Best 'Teach Yourself' Java

[voodooflux]

OT somewhat, but I'm intrigued to see the "Head First" books lumped in the same general category as the "For Dummies" books.

I may have been a tad unfair to the "Head First" books in mentioning them so closely to the Dummies series - their design patterns book is good for those seeking a grounding in the subject as you say (in fact it's one I recommend). I think the light-hearted style can be off-putting and irritating to some though (it's a love 'em or hate 'em kinda thing), and I've heard that some of the other titles lack depth - although picking up a more detailed companion text would solve this.

...but enhancing your understanding, even if you're already familiar with the subject, is one of the intended purposes of a Head First book.

I'm not sure I would agree that is a strict intention of the head first series and something they set out to achieve i.e. to appeal to those already familiar with the subject (certainly not the ones I've read anyway) but if they do achieve that as a side effect then all credit to them.

[NickFitz]

From my dim and distant (but mostly dim) Java days, and assuming you're after something with more street cred than the "Head First" or "Dummies" range

OT somewhat, but I'm intrigued to see the "Head First" books lumped in the same general category as the "For Dummies" books.

I've never read a "For Dummies" book (although I did once burst out laughing in Borders upon seeing the tautologous title "Astrology for Dummies"), but the "Head First" books are, in my experience, excellent.

To take one example, "Head First Design Patterns" is probably the best book one could read to gain a grounding in that subject. I say this as someone who first read the GoF book "Design Patterns" years ago, and who has edits on the original patterns wiki (Ward's wiki, the very first wiki in the world) dating back to the late 90s. When I read HFDP, it actually enhanced my understanding of various patterns that I thought I already knew very well.

I'm not sure a Dummies book is designed to do that for somebody already familiar with a field, but enhancing your understanding, even if you're already familiar with the subject, is one of the intended purposes of a Head First book.

[NotAllThere]

I'd also recommend Head First Java. It's the only larn-tha'-sen book I've ever completed.

[Bob Dalek]

This got 5 stars.

[moorfield]

I found the best books are the primers for the Sun Certification tests - all you need without too much waffle. HTH.

[thunderlizard]

For some light relief, there's also Farmer Bunny's Big Cup o'Java, by Carlton Egremont III.

[NickFitz]

I would actually recommend Head First Java - if you're already moderately familiar with the language it'll firm up your understanding of the basics and get you up to speed on more advanced language features very rapidly. Make sure you get the second edition.

Then there's Head First EJB and Head First JSP and Servlets (second edition again) depending on which application areas you're interested in.

And the absolutely essential reference, IMHO, is Java in a Nutshell (fifth edition): when you're familiarising yourself with a new area of the Java API, the quick summary and listing of all classes and their properties and methods are invaluable. Over the years I've had every edition from the first onwards next to my keyboard for long periods

Online, there's over 800 articles at O'Reilly's OnJava site. Some of them are bound to be useful.

[PRooke]

and also visit JavaRanch

JavaRanch

And another vote for Effective Java by Joshua Bloch - maybe a bit out of date; but I guess the ideas still apply. Not just to Java either!

Also check out the Java Posse podcast - to find out whats happening in the java world....

[voodooflux]

I'll add that once you've grasped the basics, by far the best way to learn is to find a project on something like SourceForge that has open bugs and see if you can fix any of them

Or if you really fancy a challenge then try fixing some of the stuff on IBM Alphaworks.

[Cowboy Bob]

I'll add that once you've grasped the basics, by far the best way to learn is to find a project on something like SourceForge that has open bugs and see if you can fix any of them - they may even accept your changes and then you can add it to your CV as well. It's a win win situation.

[voodooflux]

From my dim and distant (but mostly dim) Java days, and assuming you're after something with more street cred than the "Head First" or "Dummies" range

The Java Programming Language, 4th Edition - co-written by the daddy of Java, James Gosling. The K&R of Java.

Once you're familiar with the basics:

Effective Java by Joshua Bloch is well worth a read, but I'm not sure how up to date it is.

Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel - third edition is free online.

[DimPrawn]

I've no idea but a quick Google throws up some online learning resources (assuming you have Internet in the evenings):

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/
http://www.javabeginner.com/index.htm
http://www.freejavaguide.com/corejava.htm


Then of course there is:

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/java/


Books? No idea.

[darmstadt]

Need to learn some Java but have time to do a course. I already know some basics and have numerous software products already (RAD, RFT, Eclipse, etc) so thought I would get a couple of books and spend the evenings in my hotel doing some 'self certifiable' training so any recommendations on what the best books are out there?