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Head First Java (Head First Series)
Learning a complex new language is no easy task especially when it s an object-oriented computer programming language like Java. You might think the problem is your brain. It seems to have a mind of its own, a mind that doesn't always want to take in the dry, technical stuff you're forced to study.
The fact is your brain craves novelty. It's constantly searching, scanning, ...more
The fact is your brain craves novelty. It's constantly searching, scanning, ...more
Paperback, 2nd Edition, 688 pages
Published
February 19th 2005
by O'Reilly Media
(first published May 21st 2003)
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
I'm a fairly well versed programmer in some of the older style languages like C and C++. If you have some archaic C question, I may be your woman. I'm not so familiar with Java - in fact the last time I touched the language I could run to the local coffee shop, get a coffee, and get back to my program and it would just be starting up (back in the dark days, when java was really slow). Fast forward 12 years and not only is Java nimble and performant, but its something I need to know. Yesterday. K
...more
As expected from Head First series , another awesome book that serves as a great intro to the Java programming language. I could say honestly : this is one of the best technical books ever to read as an intro to Java .
The general approach of "Make-it-visual" applied by the book makes it very interesting to read , with all these illustrating drawing , graphic scenarios that makes it easy to understand yet explaining heavy concepts ; and getting away from the traditional academic boring style , th ...more
The general approach of "Make-it-visual" applied by the book makes it very interesting to read , with all these illustrating drawing , graphic scenarios that makes it easy to understand yet explaining heavy concepts ; and getting away from the traditional academic boring style , th ...more
May 31, 2012
Sowmya's book world
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
technical
Just Awesome :)
Have ever read any Technical book like a comic novel ?
Or
U don't like to read big thick boring technical book ?
Or
Do u think Technical reading is boring ?
then here is the book for you. A well written technical comic book. If you are just in start
then i can tel you it is the best book to start with. all the concepts are very well explained.
As u finish chapter by chapter u will read java like as if you are discussing it with some one.
differences between two things are shown as if b ...more
Have ever read any Technical book like a comic novel ?
Or
U don't like to read big thick boring technical book ?
Or
Do u think Technical reading is boring ?
then here is the book for you. A well written technical comic book. If you are just in start
then i can tel you it is the best book to start with. all the concepts are very well explained.
As u finish chapter by chapter u will read java like as if you are discussing it with some one.
differences between two things are shown as if b ...more
This book is much more than a book about programming Java. The beginning section really changed my perspective on learning. It goes into how people learn, how to make things stick in your mind and basically make something like learning computer programming actually fun.
The gist is basically if your mind is bored its not going to remember much. Feelings, in this case humor or non-sequitors, are what create memories and of course analyzing from different points of view helps. There were many time ...more
The gist is basically if your mind is bored its not going to remember much. Feelings, in this case humor or non-sequitors, are what create memories and of course analyzing from different points of view helps. There were many time ...more
This book was recommended to me by my TA for a graduate level programming course. I knew the basics about programming, but certain areas were very confusing to me (like abstract classes, static vs. private, threads), so I bought this book in hopes that it would help me. Head First Java cleared up EVERYTHING for me and taught me so much about Java programming! It's not your typical programming book and that's what I love about it. There are a lot of pictures, interesting puzzles and questions to
...more
I dropped this book at 135 pages. Some books are just unnecessary. I started reading Java: A Beginner's Guide by Herbert Schildt which is vastly superior and does not insult the reader's intelligence. I strongly recommend anyone interested in actually learning about the language instead of reading punny jokes do the same.
