ISBN 0620333952. $39.95. Softcover. 764 pages. $39.95.
Learn Java and learn it well. Get to know it intimately. Learn its quirks and its foibles. Understand its strengths and weaknesses. Know what you can reasonably expect it to do and what you can't. Be in complete control as you write reliable, robust and efficient Java code.
The first part of the book explains the mechanics of Java. It shows you in step-by-step detail how Java works - from the basics of class definitions and object construction to the programming of Graphical User Interfaces with visual components such as buttons, checkboxes, sliders etc. It starts at the beginning with an in-depth explanation of classes and objects - the building blocks of Java.
Each new concept is demonstrated with one or more concise, fully executable programs - not code fragments - that can be compiled and run as they stand. Line by line explanations are given of what exactly happens behind the scenes as the code runs. The second half of the book applies what has been learned to areas of Java programming such as event and exception handling, applets and animation, inheritance and interfaces, graphics and painting, jar files and collections, input and output streams and threads i.e. multi-tasking. Included are detailed explanations of bit manipulation and how Java stores negative numbers.
If you want to really understand how Java works, and be able to use it with total confidence, this is the book for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robin Knox-Grant has been an educator in computer programming for more than sixteen years. His unique approach has been tried and tested by hundreds of students who have mastered programming to the extent of their being able to earn their livings as professional programmers.
Perhaps one of the reasons for his success is that he himself remains a student. The fact that he has no formal academic training in matters relating to computer programming may account for his uniqe ability to identify the problems with a clarity that escapes many highly qualified academics.