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Title: Thinking in Java (3rd Edition) by Bruce Eckel ISBN: 0-13-100287-2 Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR Pub. Date: 06 December, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.17 (255 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: *Excellent content *Dour presentation *hard for novice
Comment: rating 4.5.
First of all this book was freely available online. That was how it was written I believe: posted, public review, correction. A novel approach.
This books is plain inside. His prose and explanations were ostly good, but a time just a little too verbose for me (no criticism but it just didn't do it for me: I prefer succint explanation + example: he can wax lyrical just a little bit, which lends some warmth to the work, but also for busy people uneeded....so it's a personal judgement). The code examples in the book are probably the ugliest I've ever seen in a while (font wise...the code is presented as pages and pages and pages of monospace...ah the humanity! Very intimidating for the novice! Compare to deitel: colored!)
Seriously, given the process this book went through: continual public online review, editing and criticism, means the errors are minimal and the content focused on what you need to know as guaranteed by peer-reivew (not a bunch of superfluous, repitition nonsense that pad out Deitel books)...This is a really great book that was diminished a little through corner cutting by a publisher. If you can get beyond the mediocre presentation, then you find an excellent book for the above novice programmer. It's quite a philosophical journey through the heart of Java at times. And coverage of most topics is quite strong (if a little weirdly ordered at times...but then that's a personal thing: eg. the introduction that the beginning is quite deep and intrduces some heavy-ish concecpts straight off the bat...but again this is a personal judgement: objects first or basics first? its 50-50 either way?)
Actually I should clarify that: if you're a beginner: This book is not for you I don't think. I tutor a student who is just starting out in Java programming and he managed to get about 20 pages into this brick and then quit -> he said it was too hard. He opened it, looked at the code and his jaw dropped!
Having read this book I can understand why. The presentation is not conducive to the beginner who needs more guidance through concepts rather than just slabs of text. That's the problem with writing a book this way (publically post-review-correct): the only people who interact are people who already know some Java or a lot of Java so this skews the process toward producing a book for them. Most beginners probably have never heard of Bruce Eckel and thereby didn't contribute to the making of this book. Hence they have been somehwat excluded from the process.
I can wade through pages of monspace Java code because I am not a beginner. But this is probably too overwhelming for one new to the language (it just hits them too hard I think). I recommend Kathy Sierra's Headfirst Java (foremost for the beginner!). FOr everybody else...what they hey why not! It's pretty good value and not a insipid and dumb as Deitel. And it's more concrete that Van Der Linden. It and Ivor Horton's Beginning Java are on about par I feel, for different reasons: Bruce, the language coverage (depth far exceeds Ivor!). Ivor: for breadth and succinctness. I feel Bruce is wanting you to understand backward-forwards-upwards-downwards-inside-out the language. Not dazzle you with simple Swing stuff (which only works for novices anyway). When you're finished Kathy Sierra, come back and try this. YOu'll be ready by then!
Hopefully version 4 they'll put a bit more effort into the graphical arrangement of the book: a few diagrams here and there wouldn't hurt...just to break the monotony. Seriously I think Bruce should get a new publisher...one who will fulfill his vision, not impede it with their cheapness.
COntent wise: VERY good. Doesn't wallow in the cheap ooh-ahh factor of Swing that much, but does the langauge very well (I wasn't overly fussed on treatment of inner classes...but that's a personal thing I guess). Still this is one of the benchmark books for begining/intermediate programmers and that didn't happen by accident!
And as one of the benchmark books
Thinking in Java: Bruce Eckel
Beginning Java: Ivor Horton
Just Java 2: Peter Van Der Linden
How to Program Java: Deitel & Deitel
Core Java 2: Horstmann
I would rate them as such (in order):
For beginners: Horton, Eckel, Deitel, Horstmann, Van Der Linden
For Intermediate: Eckel, Van Der Linden, Horton, Horstmann, Deitel
Best all round: Eckel, Horton, van Der Linden, horstmann, Deitel
best visual layout/ quality of publication: deitel, Van Der Linden, Horton, Horstmann, Eckel
broadest view: van der linden, eckel, Horton, Deitel, Horstmann
most useful code: horstmann, deitel = eckel = horton, van der linden
value for money: eckel, horton, van der linden, horstmann, deitel
Rating: 5
Summary: The easiest reading I have done
Comment: This book rocks period! I read half the book online and decided to give Bruce credit and bought it. I have never had such an easier time reading a huge book. Bruce Eckel's writing style keeps you coming back for more even when you have finished with the book.
Don't listen to those reviewers who state that Bruce doesn't use real world examples. Bruce uses concise and "to the point" examples and syntax that are used in everyday programming. He doesn't boggle your mind with huge source code that will confuse the reader. The purpose of this book was to get the reader a solid foundation in Java and OO.
If you are looking for some real world examples for projects then get the book Design Patterns by the Fab 4.
Hats off Bruce, I await your next book!
Rating: 2
Summary: Gigantically Bad
Comment: If you like the large-print version of Reader's Digest, then you might be happy with this book and it's gigantic text. Otherwise, I recommend avoiding it. I admit this more of a personal opinion that my other book reviews, because Eckel has written several books and has his own following. However, as I was learning Java this book was not useful to me whatsoever. In any case, a free, electronic version of this book is available on Eckel's website.
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Title: Thinking in C++, Volume 1: Introduction to Standard C++ (2nd Edition) by Bruce Eckel ISBN: 0139798099 Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub. Date: 15 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $44.95 |
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Title: Effective Java Programming Language Guide by Joshua Bloch ISBN: 0201310058 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co Pub. Date: 05 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $39.99 |
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Title: Java in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition by David Flanagan ISBN: 0596002831 Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Core Java 2, Volume I: Fundamentals (6th Edition) by Cay S. Horstmann, Gary Cornell ISBN: 0130471771 Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR Pub. Date: 22 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
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Title: Core Java 2, Volume II: Advanced Features (5th Edition) by Cay S. Horstmann, Gary Cornell, Cay Horstmann ISBN: 0130927384 Publisher: Pearson Higher Education Pub. Date: 10 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
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