Sams Teach Yourself Java 1.2 Programming in 24 Hours (Paperback)

I knew Java wasn't that hard to learn, and I was very keen to learn it, if only I could find the right book, and I did - 'Sams Teach Yourself Java 1.2 in 24 Hours'. Rogers Cadenhead, the author, takes an intentionally humorous approach in this book, and he explains things the way they should be explained - clearly, concisely and most of all, in plain English. He doesn't drag you into long, rambling pages discussing every use of a particular Java language fundamental. I can only describe the way this book is wrote as being the way a good speaker captivates an audiences' attention. Rogers Cadenhead does just that, but in written form.

This book introduces you to the Java code early on, in the second hour in fact, and I feel this helps the reader to gain an understanding of how what they are learning fits into a real Java program. The other books that I read went through every detail of the Java language, with page upon page of monotonous explanations that left you wondering how it all fitted together. Only when you had been told every detail of Classes, Variables, Loops, Arguments and endless others were you shown an example of a Java program that incorporates them, and by that time, the program you were seeing was so advanced that it was hard, if not impossible, to understand. This book takes a different approach. At the end of each hour, it gives code examples of actual working programs, that incorporate what you have just been taught, and gives the reader an opportunity to compile and modify these programs. This was just what was needed, and it helped me to understand exactly what I was learning and its use in Java programs.

This book has a special quality that makes you want to read on, it is compulsive reading and I found it hard to put down. After just a week, I am now writing my own Java applications and applets, and am fully confident with Java. I can now look at a piece of Java code and understand what it is trying to achieve. I finally found the book that can teach Java in a way it can be learnt - 'Sams Teach Yourself Java 1.2 in 24 Hours'.

They patronise, you do not have a skill therefore, you are thick.

They are written in GEEK SPEAK, i.e. they leave jargon unexplained, like an X file, they might just as well be written in machine code.

They move through the topics too quickly, leaving the reader confused. They tell HOW but never WHY!

They make no attempt to ensure the reader has 'GOT IT'.

Even though the blurb proudly proclaims you need no prior knowledge you find you do!

These books are quickly abandoned, they join the ranks of the great unread, or, they are thrown at the cat in a fit of rage.

Cadenhead, skillfully manages to avoid all these pitfalls. His book is well laid out, the voice is witty, informative and lively. He methodically guides you through the topics explaining jargon and terms fully. YOU UNDERSTAND. He shows the HOW and lets you in on the WHY. I found the end of hour quiz and Q&A's a good way to review the hour and ensure I had fully understood. All this without resorting to treating the reader as a Dumbo.

If,like me before I read the book, you don't know a variable from a vegetable and you HAVE NEVER programmed a line before, get this book.

I promise you, your cat WILL NOT get this one thrown at it!