Author/s : Herbert Schildt
Publisher : McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Category :
Beginning Java
Review by : Jeanne Boyarsky
Rating : 9 horseshoes
"Java A Beginner's Guide" takes you through the language of no
Java knowledge to what you need to know to start learning about libraries. It covers the core language and can be used to learn Java 5, 6 or 7. The book assumes you are new to the C++ family so parts are slow going if you already know those parts. The author does point out what is different from C++ for those with that background.
I liked the mix of text, explained code and "try this" exercises. Each chapter ends with a self
test to test your knowledge. The author does a good job not dumbing things down for the reader while making it easy to follow. It even covers recursion.
The author usually explains when he does something differently than one would in the real world. There were a few cases where he didn't - not using "com... in a package name", using get_pwr as a naming convention and using StringBuffer over StringBuilder (in this case the text was probably old.)
Overall, I liked this book better than the Deitel book for a programmer new to Java.
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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in
exchange for writing this review on behalf of CodeRanch.
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