- Paperback: 100 pages
- Publisher: MIT Press (25 July 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0262692767
- ISBN-13: 978-0262692762
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 20.4 x 0.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,897,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This volume provides a concise reference for the Java programming language and some of its essential libraries. The book covers Java 2, versions 1.3 and 1.4. It is intended both for students learning Java and for more experienced Java programmers. Though written informally, it describes the language in detail and provides many examples. To improve clarity, most of the general rules appear on left-hand pages with the relevant examples on the opposite right-hand pages.
About the Author
Peter Sestoft is Professor of Information Technology at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and at the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
--This text refers to an alternate
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First Sentence
Before a Java program can be executed, it must be compiled and loaded. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Before a Java program can be executed, it must be compiled and loaded. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Java is a complex language with many big, big books on the market. Java Precisely is refreshing in how it combines brevity (just over 100 pages) and depth of information. The other Java book I have is Dietel & Dietel's with though good, can be hard to read due to its size. Java Precisely reads almost as a specification of the language and allows the reader to understand the important principles of the language. Simple but very important concepts like the scope of variables, parameters and fields within a Class are concisely presented. Sestoft has obviously wanted to get away from the 'learn Java by looking at examples' school of thought, such as Dietel anfd Dietel, and is more interested in teaching Java by allowing the reader to understand its important concepts. The concise language he uses has the benefit of brevity, but most pages have to be read a few times to fully understand the concepts he is presenting. The benefit of this is that the reader knows whether or not that he/she has properly understood the text.
Even though thin, the book is a bit larger than a mousepad allowing sufficient information to be presented on each page, with concepts being illstrated by relevant, short pieces of code - 10 to 20 lines.
At just over ten pounds it is a very good investment for those new to Java, with its brief chapters providing a thorough grounding in the language's important concepts.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Since brevity is the soul of wit ... I will be brief (Shakespeare). What is the use of 1000 pages if it can be said in 140. I wonder how we have fared before this essential and refreshingly brief book that says it all.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful
the fastest way for a programmer to pick up java
17 Feb 2003
Format:Paperback
If you're already a programmer, then Java Precisely is the fastest way for you to pick up Java. Finally, after spending embarrasing amounts of money on other books, I found the ONE book on Java that I like:
- This is a no-nonsense, no-frills book. Very precise, very concise.
- The book assumes the reader knows how to program, and perhaps even knows how to program in an object oriented language. If you know CLOS, C++ or Smalltalk, or if you've played with object-oriented "extensions" of other languages, then this books is THE shortcut to programming in Java now. Not tomorrow, not in 16 lessons, NOW.
- This book will not teach you computer science. It will not teach you programming. It will not teach you object orientated programming. You get straight to the point of learning the syntax and semantics of Java, and you get A TASTE of the class libraries (IO, collections, and more).
- Most Java books fall into the following categories: (A) Intro programming -- nice if that's what you want, but very boring if you already know how to program; Also very heavy! (B) "Web programming in N days"-type of books. These aren't as precise, aren't complete, cover GUI, and typically the older and faster AWT rather than Swing, and cover a host of other issues that are not really related to the Java langauge. (C) Complete References -- These are great dust collectors on your shelf. Impossibly heavy, prohibitively expensive, outdated as soon as you buy them. They're not the way to learn an object oriented language ANYWAY: Use Java Precisely to learn the syntax, semantics and basic paradigms of the language (threads, exceptions, etc), with a few very specific excursions into the class library, and THEN get a good IDE (my preference is IntelliJ's IDEA) and learn to use the online Java documentation to find your way through the immense class library. You don't want to own a printed version of the class library any more than you want to own a phone book for the entire US -- You want tools to find what you need online!
- The book is dirt cheap.
Use the book as follows:
- Buy it, admire it, show it to your friends, try to get it back
- Just start programming. Follow the examples in the book, page by page, and bug people for help when you're stuck. A good IDE will work wonders in how fast you can pick up a new language!
- Speed-read it over a weekend, just to get an idea of what the language offers
- Start working on your project, referring to language issues every time you need something -- the book is actually small enough to find things in it, and the index is great. Use the IDE to browse the online documentation for the class library, to find the classes you need and their documentation. Use Sun's online search engine to find examples, tutorials, FAQs and other documentation.
- This book is small enough to take anywhere -- take it everywhere.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Precise it is
17 May 2003
Format:Paperback
With only 100 pages it's a relief to handle in comparison to the average book on programming languages.
The language is compact and it is a great reference book with good (and short) code examples and illustrations.
The language is compact and it is a great reference book with good (and short) code examples and illustrations.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
For that Essential Language Tidbit You Need Right Now
19 Aug 2005
Format:Paperback
Can't remember (or never knew) whether you use '&&' or '&' for a bitwise 'and'? Want to use the 'switch' statement, but haven't used it in some time (or never learned it)? This is the book that lets you **quickly** check (or learn) an essential Java tidbit.
Most other books on Java are intended to **teach** the clueless, in which case your essential tidbit is lost among all the words required for context-rich explanation. But, you are not clueless. You need something without the fluff. This is the book.
When I was looking for a book for fast look-ups, I tried several including O'Reilly's Java Language Reference and Gosling et al's The Java Language Specification. I stopped looking when I found this book. This book is better organized, more understandable, and as complete(for the purpose).
Most surprisingly, the author achieves brevity without ever seeming to be rushed. Somehow he even finds space to include a large number of very helpful examples.
Most other books on Java are intended to **teach** the clueless, in which case your essential tidbit is lost among all the words required for context-rich explanation. But, you are not clueless. You need something without the fluff. This is the book.
When I was looking for a book for fast look-ups, I tried several including O'Reilly's Java Language Reference and Gosling et al's The Java Language Specification. I stopped looking when I found this book. This book is better organized, more understandable, and as complete(for the purpose).
Most surprisingly, the author achieves brevity without ever seeming to be rushed. Somehow he even finds space to include a large number of very helpful examples.
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