Derek Bridge

It may be useful for you to use a book (a) so that you can see a presentation that is different from my own, especially if mine isn't making sense to you, and (b) so that you can quickly look up Java details when you need to.

Choose any book you like for this purpose (e.g. the one you bought in first-year - if you bought one in first-year). You do not have to use the one I recommend below. One of the main reasons for my recommendation below is that the book is available on-line. Don't buy it! It's far too expensive. Read it on-line.

If you choose some other book, remember that there are two main versions of Java and several subversions. The numbering scheme has the potential to confuse people. If your book says it deals with Java 2 or Java 1.2 (NB that's Java 1.2, not Java 1.1.2) or Java 1.3 (NB that's Java 1.3, not Java 1.1.3) or Java 1.4 (NB that's Java 1.4, not Java 1.1.4), then it's fine. If it deals with Java 1.1 but mentions Swing, then it's probably also OK. Otherwise, it's too out-of-date for this course. You also need to choose a book that takes a strongly object-oriented viewpoint (sometimes referred to as being objects-first).

The whole of this book (and several other related books) are available on-line. You should use the on-line version. It's certainly too expensive to buy.

It is reasonably clearly written and overwhelmingly comprehensive. There are various `trails' through the material, which enable you to focus on different aspects of Java.

A book which takes an objects-first approach. However, some of the example programs are hard work.

Make sure you use the 2nd edition, also referred to as the 'Java 2 Update'.

This book takes an objects-early approach (while I would prefer an objects-first approach). But, its explanations do seem very clear, and it is written in a very knowledegable way. So, I think there's much in here that the novice programmer could learn from.

There are good resources on the web site.

This book is written in a concise way but has surprisingly good coverage. While the ordering of material brings object-orientation in later than I would like, the presentation of the material is highly original: e.g. each chapter is titled 'How to...'

I kinda like this book, although the on-line version is painful to navigate through.

Obviously, this book is targetted at a specific audience and, for all I know, it might suit them well.

While there is some object-oriented material mid-way through the book, this has little impact on the second half of the book, where Java is used to implement programs to solve simple scientific problems. Maybe this says something about the limited role of object-oriented programming in scientific applications? (Is this heresy?)

The books listed below are generally more advanced than the ones listed above. But they are all books that I think highly of.

They cover all aspects of the development of software, not just the coding aspects.

Most but not all take an object-oriented approach; many but not all use Java for example programs.

There is some excellent stuff in here on good design of Java programs. It is certainly worth reading.

However, the writing style is `chatty'. What this means is there is much repetition and use of sentence fragments instead of whole sentences. In places, this style made the content almost unintelligble.

This is essential reading for anyone with any interest in object-oriented programming. It covers issues of software quality; object-oriented programming language design; object-oriented program analysis, design and implementation; object-oriented programming style; and a whole load more.

It is written in a highly opinionated style. It is often dogmatic and sometimes, arguably, wrong. But it is interesting throughout.