The Complete Idiot's Guide to Java 2: 3

This is a great book for people just getting started in programming. There is enough information here to keep you busy for a long while, and unlike most programming books, it doesn't make your eyes glaze over. Of course, you can't expect this book to give you everything you would ever need -- you wouldn't be able to pick it up. For the novice, however, it is an excellent introduction.

I've finally found the perfect book for the programmer newbie to learn Java. This book has just the right tone and content to get my teenager into programming. It doesn't cover everything, just the vitals, while giving the student confidence to forge ahead with their own projects. No question, this is just a starter book, and others will be needed. Yet, this is the only book I've found that doesn't assume prior programming knowledge, is well designed, organized and written, and doesn't bury the student in object-oriented or other programming jargon. Plus, it teaches with a light, yet competent, touch. As if that weren't enough, it costs under $20! Note that, while the book doesn't contain a CD (which would only bloat the price), the code and data for the examples are available online.

If you're new to programming and/or Java then reading this book is a great way to start. First off it's fun to read and doesn't bore you with it's approach. The examples are easy to follow and give you a good overview of the subject matter.However, whilst this is a good starter, you'll need to move on to a more indepth read if you want to cover the subject matter more thoroughly.

This is a great book that is very easy to understand and I'm just 15 years old if that tells you anything. It is a great book and I would recommend it to beginners and experts alike.

The last programming language I learned was BASIC, and I wanted to wet my feet in something before I took a Sun certified course in Java. This served very well to pass along some of the fundamental concepts and terminology. The examples worked and with a bit of study and monkeying with the code I was able to figure out why when the text got a bit over my head. I'm no seasoned programmer, but I feel this was a good jolt to get me going.