Java 5.0 Program Design

The information presented in this book was organized efficiently, however some of the information was not presented effectively to describe the processes. The sidebar notes were very helpful as were the end of chapter reviews. Overall, I learned a great deal using it. One improvement is to make the code available for the programs contained in the book on a CD-ROM or via website.

Well, the concepts at the beginning of the book (chapter 1 and 2) are conveyed in a rather "jump right into it" - style. And one needs a little guidance at the beginning to set the mood for the Java learning process. However, once this is achieved, each chapter thereafter is very well written. A lot of the books out there have a very steep curve for understanding, as they give a lot of terms and concepts, which one has to swallow down without actually tasting them. This book, however, is written in such a way that it bestows you with not just the knowledge, but a bit of the experience in the application of the knowledge as well. Each chapter sets out to solve one problem, and in the process of solving the problem you learn what the chapter has to teach. A nice approach. This book is ideal for beginners, and dito for self study. People with no programming knowledge at all, (like me), will need a little help at the beginning, but thereafter its a smooth ride to the finish. What I suggest for a complete beginner is to pick up the "Beginning Java for Dummies" book, read it, and then set out to read this book.