think they help you learn proper object-oriented programming.

And you can't do Java for long without coming across the Java tutorials.
Can't answer your question about exams. Sorry

CR

[Sol Mayer-Orn]

Depends on how deep you'd like to go, and how much time you'd like to spend.

Personally, I *swear* by 'Core Java' (by Horstmann & Cornell, published by Prentice Hall, and the 7th edition covers Java 5).
Disadvantages:
- Beware it's a *very* fat book (2 volumes).
- Thus, very time consuming...
Advantages:
- Leads you from the beginning, assuming no prior knowledge.
- Attempts to give thorough, deep knowledge of the language
- Might still teach you some new stuff even when you're no longer a beginner

I used 'Core Java' to get into Java, but it took patience.
It was great for me, because (1) by nature I like to know everything and look into every corenr , and (2) my company required thorough knowledge, they even held 'java trivia' competitions and all...


On the other hand, if you have limited time and just like to get it to work "without getting a PHD in java", then I join the recommendation on Deitel.
I'd argue with *some* of their OOP decisions (e.g. inheritance example that doesn't follow the 'is A' rule). So i'd recommend the reader to keep a bit of independent, critic thought.
But they do have full working examples, clear explanations, and friendly fun approach, both in appearance and content.
[ March 15, 2007: Message edited by: Sol Mam-Orn ]

[Campbell Ritchie]

Horstmann and Cornell for a beginner? I think it is very good, but not a beginner's book.

[Amit C]

I would recommend the Sun Java tutorial, it is really a beginner's book.

[Jessica Ngui]

Hi E Pam,

I strongly recommend Head First Java for beginner in Java.