Java Programming

by Joyce Farrell

Book Overview

Discover the power of Java(TM) for developing applications today when you trust the engaging, hands-on approach in Farrell's JAVA PROGRAMMING, 9E. Even if you're a first-time programmer, JAVA... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1111529442
• ISBN13: 9781111529444
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Length: 912 Pages
• Weight: 3.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 7.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Instructor Perspective

I used this text for my Introduction to Java class at Yakima Valley Community College. Farrell gave good coverage to all the important topics and assumed little or no programming background. Students appreciated the in-chapter examples and scenarios. There is no such thing as a perfect text book, but I've used this one for five years because it's the best I have found. The only opportunity for improvement I can provide is that I wish she would include screen captures of the complete program code instead of point and click directions in the "You Do It" sections.

4th Edition - Try it, You'll Like It!

In the interest of full disclosure I'll let you know that I am one of the reviewers of the 4th edition of the book. I use this book for a college introductory programming class and get good results. This book is a "gentle" introduction to Java. It is not a Java reference text. I use the Deitel "How to ..." book for my advanced Java class but that book would be way beyond what my introductory students could handle. This book assumes you know nothing about Java and little about programming. There is good coverage of topics based on what you need to know to get started in Java. All the basics are covered. Object-oriented concepts are explained well and simply. The short examples provide reinforcement. I compare these examples to the examples in the Deitel book that can go on for pages. Each has its place but I believe shorter is better for the beginner. Several other reviews mentioned the difficulty of using examples that were done in pieces interspersed with text explanations. It looks like these reviews were written before the current 4th edition was published (February 6, 2007). Most of the examples in the latest edition are complete applications with explanation before and after - not in - the code. The end of chapter exercises do contain a "You Do It" section where line-by-line instructions are provided. It is still true that source code for the examples is not provided. This is not a problem for me as a Java instructor. The examples are short. I think students learn more by actually writing the statements themselves as opposed to loading pre-written examples and just running them. This may be a personal bias as I learn more this way. It gives you a chance to make errors and fixing errors sometimes teaches you a lot!

Works for me!

I used this book for a Java development class. I felt that it was a good book and overall I have little ill to say about it. The examples are well written and do a good job of reinforcing what you read in the chapter. You read a little then do an example, then read some more, then add to the example and so on. You don't need any Programming experience to use this book just a decent understanding of programming logic. The only criticism I could offer is that the editor should have used arrows when content is being continued on a new line for reasons of page space so that readers will know and understand (beginners can have trouble with this). It's a good book for learning the whole language from the ground up and for this reason it's worth the money. It's not an overnight crash course (if that is what you are looking for).

Customer Reviews Flawed

I approached using this book with trepidation. I had read all the negative reviews and was ready for many problems and confusion. None of which occured....I used the book in a systematic manner. I started at the beginning. Read the chapters. Worked ALL the examples and had no problems with the problems or exercises. The few times I got confused or had problems turned out to be either bad spelling/typing, or could be resolved with a little review. If I got really stuck I went to Sun's JAVA web site. I am not a programmer or particularly intelligent.There may well be better books out there but after completing the course/book I just can't understand the level of negativity.Learning something new SHOULD be a challenge. After going through the text the negative reviews just sound like so much unreasonable complaining.

Tells me what I need to know

This is the textbook for the first Java class that I have taken. We are on chapter 15, almost finished. I have done all the examples in the chapter text. Our instructor has assigned us only one project per chapter. I really like the building block principle the book follows. The index is sufficient for me to relocate subjects that I need to review. The only drawback that I see are some trivial, yet annoying, errors in the examples.