Books for learning java

[Aron knight]

Hi,

I started working the java fields now for about 18 months (spring, hibernate), and have started looking at improving my knowledge in areas such as writing cleaner code, core java apis etc etc

I was recently recommended Core j2ee patterns and fowlers enterprise pattern books, I went to amazon to order them and read comments from other readers regaridng its date and it maybe outdated...

Are they still worth reading? there is a lot out there and i really want to focus on a few good solild books,

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

JEE changed a lot with version 5 (and 6.) It was also renamed from J2EE to JEE. If you see the "2" in "J2EE" in the book title, that tells you it is out of date.

If you are working with Spring/Hibernate, a JEE book isn't going to be what you are working on. Which doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. Just that you shouldn't expect it to be about core java. I like "Clean Code" and "The Clean Coder" for writing clear code.

[Seetharaman Venkatasamy]

JEE ok, before that do you check out BIG JAVA(by cay) and JSP by hans bergsten(of course part of j(2)ee)

[Campbell Ritchie]

Welcome to the Ranch
I presume Big Java is by Cay Horstmann. What about Code Complete by Stephen McConnell about writing cleaner code?

[Junilu Lacar]

While the J2EE book may be, as Jeanne said, outdated, Martin Fowler's "Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture" (PEAA) is still relevant, IMO. I also like "Clean Code" and keep it as a companion to "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices" (PPP) and "Effective Java"

[Aron knight]

Hi all,

thanks a lot, i have ordered clean code, applying UML. One final text i need is something on transactions (distributed, 2/3 phase commits..etc), i read tutorials but is there a definite text on transaction processing in java, Have seen Java transaction processing in Java but it states J2EE...hummm

[Junilu Lacar]

Note that the goal of "Clean Code" is not to teach you how to program in Java. It's more about software craftsmanship -- how to write clear, well-structured, and maintainable code. I'm not saying that it's not going to be worth it for you because if you are serious about becoming a programmer, then you should definitely read the book. It's just not something a beginner would start with to learn Java.

Edit: Ok, so you've been working with Java for 18 months... then you're not really learning Java, more like learning more about different Java technologies.

[Prasad prap]

Do check this list over Stackoverflow.com

[Winston Gutkowski]

Aron knight wrote:I started working the java fields now for about 18 months (spring, hibernate), and have started looking at improving my knowledge in areas such as writing cleaner code, core java apis etc etc
...
there is a lot out there and i really want to focus on a few good solild books,

It sounds like you're past the basics, so I certainly hope that Effective Java is already part of your library. If not, it should be.

My other suggestion is not specifically a Java book, but one I'd recommend to any programmer who wants to "improve":
Beautiful Code
Basically, it's a set of essays written by experts about how they solved certain problems. A few of the chapters even go over my head (and I've been at this for 35 years), and the writing varies a bit; but the better ones really give you an insight into not only how to write and design good code, but also how to think about problems.

And the 'Beautiful Testing' chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

HIH

Winston