Who's Afraid of Java [With *]

by Steve Heller

Presents the fundamentals of Java as an e-mail interchange between a student and instructor. The book teaches the elements of program design, the Java language, and how to create Java Applets. While... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0123391016
• ISBN13: 9780123391018
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Systematic, Excellent Introduction to Java

I had never programmed in my life and hardly understood computer terminology beyond what a "byte" was. Out of curiousity, I recently dabbled into programming and chose java for a start. Among the few books I bought was "Teach yourself Java in 21 days" (TYJ), and "Who's afraid of Java". I spent two months painfully grinding through TYJ. For a complete novice, I felt my brain almost cracking in half! Maybe I'm just a little slow but I needed a book that would hold me by the hand and systematically guide me through the mysteries of not just the java language, but some fundamentals of how the computer in general works. Steve Heller's "Who's Afraid of Java" did just that! More importantly, from chapter to chapter, he uses a real life application of programming as its examples. He continuously builds on the same programming problem, increasing the functionality of the written program as more terms are introduced and explained. This is a markedly different approach from most programming books which give completely different examples when a new term is introduced, sometimes making it hard to properly grasp the subject without a few sleepless nights! To cap it all, the book takes a conversational approach with a novice. This book is a MUST to the beginner (and to the intermediate programmer who may wish to brush up on some fundamental facts). "Teach yourself java in 21 days" became so much easier to read after reading this book. Thanks, Steve Heller!

Very nice intro.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I thought "Who's Afraid of Java?" was superb. Yes, it is quite similar in format to Mr.Heller's other works, but that's just fine by me. Other supposed "beginner" Java books assume that you started with C++ or Perl or somesuch, or they try to teach you Javascript. Mr.Heller's book makes no such assumptions, and teaches the material from the very ground up. Sure, it's not the most in-depth introduction out there, but that's not the point: the in-depth books tend to leave the beginner in the dust. For the -real- beginner, I suggest this book; it even had a few tricks to teach more experienced programmers to whom I've recommended it.

An excellent book for novice programmers!

I bought this book because I was adviced from the school that it would be wise to learn something about java before the school started - because about 50% of the students didn't make it through the first 2 semesters - and mainly because of programming (java and c++). At school start they throwed classes, objects and inheretence at us without even introducing us to the fundamentals of java. I full heartly recommend this book to anyone new to programming, and to anyone that have tried to learn it, but felt insecure about it. Here you don't have to read, or guess, what's behind the lines of the pages. Steve Heller explains what's going on behind, and he does it in a way that makes it easy to understand. Some authors seems to be experts in making even the easiest thing difficult to understand. Not Steve Heller. He really has the gift of explaining things in a way that they are easy to understand. - Though it only teaches about 10% of the java language - it is the important 10%, and it establish a good foundation for further studies of the java language. I highly recommend this book. Now we only need more advanced java from Steve Heller.

Excellent book for anyone who wants to learn Java !

This is an great book.. I have read many others like "Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days" ... I thought that book was terrible, a very misleading title... Of course, I may think differently of it after I read "Who's Afraid of Java"..."Who's Afraid of Java" was excellent! It is the only book I have seen that was designed for people who wanted to learn Java without any previous programming language. I am only 16 years old, and have never programmed in any other language before. I find this book very easy to understand, and I think others can too... I also like the way he adds the conversations him and his wife had in the book. She asks a lot of questions I would of asked if the author was infront of me... He uses many examples, and gives a detialed analysis of how they work. He also talks about the "insides" of computers and how they transfer information. He talks about everything in here ! well... almost everything...GET THIS BOOK IF YOU WANT TO LEARN JAVA !

Believe it --- this is a great book for a complete novice!

I was recently browsing through the computer book racks of a local bookstore looking for a beginner's guide to Java. Most of the books I saw claimed that they were great for beginners, but I quickly became discouraged when I actually thumbed through the books' Table of Contents and first few pages --- the authors didn't seem to realize that beginner really means BEGINNER. Someone who knows little or nothing about Java, and, perhaps, programming languages in general. To make matters worse, some of the books were dry and boring --- your typical idea of a computer text book. Right as I was about to give up and leave, another book on the rack caught my eye --- "Who's Afraid of Java?". "What a great title," I thought to myself. I sat down on the floor and started my usual evaluation of the TOC, author's comments, and first chapter. I LOVED IT! I liked everything about the book --- the progression of topics, the writing style, and the unique use of a novice reader's comments and point of view throughout the book. All together, these elements in the book made Java seem completely manageable....and, dare I say....fun!! I liked it so much that I read the first 100 pages that night before bed! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn Java --- or anyone who just wants to understand what a programming language is all about. The book is easy to understand without being condescending or boring, but, at the same time, it also explains the technical stuff so you don't feel like important information is being glossed over just because you're a beginner. Even if you know something about programming already, you'll probably enjoy the way Steve Heller pulls all the bits and pieces you may know together to form a complete picture for you. Bravo, Steve! -emily