More critical version of review: This book is a mess. It's like a teenager who is going through an identity crisis and is in the process of putting together a mood board to try ...more
More critical version of review: This book is a mess. It's like a teenager who is going through an identity crisis and is in the process of putting together a mood board to try ...more
When I read this book the summer before my senior year of high school, I was curious about programming. But, I didn't really know where to start. Everything online confused me and I lacked fundamental knowledge. Head First Java was the most accessible technical book I've ever read. They use lots of images and stories to convey concepts that are notoriously hard to wrap your head around as a beginner programmer. And they work. Some of those images still come up in my head when I think about objec
...more
This was somewhat an impulse buy: I didn't find it from researching the best Java books; I just found it on the shelf at my local bookstore and thought it looked interesting and fun. It's not. I found the method terrible and distracting. I'm always working my way through Accelerated C++ and compared to this book, Accelerated C++ is godsend. This is book is the opposite of concise, clear, and effective. It didn't show me good coding practice, and the code examples were often without much explanat
...more
I think this is the best book for truly learning Java. By that I don't just mean an "I can write a Java program" kind of learning, I mean a deep understanding of how Java works kind of understanding. We just had a question pop up the other day on our team of 10+ year experienced folks - is Java pass by value or pass by reference. And what pops into my head, but the Head First pictures of remote controls and passing by value what is really a reference to an object. I can't count the number of tim
...more
class ThisBookIsTerrible {
public static void main (String[] args) {
System.out.println("Please use your head and buy a book that is not one giant series of Microsoft Office Clippy comments.");
System.out.print("This book is ridiculously overrated. ");
System.out.print("Just use the API instead.");
}
}
...more
public static void main (String[] args) {
System.out.println("Please use your head and buy a book that is not one giant series of Microsoft Office Clippy comments.");
System.out.print("This book is ridiculously overrated. ");
System.out.print("Just use the API instead.");
}
}
...more
My first programming book. :)
Sep 11, 2014
Caleb Rogers
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
People serious about learning computer science / java
*The* book on Java programming. I've tried it all: codeacademy, cs50x, a bunch of random Java books I found in the library. I settled on this. If you want to learn Java, read this book.
It's not dumbed down, but it is readable, which very few other computer science books can claim. It's sometimes hilarious, always informative. There are no hanging questions. Something is stated in simple terms, and if you're more advanced, there'll be a little appendix that will have answers ready for you.
There ...more
It's not dumbed down, but it is readable, which very few other computer science books can claim. It's sometimes hilarious, always informative. There are no hanging questions. Something is stated in simple terms, and if you're more advanced, there'll be a little appendix that will have answers ready for you.
There ...more
I am returning to this book determined to slog through all the tutorials and lessons. As a self taught programmer this task has already helped fill in some of the gaps in my skill set. Each of these self teaching books have a special method presentation and in this one the multi-method presentation of information by side notes, cute captioned snap shots of authors and their friends, and various mental challenge tasks and lessons works for me. I recommend individuals looking to program in Java su
...more
This is an excellent book to learn about Java. In general, I consider that the explanation of the concepts are good. However, the exercises are not so good, and it is disturbing that most of the exercises have the same format as choose code from the pool and make the code to produce the following output, or sort the pieces of code to produce the following output.
At some point I got frustrated with the exercises not because they are difficult (they aren't), but because I was not applying most of ...more
At some point I got frustrated with the exercises not because they are difficult (they aren't), but because I was not applying most of ...more
I ought to have finished this book end to end a long time ago, but better late than never. It does the hard work for you, in that all kinds of 'handwritten' side nodes and sticky notes and arrows and diagrams are created for you by the authors, and as a result it makes for a very pleasant, rapturous read (especially if you have ~some~ professional Java experience). The writing style and the way newer intricacies are brought to the reader's attention make a lot of sense and flow very well. The Q
...more
It is one of the very few books that actually make you want to study Java. It's ideal for beginners who may not be familiar with basic programming concepts, and also suitable for advanced programmers wanting to learn Java from beginning. The concepts are explained so wonderfully that you would easily remember them later. Also, some of the major concepts that people usually struggle with are explored in depth (object creation, variables and references, etc.)
A possible con to this book is that it ...more
A possible con to this book is that it ...more
Best introductory/brushing up Java book I have read. They really do a great job of pacing the content to throw you a bone in cartoon or dumb joke form when you're just about ready to decide that doing laundry is more exiting than learning to program. They introduce concepts as they become relevant, as opposed to most beginner books that tell you all the basics at once, then trust you'll stick with the book and remember them all when they tell you what to do with them later.
