Learning JAVA

[jfl]

Hi,
It has little to do with Ubuntu, but I found so much knowledge in this community, I hope you'll be able to help me.

I am going to be stuck in a hospital waiting room for many hours for 8-10 days.
I want to use that time to learn JAVA.

I have decent experience in programming in Fortran (yeah, I am that old), in C and in Perl, but no "object oriented" understanding at all; tried a couple of times, I just didn't get the concept.

So, I am looking for a good book on Java that does not assume any knowledge on O-O.
A friend suggested "Head First Java, 2nd Edition"

What do you think, any advice...

Thanks.

[nmccrina]

That is an excellent book. Very good explanation of object-oriented techniques, and you even learn how to make decent-looking GUI apps.

[makaki]

My recommendation is: Java How to Program. The best of the best IMHO. I used that book and got 97 in my programming course!

[jfl]

Thanks for your replies; I am leaning towards "Head First Java, 2nd Edition" as I have an "object-phobia" that I am looking to "cure" :D

[Majorix]

My recommendation is: Java How to Program. The best of the best IMHO. I used that book and got 97 in my programming course!

+1. I used another Deitel&Deitel (C How To Program) and got an A from both C and PHP Programming classes. You should seriously consider Java How To Program. If you are weak in classes, you have to have a look at the Early Classes version of the 8th Edition.

[Maheriano]

Best one I used was my university book:
Java 2 by Cay Horstmann

[lykeion]

The books mentioned in earlier posts are good, but I'm gonna throw another suggestion in your lap:

Core Java Volume I: Fundamentals.

It's a classic and a good one to get an introduction to oop.

[TCKChris]

Hi,
It has little to do with Ubuntu, but I found so much knowledge in this community, I hope you'll be able to help me.

I am going to be stuck in a hospital waiting room for many hours for 8-10 days.
I want to use that time to learn JAVA.

I have decent experience in programming in Fortran (yeah, I am that old), in C and in Perl, but no "object oriented" understanding at all; tried a couple of times, I just didn't get the concept.

So, I am looking for a good book on Java that does not assume any knowledge on O-O.
A friend suggested "Head First Java, 2nd Edition"

What do you think, any advice...

Thanks.
Head First Java & Sams Learn Java in 24 hours

[phrostbyte]

Java For Dummies

(I'm not joking) :)

[jfl]

Java For Dummies

(I'm not joking) :)

I will never buy a book "... for dummies" however great it is.
I find the title disgusting.

But, thanks for trying to help.

[Frak]

Your friend has amazing advice. Head First books are incredibly easy to understand, and I highly recommend them.

[lykeion]

Not to diss people recommending Head First Java, but I find it very basic and couldn't agree more with this reviewer from the amazon page:


If you don't know ANY object oriented programming (C++ etc.) or have no access to any instructor AND have failed to learn anything from standard resources like the Java tutorial on Sun ... this may be a decent place to start and gain some confidence. If u know C++ or any other such language ... u are better off starting with the Java tutorials on Sun and then buying a decent book on Java.

The other issue with the book is ... every aspect of java is covered in one or two scenarios that makes your feel confident ... but the material on each topic is so high level that I doubt if you can go beyond that example armed with this knowledge.

In any case ... you will need a second book on Java ... so why buy this?

I still would recommend Core Java Volume 1

[jfl]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
- I am not planning to start a career in programming JAVA
- I will not be in an environment that makes learning easy
- As previously stated my understanding of OOP is nil.

Therefore, after reading your posts, I am going to get "Heads first..."
If it goes well, I'll get "Java How to Program"; I have books by D&D and liked them.

Thanks again for your inputs !!!

[JSeymour]

I would've recommended Just Java, Sun's on-line Java tutorials (does the hospital have WiFi available to you?) and Java Cookbook.

Jim

[jfl]

I would've recommended Just Java, Sun's on-line Java tutorials (does the hospital have WiFi available to you?) and Java Cookbook.

Jim

Thanks !!!
I downloaded the tutorials on an USB stick. Looks interesting and ... the price is right !

[cmay]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
- I am not planning to start a career in programming JAVA
- I will not be in an environment that makes learning easy
- As previously stated my understanding of OOP is nil.

Therefore, after reading your posts, I am going to get "Heads first..."
If it goes well, I'll get "Java How to Program"; I have books by D&D and liked them.

Thanks again for your inputs !!!

as you mention the environment is not easy to learn in. i have tried to learn lots of things on my laptop reading in the waiting room at the hospital and in the bed late at the evening but the hospital is really not a good place to learn anything .

I dont know how good you are to distract from things but I found that even with a set of headphones and listing to music while reading e-books I always got to many distractions in the hospital.

its actually more easy to read a paperback in the waiting room because you sort of signal to people that you dont want to get disturbed and still there is lots of noise and many people around such places. good luck on it.

[jfl]

as you mention the environment is not easy to learn in. i have tried to learn lots of things on my laptop reading in the waiting room at the hospital and in the bed late at the evening but the hospital is really not a good place to learn anything .

I dont know how good you are to distract from things but I found that even with a set of headphones and listing to music while reading e-books I always got to many distractions in the hospital.

its actually more easy to read a paperback in the waiting room because you sort of signal to people that you dont want to get disturbed and still there is lots of noise and many people around such places. good luck on it.

You are right, not the best place; however I'll probably be alone or with my wife as she recovers from open heart surgery sleeping most of the time, and also my job (corporate jet pilot) requires that I don't get distracted easily ;) so I'll give it a shot. We'll see.