Java book for newbies???

I have very little knowlege of programming. I plan to attend college next year for a two year "computer systems technology" program which teaches the Java programming language among others. I am really interested in learning Java and want to start now. What are some good books for a newbie programmer to start learning Java with?

Keep in mind that I am thoroughly familiar with how a computer works and all the Windows operating systems and DOS (just learning Linux now). And I have also built a few computers over the past few years.

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I'm Canadian, Eh.

Quote:

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Originally posted by matt_h:
I have very little knowlege of programming. I plan to attend college next year for a two year "computer systems technology" program which teaches the Java programming language among others. I am really interested in learning Java and want to start now. What are some good books for a newbie programmer to start learning Java with?

Keep in mind that I am thoroughly familiar with how a computer works and all the Windows operating systems and DOS (just learning Linux now). And I have also built a few computers over the past few years.

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For reference: Java in a Nutshell.

Easy to read and has everything you need: Java 2 Certification.

If thats too much there is: Learning Java.

IO: Java IO - Goes into more detail than just your basic Java.

If you plan to order any tech books (They beat amazon hands down): www.bookpool.com

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Blueskies Blackdeath

Thanks for the reply. I will see if I can find those books in the local bookstore.

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Asus A7pro mobo
Athlon "Thunderbird" 800MHz CPU
Voodoo 3 2000 AGP 143MHz @ 167MHz
SBLive! value
KDS 17inch monitor
196mb PC100 ram
13GB Fujitsu ATA33
Mitsumi 4x4x24 burner
Mitsumi 48x CD-ROM
Terayon Cable Modem
MS Optical Mouse
Origional MS Sidewinder Gamepad
Win2k pro/Win98SE/Mandrake 8.0

I'm Canadian, Eh.

Quote:

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Originally posted by matt_h:
Thanks for the reply. I will see if I can find those books in the local bookstore.

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Check them out and if you don't mind ordering on line: www.bookpool.com. You will save upto 40% on them.



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Blueskies Blackdeath

Also, poke around in http://java.sun.com

There's a lot of tutorials and examples at that site. If you download the JDK, you can check out the samples locally.

I read your post and must warn you of some things:

1. Just b/c you build computers and know how to build computers doesn't mean learning Java is going to be any easier.

2. Java is a very complex language and is usually learned after C/C++. If you are a "newbie programmer" you should start out dabbling with Pascal or C and then move on to C++ and then move onto Java. That would be alot less painful for you.

However, it's all up to you. I'm just suggesting that you start slow and work your way up. Java is a hot language right now though, so good luck.

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root is the greed of all evil

One of the first things I started to learn was Java Script... I wanted to know how to do the the cool lake script(at the time).... From there I hopped to c then C++ then .... blah blah

go here for Online Tutorials...

W3 Schools

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R/-\ \/e /\/

Please allow me to introduce myself
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[This message has been edited by Ra\/eN (edited July 06, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Ra\/eN (edited July 06, 2001).]

Quote:

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Originally posted by biosx:
I read your post and must warn you of some things:

1. Just b/c you build computers and know how to build computers doesn't mean learning Java is going to be any easier.

2. Java is a very complex language and is usually learned after C/C++. If you are a "newbie programmer" you should start out dabbling with Pascal or C and then move on to C++ and then move onto Java. That would be alot less painful for you.

However, it's all up to you. I'm just suggesting that you start slow and work your way up. Java is a hot language right now though, so good luck.

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The complexity of C & C++ comes in when dealing with mallocing of memory and playing with pointers. Far more complex than Java since there are no pointers. Java handles a lot of things that if not handled correctly in C/C++ you can spend ages debugging. Every had memory bound segmentation faults? Not going to get that with Java.

The basic constructs for any language are the same, well, except APL/Lisp/Prolog. They all have their IF/While/Switch statements. They are all fun to program in, but, saying that Java is more complex than C/C++ huh, no.

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Blueskies Blackdeath

I can not stress how importnat the java documentation is. If you already know how to program and are only lacking the knowledge of what instructions do what, then the documentation will be very helpful. In fact, the documentation is very helpful period.

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AMD 1.2GHz Athlon 266FSB
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you can search for the best prices on books at www.pricescan.com, if you are interested

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Get married to the game, but don't have a kid with it

I can't recommend "Thinking in Java" highly enough. Check out the reviews on Amazon, and the whole book is online at <a href="http://www.bruceeckel.com">www.bruceeckel.com</a> if you want to check it out before you buy.