Big Java: Late Objects

A good guide for beginners, easy to understand

A great book for those who know what they are talking about with Java programming. It assumes you are at least aware of the Java way of doing things.

Exactly what I needed to learn Java as a complete beginner

very good

Great book. Clear, concise and well-written. Better than any other CS book I have come across, which admittedly is only a handful.I was struggling with generics in java so I thought maybe I would try Java Generics. Then I realized that I never read the chapter on Generics in this book. After reading the first two chapters of Java Generics and then coming back to Horstmann's chapter... Horstmann's is way easier to understand. And it's concise. I have the kindle copy of Java Generics and it rambles on and on with no breaks. And they're both still confusing... I love Horstmann's comment about some of it being "Frankly awkward." Uhh... yeah, some of it makes no sense... you just have to memorize it. But I plan on finishing the other book because it goes into more detail. I just wish the other book was as easy to digest as Horstmann.I can see how some people are saying that it is not for beginners. Some of the terms are not explained very well. Don't be afraid to use google. I still get confused by CS terms that my professors and this author use without much introduction or explanation. For example, type, parameter type, parameter value, method signature, declaration, initiation, initialization, reference type, constructor, etc. He does generally explain these terms, but you might have to go back and reread them over several times. I had to study the book, re-reading each chapter several times. I'm on chapter 20 still actually. For some reason chapter Seven I had to re-read more than most. But the more I read and re-read each chapter and study it, the better I understand it. His writing is worth the price of the book. You can spend a lot more time searching google and stack exchange for answers to your questions. You might be able to find an older version for cheaper.Pros: Easy to find what you're looking for. There's an index. Lot's of diagrams and pictures, questions with answers, programming tips. It's also laid out well. From the table of contents, the section headers, chapter headers, tips, common errors, etc. It's easy to skim through the book picking and choosing what you want to read, if you already know something or if you already read it and are just looking for something in particular.I picked up this author's book on C++ as well and I Love it. I wish he wrote books on some other topics.Bottom line: If you want a good introduction to Java and Programming, this is a great book.

I would recommend getting the trial version, and then buying the book 2 weeks afterward to avoid paying more than neccessary. Originally the book would've got my like double, but I ended up paying a much cheaper price by waiting out the surge pricing. That being said, I don't really care for the format of this book.

I just got on Amazon to find the ISBN so I could recommend this book to a friend, and I was appalled at the low reviews this book has. I am here to do it justice. As a student in the field of Information Science and Technology, I found this book extremely helpful. It really does teach Java from the ground up, assuming no prior knowledge of programming. The author presents information in three ways: main content, extra "special topics" that add on to the main content, and common errors that you will probably make along the way. This book is on the expensive side, but it's well worth it. This book is loaded with content and added extras to give the reader good programming practices and a light background in the history of computers. This was my textbook for an introductory Java course at my college, and I couldn't be more satisfied with how easy it was to find everything I needed to reference. The chapters are meaty, and you will learn about each topic in full before moving on to the next. Between the content of this book and a good professor, I have become a confident Java programmer. This book is what you need whether your working by yourself or in a classroom setting.

People saying it doesn't explain the concepts very well should keep in mind this is Late Objects, instead of the other book called Early Objects, which introduces the topics of objects more slowly. I've needed this book for two classes so far and I think it's a pretty straightforward book. Not too difficult to understand, at least not when you have a professor to teach in person and really lodge the concepts in your brain. The format and writing style is actually ten times easier to read than tons of other textbooks I've had to have at my university. Those who gave bad reviews may not have done as well in the class as they would've liked, but that's probably more of a teacher issue than the book.

This book is an awesome resource for first-time Java programming students like myself! The explanations are clear and there are great practice problems with solutions to use for extra practice!I would highly recommend this book to anyone in a programming class or just learning to program on their own that wants a resource with all of the information in the same place, and organized in an order that makes sense for first timers!