This is the best programming book I have ever read. Head First's visual approach to learning make everything fun and exciting. The whole book revolved around projects - the biggest of them was making a synthesizer in Java. Puzzles, crosswords, cartoons are all over. Don't take all that for the book being light on content. It is just that they believe that it is much better to learn while having fun instead of cursing your book.
Head First Series is your best friend. If you're not as much of a coding prodigy as you'd like, this book will make you feel just smart enough to keep turning the pages. Plus, it will make you laugh!
Sure the humor can be a bit...nerdy...but it's always worth a smirk and an eye roll at it worst; that's still an emotional response that isn't "FUCK MY LIFE, THIS CODE CAN GO TO HELL!" which is nice.
Sure the humor can be a bit...nerdy...but it's always worth a smirk and an eye roll at it worst; that's still an emotional response that isn't "FUCK MY LIFE, THIS CODE CAN GO TO HELL!" which is nice.
I am a n00b programmer but this book was very detailed and went over all the details to learning the java language and object oriented programming in general. Learned about concepts such as multithreading, generics, and networks which is more than I ever thought I would! Very fun read. The authors keep java entertaining and I laughed many times while reading this text. Highly recommend!
Varsin havainnollinen kirja Javan perusteista aloittelijalle. Joitakin epätarkkuuksia löytyy sieltä täältä, mutta yleisesti tämä on mielestäni erittäin hyvä ensimmäinen kirja Javaa opiskelevalle (etenkin, jos ei ole ohjelmoinnista ennestään kovin syvällisesti perillä).
When I was trying to learn how to develop for Android I quickly came to the decision that I needed to learn Java if I wanted to be any good at coding for Android. I really did like the way this book was formatted, made it a bit easier to learn.
Of of the few development books in which the author's focus is for the reader to learn. Most of the time technical book authors simply want to show off. Not here.
If I were to go back in time and recommend myself a book to study Java when I knew nothing about it or OOP in general, this would be it.
This book is the only way to go! Any other book just tells you what to do, this book teaches it to you in an entertaining way.
I read this book to get familiar with Java for Android development. It explains important concepts like static context and pass-by-value and briefly touches some of the more advanced topics like generics and multithreading.
I also liked their explanations of abstract concepts using metaphors from the real world and especially talks between two personalizations of some concepts (eg JVM talking to compiler).
For anyone with some programming experience the book will be an easy walk.
Unfortunately, ...more
I also liked their explanations of abstract concepts using metaphors from the real world and especially talks between two personalizations of some concepts (eg JVM talking to compiler).
For anyone with some programming experience the book will be an easy walk.
Unfortunately, ...more
Really good book for people just starting to learn Java.
I personally think this book is far from the "best" Java book that everyone keeps talking about. I find the content a little bit all over place(which hurts my brain). It fails explaining clearly the concept of Java and doesn't teach you how to write a code effectively. It also doesn't give out a lot of good examples /exercises to support the content and get you familiar with the new materials that it goes over. I guess for those want to have a basic understanding of what it is would find it usef
...more
If you are a person who prefers boring dry lectures over stimulating conversations with witty friends then this book is definitely NOT for you. For all the others, welcome to paradise-Head First Java by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates! This is one programming book you will enjoy reading with all its funny images and captions it may seem to be a joke book, but mind you this book really know what its trying to achieve- make sure its readers learn Java.
Even after its light hearted handling of the subje ...more
Even after its light hearted handling of the subje ...more
I enjoyed the way this book was written. I have found that many technical books are convoluted and the thought of reading an entire text, written in that style, can be daunting. Head First Java is quite the opposite and expresses the subject matter(the same complicated/technical subject matter other books cover) clearly and almost conversationally.
This type of book is much better for a beginner, who might find themselves lost in other texts. Learned a lot 5/5.
This type of book is much better for a beginner, who might find themselves lost in other texts. Learned a lot 5/5.
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“a name, like javax.swing (a package that holds some of the Swing GUI classes you’ll learn about soon). ArrayList is in the package called java.util, which surprise surprise, holds a pile of utility classes. You’ll learn a lot more about packages in Chapter 17, including how to put your own classes into your own packages. For now though, we’re just looking to use”
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“useful thing about a File object is that it offers a much safer way to represent a file than just using a String file name.”
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