An interactive guide to the fundamentals of the Java programming language utilizes icons, cartoons, and numerous other visual aids to introduce the features and functions of Java and to teach the principles of designing and writing Java programs.

Autorentext

Bert Bates and Kathy Sierra created the Head First book series. He has co-authored several bestselling Java books, and acted as a lead developer for many of Sun's Java certification exams. Bert has been developing software for more than 25 years. His background features a long stint in artificial intelligence, with clients like the Weather Channel, A&E Network, Rockwell, and Timken. Kathy Sierra has been interested in learning theory since her days as a game developer (Virgin, MGM, Amblin'). More recently, she's been a master trainer for Sun Microsystems, teaching Sun's Java instructors how to teach the latest technologies to customers, and a lead developer of several Sun certification exams. Along with her partner Bert Bates, Kathy created the Head First series. She's also the original founder of the Software Development/Jolt Productivity Award-winning javaranch.com, the largest (and friendliest) all-volunteer Java community.

Klappentext

Learning a complex new language is no easy task especially when it s an object-oriented computer programming language like Java. You might think the problem is your brain. It seems to have a mind of its own, a mind that doesn't always want to take in the dry, technical stuff you're forced to study. The fact is your brain craves novelty. It's constantly searching, scanning, waiting for something unusual to happen. After all, that's the way it was built to help you stay alive. It takes all the routine, ordinary, dull stuff and filters it to the background so it won't interfere with your brain's real work--recording things that matter. How does your brain know what matters? It's like the creators of the Head First approach say, suppose you're out for a hike and a tiger jumps in front of you, what happens in your brain? Neurons fire. Emotions crank up. Chemicals surge. That's how your brain knows. And that's how your brain will learn Java. Head First Java combines puzzles, strong visuals, mysteries, and soul-searching interviews with famous Java objects to engage you in many different ways. It's fast, it's fun, and it's effective. And, despite its playful appearance, Head First Java is serious stuff: a complete introduction to object-oriented programming and Java. You'll learn everything from the fundamentals to advanced topics, including threads, network sockets, and distributed programming with RMI. And the new. second edition focuses on Java 5.0, the latest version of the Java language and development platform. Because Java 5.0 is a major update to the platform, with deep, code-level changes, even more careful study and implementation is required. So learning the Head First way is more important than ever. If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. You'll see why people say it's unlike any other Java book you've ever read. By exploiting how your brain works, Head First Java compresses the time it takes to learn and retain--complex information. Its unique approach not only shows you what you need to know about Java syntax, it teaches you to think like a Java programmer. If you want to be bored, buy some other book. But if you want to understand Java, this book's for you.

Inhalt

Intro; 1 Breaking the Surface: a quick dip; 2 A Trip to Objectville: yes, there will be objects; 3 Know Your Variables: primitives and references; 4 How Objects Behave: object state affects method behavior; 5 Extra-Strength Methods: flow control, operations, and more; 6 Using the Java Library: so you don?t have to write it all yourself; 7 Better Living in Objectville: planning for the future; 8 Serious Polymorphism: exploiting abstract classes and interfaces; 9 Life and Death of an Object: constructors and memory management; 10 Numbers Matter: math, formatting, wrappers, and statics; 11 Risky Behavior: exception handling; 12 A Very Graphic Story: intro to GUI, event handling, and inner classes; 13 Work on Your Swing: layout managers and components; 14 Saving Objects: serialization and I/O; 15 Make a Connection: networking sockets and multithreading; 16 Data Structures: collections and generics 17 Release Your Code: packaging and deployment; 18 Distributed Computing: RMI with a dash of servlets, EJB, and Jini; A Appendix A: Final code kitchen; B Appendix B: Top Ten Things that didn?t make it into the rest of the book; Index