The Java Handbook

I found the book a fine read, and a good guide for experimentation. I learn by doing, and this book certainly provides good motivation and examples. The writing is clear and economical, with wit and literary value. I've read it twice so far, just for fun. Naughton's introduction of the Futurist applets in the end is inspiring.

The book, although it says its for everyone, is not for a beginner and a newbie to programming. You will need to have programmed in C, C++, or Pascal to grasp the concepts of program logic and control, bitwise operations, memory allocation, etc, etc. That said, and noting that the '9' I am giving it is from someone who has programmed before, "The Java Handbook" is an excellent reference to the most important classes and the chapters follow each other logically, not jumping in at the deep end. The 'Hello World!' example of an applet was just so right to have in the beginning. Buy this book, but beware of skipping chapters to learn faster - it won't happen.

I have written several programming books and am currently the CEO of a software development company. We have used C and C++ for our development. In switching to Java, I have purchased many books, most of them a waste of money because the author does not really understand the subject. The JAVA Handbook by Patrick Naughton is the best I have found. Pat really knows his subject as well as C and C++! This book has taught me more about Java then the previous dozen or so Java books I have bought

This is an excellent giude for the beginner and the advanced Java scriptor. I had no trouble finding my way around the book and found it very useful

Although a little weak on AWT, this is still the best introduction to Java I've found and the only Java book I've bothered to read cover to cover. It's fun to read, includes plenty of usable examples (including some killer graphic applets at the end of the book), and has an firsthand account of the origins of Java that was as interesting to read as "Soul of a New Machine" (I'm dating myself).