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: Head First Java, 2nd Edition
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the BEST computer related learning tool I've read. They certainly put in a lot of workinto this book to make sure it's not just another "programming book". Their teaching style of using stories and interviews is phenomenal and entertaining, yet educational. I recommend any title produced by Head First Labs!Book Review: Fantastic Book, even for those with ADD
Summary: 5 Stars
Best way to put yourself to bed is read a boring technical textbook. This book is not one of those! I actually have some great Java reference books but none of them explain java concepts in such a concrete and tangible and entertaining way. Never have I ever had a book that made me laugh so hard while learning Java. I love this book, it helps to really drive home java concepts in a way that's easy to understand and it makes you laugh.Book Review: Yeah, but it's good anyway
Summary: 4 Stars
The printing, black and white, features airy pages, varied typography, an ongoing cast of cartoony characters, and plenty of humorous illustrations.
Much to my surprise, it also features good content about Java 5, very good. It covers wait/notify better than others I've seen, and takes a fair stab at generics. They describe synchronization and deadlock, as well as good chunks of the standard libraries. They even describe serialization and deserialization well enough to get going with. Quizzes with answers and solved problems check your understanding as you go along.
On the minus side, I didn't see mention of "volatile" declarations - a necessity for safe sharing of data between threads. Even if you don't use the volatile declaration, you need to know what volatility is or face erratic, unrepeatable error in your threaded code. Murphy's Law being what it is, such errors rarely occur in lightly loaded test conditions; they usually wait until a system is running a big configuration and a heavy load, i.e. just when you want failures least. Pretty much everything else is somewhere in this book, though, in enough detail to get you started.
So, decide what you want. If you already know that you're born member of the video game generation, this light and breezy presentation might suit you. Speaking as a user-unfriendly user, I have to grit my teeth to get past the fun fluff and into the gritty bits. They are there to be had, though.
-- wiredweird
Book Review: Fabulous, but not for evrybody
Summary: 5 Stars
I am teaching a Java Programming class and using this book as my text. The course assumes some prior programming experience, and I believe all of students have that. In fact, most of the students are doing great! I am truly amazed at how quickly they are learning and applying concepts that other Java texts don't even touch or get into.
Personally, I think the content and presentation can't be beat, but at least one of my students has a COBOL / mainframe background, and he is not adapting to the text. In fact, he said he is used to reading big reference manuals, which this book clearly is not (a good thing). I only mention this becauase the use of graphics, younger people, and the wry, hip slang they use can be a turn-off to some people.
Bottom line: I think it's a great book. It is not for everybody, but then, no book can be. Buy the book, learn Java, and have fun!
Book Review: Best Format I Have Seen For Self-Teaching
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read a lot of programming books, but rarely do I read them cover to cover. They are usually too lengthy and only suited for reading individual captures as a reference.
This is my second Head First book (I bought Design Patterns first and now also have Servlets/JSP) and it is fantastic. There are several hokey tricks that are very effective at getting the point across for me as a person that learns much better by using diagrams.
It also drives points home with subtle repetition. I say subtle, because it always rephrases the concept with each iteration. This is also a key to how it is so effective, because when we communicate, we often get into a rut of repeating the same thing over and over to someone even though they can't understand it. Rephrasing will often remove the mental block.
I tore through the entire 650+ pages in two weeks while doing all of my other regular stuff. I haven't had to write an app in Java in over 6 years, but I feel very well equipped now. I intend to get as many Head First books as I can find.