Reviews (164)

Amazing book
It's by far the best computer book I've read. Pretty humorous, which helps get you through it faster...

I'm definitely a beginner in Java, but my boss wanted me to pick up a J2EE certification (which has SCJP as a pre-req) asap, so I went to task full-time trying to get it.

First off was the SCJP exam. This book is the only resource I used. I read it in one week, and managed to pass the exam. One week. It was definitely intense, and I didn't pass with flying colors, but hey, I got the cert, right?

Also of note, the same authors have books written for other Java certs which are pretty good also. I was able to pick up the Web Component Developer the week after this one. Thanks Kathy. Great work. I'd recommend her stuff to anyone trying to get certified.

poor book in more ways than one
I don't understand why this book got so many good reviews. It is poor in more
ways than one:
- poor and incomplete explanation of Java language features
- contradictory statements
- ambiguous use of English language
- gradual exposure of the reader to Java features, through statements that are only half true
- summary sections (two minute drills) that are too long

The only thing good in this book, are the "self test" sections at the end of each chapter. And the "mockup exam" included on the CD. The instructions to get a second exam via the internet, were not correct.

Correcting all the flaws and errors in this book, actually did help me dig into the Java language. The books I turned to, to see how things really worked, are:
Java Precisely, by Peter Sestoft
Effective Java, by Bloch
The Java Programming Language, by Arnold, Gosling, Holmes
Java In A Nutshell, by David Flanagan

By the way, I did pass the exam the first time (and mostly thank Peter Sestoft's book for it).

Reviews (174)

The BEST book on non-j2ee java.
I have read over a dozen books on the java and this by far the best one for learning the language in its entirety.Obviously, this book can't cover everything but it gives a very thorough and in-depth introduction.If you can only have one book on java 2, make this the one you pick. Many other books on the subject waste tons of space with simple examples that aren't very informative.This book cuts through the nonsense and gives you all it can in its 700 pages.Great explanations, Great Code Samples, all around top notch.

Really Helpful for certification
I found this book to be a very useful resource for the Certification. The questions and mock exam were closer in quality and difficulty to the actual exam compared to other mock exams.I found quite a few other mock exams on the web to be misleading about how difficult the exam would be and also about what type of questions would be asked.

Good book for Certification and a little more
I bought this book in addition to another Java cert book (The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide). While the other book was like a Java Cert for dummies and was straight to the point (gave u just what u need and nothing more), this book was more like a java textbook geared around certification. It had alot more indepth info than was needed for the exam. If your a true java nerd and you enjoy reading textbook type books, this is your certification book. If your someone in a hurry and just wanna pass the exam with a superfical knowledge of exam material, then some of the other books might be a better option.

Reviews (74)

Good book but would be helpful to have some excercises
This is one of the better books on J2SE 1.4. In fact, I had first started reading Core Java 2 book but it was very confusing. Mr.Schildt has really arranged the topics well.
The only drawback is that there are no excercises for the initial chapters on Java programming. A few such problems would go a long way in helping readers get really comfortable with the different aspects of Java and OOPs

Begineers Delight !!!
The best way to learn a new programming language is to churn a lot of code and get familiar with the language semantics and richness. Mr. Schildt follows the same teaching paradigm and initiates a novice in the world of OOPs programming using Java.

The book is of course not suitable for a person who has some background in Java. The book definitely targets the uninitiated in the OOPs concept and builds up considerably upon the concepts gradually. Some pros about the book:
* The book covers the language basics very neatly.
* Numerous examples make the comprehension better.
* Chapter on 'Multithreading' and 'Exceptions' are well written and neatly illustrated with working examples.
* Treatment of Java Event Delegation Model is one of the best among all the available texts.

Some cons for the same:
* Less focus on Swing and more on AWT.
* Very little coverage of important topics like 'RMI' and 'Serialisation'.
* Poor treatment of important topics like 'Inner Classes'.

All in all from a novices' perspective, the book presents a good starting point. But from an advanced programmers' point of view - the book has still miles to go.