Java in Plain English

I picked up this book on a whim, thinking it wouldn't be as good as Java in a Nutshell or Core Java, both of which are excellent books in and of themselves. Surprisingly, this contains a condensed version of most of the information of the above mentioned books. It lacks the extended examples of Core Java, but to a good student and intelligent reader, missing out on a few examples won't break your education.And like JIAN, there is a good amount of reference material in this book, not with the extended detail of JIAN, but enough to get by most of the stumbling stones one encounters while programming.As a student, I can only carry so many books in my backpack; when I'm programming in the university labs, I want concise and useful as my qualities. At home, I have my Java reference library (CJ, JIAN, etc.), which I consult when I'm at a quandary; for portability and my lab work, this book is the Swiss Army knife of references, one that I carry regularly, and one that can solve about 75-80% of Java problems I encounter.

This is an awesome book for learning JAVA classes and methods. I have O'Reilly Nutshell series (Java Enterprise, Java, Javea examples, JAVA JFC) WROX's JAVA 2 reference and others references but they provided a definitive context. The fundamental and commonly used classes are the first things to learn and "JAVA 2 in Plan English" is the ticket. Don't be fooled by its un-volumonous text and lack of numerous examples. The right information is there in an easy to find format. Numerous cross-references included are invaluable while learning class inheritance relationships. This is defintely a keeper for my library and a reference text while I learn JAVA :)

Any JAVA programmer from novice to experienced needs a copy of this book on their desk. Gives a good overview for the new JAVA programmer and provides a needed desk reference to all.

Good little Java book for people who are new to Java although an understanding of Object Oriented programming is needed. The material is presented in a very concise manner. Nice compact size too. It's a relief from all those other huge programming books.