Head First Java, 2nd Edition by Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Head First Java, 2nd Edition
Book Review: Cracking book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm learning Java, moving from 8 years C++ experience. Thus much of this book covers already familiar concepts such as OO and some of the basic syntax. however rather than finding these bits dragging and skipping over them I find myself rocketing through it, hunting for the new nuggests and differences in there and enjoying the learning experience!The style is so distinctive and effectively alternates presentation and sub-set of the chapter's subject matter on a page by page basis. Thus as the book moves into newer territory its style prevents boredom and the "frequent coffee break syndrome". I find that the non linear and slightly "hopscotch" method of changing presentation styles, fore-shadowing areas to come and going over old ground in different ways is excellent.
Overall the progress through the book is good, though i find each chapter's progress varable. The chapters are effectively the smallest area of work - you really need to complete the chapter at the end of the day (for me anyway); however leaving the exercises till the next day is good revision!
Not sure whether it's java, this book, or both but I have more of a grin programming during learning from this book than ever before! Obviously it brings out the hidden geek in me!
I would say that anyone with some programming experience would find this book excellent. those with very little or none would probably find it hard - however still the best I've seen! What this book is NOT is a reference text - it's aim, basically, is a tutorial and thus precludes it's use as reference.
Have fun!
Book Review: An Excellent Tour Guide...
Summary: 5 Stars
To give you a bit of context so you know where I was coming from before I started reading this book, I used to be a programmer many years ago (over 15), but haven't cut any code for years other than the odd bit of VBA in Excel. I've used mainly BASIC-style languages including Informix, VB, etc. I have read about OO and tried and failed to learn C so have no real experience or understanding of what Java can do. I wanted to learn Java now a) for something to do with my brain (how I miss programming!) and b) to see what all the fuss was about.
I found the book to be very accessible - it has lots of different ways of providing the information - straight text, pictures with text on, jokes (cheesy, but ok), break-out boxes, quizzes, etc. It is probably written for people with short attention spans, but that works ok for me. Sometimes it labours a point a bit too much, but it does mean that everything sticks and I have found this book to be an excellent way for me to learn Java so far. I'm learning new stuff and it is sticking - I can leave it for a few days and still remember everything (both how AND why things are done - something the book is very good at covering). After about a week of reading (doing about an hour a night after work) I have been able to write a basic command line calculator, which uses only about 100 lines of code. I have completed this in far less time than it would have taken me to do it in Informix/VB, etc. The program itself is no big deal in programming terms, but I made sure that the program uses most of the concepts taught in the first half of the book and I didn't have to spend hours flicking around the pages looking for bits and pieces when writing it - any book that can put that amount of knowledge in my head in a week is excellent as far as I am concerned.
I have read another reviewer's comments about this book not being a reference and I agree totally. The book teaches Java and its application of OO concepts in a logical and structured manner and does this very well. It does not cover all aspects of Java, for example it refers the reader to Sun's JDK Documentation to explore the full set of API features. In fact, it doesn't even cover how to compile and execute Java programs (classes), which seems somewhat fundamental to me. I worked out how to do this at the command prompt (DOS) myself, but now use a development tool called JCreator, which is freeware and makes life a lot easier.
I would say that this book will make you into a competent Java programmer if you are new to Java, but have some confidence/experience with programming or computer software in general (e.g. you aren't scared of concepts like a stack and using pushing and popping, or can work out how to install and use the compiler yourself, etc.). I suspect that more reading will be needed to become a skilled one (and to be fair the book does suggest this so it isn't masquerading as something it isn't). As an analogy, I would describe this book as a very knowledgeable tour guide, but one who assumes you know (in a small way at least) something of the subject already. In other words, after reading it you will be able to write Java-based OO programs, but won't be necessarily able to articulate the concepts and arguments underpinning the reasons for using OO in the first place or the full power that Java has to offer. If you are hobbyist Java-noodler like me then that's absolutely fine. If you want to become an excellent Java programmer then this book would be a great first step, but will not take you on the full journey.
Book Review: A great LEARNING book
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this book a very enjoyable read. It takes you through not only what Java can do but WHY it works in the way it does, and knowing WHY something does what it does is a sure fire way to completely understanding and learning it. The code samples given are enough to make the point of what it is trying to explain without engulfing you with extraneous code. A 5 star book especially for coders with a couple of years experience using IDEs that may need a refresher on the foundations (like me!).Book Review: Tries to hard
Summary: 3 Stars
I found this book hard to get on with. I felt that it had to much going on on each page and was messy. I understand that Sierra is tying to teach java to many different learning styles (pragmatic, activist, theorist and reflectist)but that is a hard task. It is done quite well and has some very interesting points. Though I did not like the abstract coding, I like coding to actually relate to real life and not about when a dog does or doesn't bark. Though it is original to have coding all about animals.
Maybe I am to much of a theorist to like this book, but I did like most of the exercises. It was all just to messy for me.
Book Review: Very good for beginners
Summary: 5 Stars
I truly recommend this one for everyone who is starting in JAVA out there. It's very clear and amusing on explaining things that are normally boring...
I only think it could include more examples. Specially sockets and RMI since it's the topics i was looking for and i found it a little poor on these subjects. But either way i recommend for every starting java student to have it on the shelf!
This book is not for people who want web development like applets and servlets though - for that you have the HF servlets and jsp.