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Java Programming: From The Ground Up
Java Programming, From The Ground Up , with its flexible organization, teaches Java in a way that is refreshing, fun, interesting and still has all the appropriate programming pieces for students to learn. The motivation behind this writing is to bring a logical, readable, entertaining approach to keep your students involved. Each chapter has a Bigger Picture section at the end of the chapter to provide a variety of interesting related topics in computer science. The writing style is conversational and not overly technical so it addresses programming concepts appropriately. Because of the flexibile organization of the text, it can be used for a one or two semester introductory Java programming class, as well as using Java as a second language. The text contains a large variety of carefully designed exercises that are more effective than the competition.
- GenresProgramming
1136 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 12, 2016
I read this textbook for a college course with a focus on object-oriented programming. We didn’t have to read every chapter, but we read the vast majority of it.
The textbook was easy to understand, with a large number of examples used to illustrate concepts. The examples were clearly written, with a discussion after most examples that explained what was done in more detail. I already had programming experience (but not with Java, and not with object-oriented programming) so that may have helped me pick up the material easier, but I do think this book would be equally accessible to a beginning programmer. The first few chapters in the book are extremely basic.
As a working adult, I would have liked more real-world examples in the textbook. Most of the programming examples involved games or puzzles. I guess the goal was to engage a traditional college student without much real-world working experience who might get bored with, say, business application examples. But I’m not a traditional college student and, while the examples were often amusing, I personally would have been more interested by practical examples with a career-oriented focus. I actually think a career-oriented focus would be more beneficial for traditional college students also because they might not have enough experience to extrapolate for themselves how the examples provided could be applied toward their future career.
I did enjoy the humor throughout the book. It was usually pretty corny, but any humor is welcome when you’re plowing through the otherwise dry material in a college textbook. I also liked that the textbook wasn’t too repetitive as is a problem with some textbooks. Even when examples were provided that built off previous examples, the changes/additions were in boldfaced type so that you could clearly see what was changed in the program without being forced to reread the entire thing.
The textbook was easy to understand, with a large number of examples used to illustrate concepts. The examples were clearly written, with a discussion after most examples that explained what was done in more detail. I already had programming experience (but not with Java, and not with object-oriented programming) so that may have helped me pick up the material easier, but I do think this book would be equally accessible to a beginning programmer. The first few chapters in the book are extremely basic.
As a working adult, I would have liked more real-world examples in the textbook. Most of the programming examples involved games or puzzles. I guess the goal was to engage a traditional college student without much real-world working experience who might get bored with, say, business application examples. But I’m not a traditional college student and, while the examples were often amusing, I personally would have been more interested by practical examples with a career-oriented focus. I actually think a career-oriented focus would be more beneficial for traditional college students also because they might not have enough experience to extrapolate for themselves how the examples provided could be applied toward their future career.
I did enjoy the humor throughout the book. It was usually pretty corny, but any humor is welcome when you’re plowing through the otherwise dry material in a college textbook. I also liked that the textbook wasn’t too repetitive as is a problem with some textbooks. Even when examples were provided that built off previous examples, the changes/additions were in boldfaced type so that you could clearly see what was changed in the program without being forced to reread the entire thing.
February 10, 2011
This was a page turner. I work with Ralph and Shai so I guess I'm a little biased... the book covers the first year of computer science using the Java programming language: great examples, challenging problems, and a lot of humor.
January 2, 2015
very good!!!
simple and beautiful!
simple and beautiful!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews