Head First Java : A Brain-Friendly Guide

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 brai.;Table of Contents; Intro.: How to Use This Book; Who is this book for?; We know what you're thinking.; And we know what your brain is thinking.; Metacognition: thinking about thinking.; Here's what WE did:; Here's what YOU can do to bend your brain into submission.; What you need for this book:; Last-minute things you need to know:; Technical Editors; Other people to credit; Just when you thought there wouldn't be anymore acknowledgements\*.; Chapter 1. Dive in A Quick Dip: Breaking the Surface; The Way Java Works; What you'll do in Java; Code structure in Java; Anatomy of a class. Table of Contents Intro.: How to Use This Book Who is this book for? We know what you're thinking. And we know what your brain is thinking. Metacognition: thinking about thinking. Here's what WE did: Here's what YOU can do to bend your brain into submission. What you need for this book: Last-minute things you need to know: Technical Editors Other people to credit Just when you thought there wouldn't be anymore acknowledgements*. Chapter 1. Dive in A Quick Dip: Breaking the Surface The Way Java Works What you'll do in Java Code structure in Java Anatomy of a class. Writing a class with a mainConditional branching Coding a Serious Business Application Phrase-O-Matic Chapter 2. Classes and Objects: A Trip to Objectville Chair Wars Making your first object Making and testing Movie objects Quick! Get out of main! Running the Guessing Game Chapter 3. Primitives and References: Know Your Variables Declaring a variable "I'd like a double mocha, no, make it an int." You really don't want to spill that ... Back away from that keyword! This table reserved. Controlling your Dog object An object reference is justanother variable value. An array is like a tray of cupsArrays are objects too Make an array of Dogs Control your Dog A Heap o' Trouble Chapter 4. Methods Use Instance Variables: How Objects Behave Remember: a class describes what an object knows and what an object does The size affects the bark You can send things to a method You can get things back from a method. You can send more than one thing to a method Cool things you can do with parameters and return types Encapsulation Encapsulating the GoodDog class How do objects in an array behave? Declaring and initializing instance variables. The difference bet ween instance and local variablesComparing variables (primitives or references) Chapter 5. Writing a Program: Extra-Strength Methods Let's build a Battleship-style game: "Sink a Dot Com" First, a high-level design The "Simple Dot Com Game" a gentler introduction Developing a Class The checkYourself() method The game's main() method More about for loops Trips through a loop The enhanced for loop Chapter 6. Get to Know The Java API: Using the Java Library In our last chapter, we left you with the cliff-hanger. A bug. So what happened? How do we fix it? Option one is too clunkyOption t wo is a little better, but still pretty clunky Wake up and smell the library Some things you can do with ArrayList Comparing ArrayList to a regular array Let's fix the DotCom code. New and improved DotCom class Let's build the REAL game: "Sink a Dot Com" What needs to change? Who does what in the DotComBust game (and when) Prep code for the real DotComBust class The final version of the DotCom class Super Powerful Boolean Expressions Using the Library (the Java API) You have to know the full name* of the class you want to use in your code. 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. 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. Intro Breaking the Surface: a quick dip A Trip to Objectville: yes, there will be objects Know Your Variables: primitives and references How Objects Behave: object state affects method behavior Extra-Strength Methods: flow control, operations, and more Using the Java Library: so you don't have to write it all yourself Better Living in Objectville: planning for the future Serious Polymorphism: exploiting abstract classes and interfaces Life and Death of an Object: constructors and memory management Numbers Matter: math, formattng, wrappers, and statics Risky Behavior: exception handling A Very Graphic Story: intro to GUI, event handling, and inner classes Work on Your Swing: layout managers and components Saving Objets: serialization and I/O Make a Connection: networking sockets and multithreading Data Structures: collections and generics Release Your Code: packaging and deployment Distributed Computing: RMI with a dash of servlets, EJB, and Jini Appendix A: Final code kitchen Appendix B: Top Ten Things that didn't make it into the rest of the book Index Learning a complex new language is no easy task, especially when it's an object-oriented computer programming language like Java. Your brain doesn't always want to take in the dry, technical stuff you're forced to study. Your brain craves novelty. Head First Java combines puzzles, strong visuals, mysteries, and soul-searching interviews with famous Java objects to engage you in many different ways. Despite its playful appearance, Head First Java is serious: a complete introduction to object-oriented programming and Java. Its unique approach not only shows you what you need to know about Java syntax, it teaches you to think like a Java programmer. You'll learn everything from the fundamentals to advanced topics, including threads, network sockets, and distributed programming with RMI. The second edition focuses on Java 5.0, a major update to the platform, with deep, code-level changes.--From publisher description "Learning a complex new language is no easy task, especially when it's an object-oriented computer programming language like Java. Your brain doesn't always want to take in the dry, technical stuff you're forced to study. Your brain craves novelty. Head First Java combines puzzles, strong visuals, mysteries, and soul-searching interviews with famous Java objects to engage you in many different ways. Despite its playful appearance, Head First Java is serious: a complete introduction to object-oriented programming and Java. Its unique approach not only shows you what you need to know about Java syntax, it teaches you to think like a Java programmer. You'll learn everything from the fundamentals to advanced topics, including threads, network sockets, and distributed programming with RMI. The second edition focuses on Java 5.0, a major update to the platform, with deep, code-level changes."--Résumé de l'éditeur 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.