Starting out with Java

[TennBikeBerk]

I am going to be taking AP computer science class at school next semester, which mostly focuses on java programming. I would like to get a bit of a head start, and possibly pick up a book I could read.

I do not understand what all the J2SE/J2EE/JDK all stand for, and what their differences are. I could also use a good recommendation as to what book I should buy and study.

Thanks.

EDIT: I should also probably note that I believe the class uses the JCreator software to build, compile, and run programs.

[ComputerNut]

I believe its:

J2SE (Java 2 platform Standard Edition)
J2SE (Java 2 platform Enterprise Edition)
JDK (Java development kit)

Not too sure on books. have you checked out the java tutorials on the main site?

HTH,
CN

[TennBikeBerk]

That reminds me of another thing. What is Java 2? Any different from plain on Java?

I have briefly viewed at the tutorials on the Java site, and I think now would be a good time to give them a more thorogh look-through. I'll get to that.

[Force Flow]

A book that I *highly* reccomend is "JAVA: An Introduction To Computer Science & Programming" by Walter Savitch. Get whatever edition is newest. I currently have the third edition.

I picked up a number of java books before looking at this one, and I'd say it is one of the easiest books to learn java from. It's been a very useful resource book for basic java.

[kram 2.0]

JCreator is a very straightforward program - very good, but I recommend looking into Eclipse as well. It does a very nice job with error checking and correcting. As for getting prepared, I highly recommend looking at what Collegeboard has to say.

kram

[ComputerNut]

Originally Posted by kram8806 JCreator is a very straightforward program - very good, but I recommend looking into Eclipse as well. It does a very nice job with error checking and correcting. As for getting prepared, I highly recommend looking at what Collegeboard has to say. kram

I also recommend eclipse. back in the day (2 years to be precise ), when I was in CS @ High School, the labs used virtual J++ (knowing my high school, they probably still do). So i heard of eclipse gave it a shot, and found myself doing all me java homework on it!

HTH,
CN

[Force Flow]

I've worked with dev-c++, JCreator, NetBeans and eclipse. By far, the worst was JCreator because it often introduced or overlooked problems in the code. NetBean was alright, but there is *way* too much extra stuff floating around in the interface.

I've come to like Eclipse very much, and it is probably one of the best (if not the best) multi-purpose java compiler.

[colecifer]

Originally Posted by TennBikeBerk That reminds me of another thing. What is Java 2? Any different from plain on Java? I have briefly viewed at the tutorials on the Java site, and I think now would be a good time to give them a more thorogh look-through. I'll get to that.

Java 2 is still basically the same, basically sun introduced a lot of new features so they called it Java 2 because it had so much new stuff. The keywords are still the same and everything is probably backwards compatabile. Java 2 just has some easier ways to do things.

[raja]

A book I recommend is Java Programming from the Beginning by K. N. King. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

You can get it used for <$40. Great introduction to basic concepts of Java programming, with a great basic API reference in the back.

[scottish144]

As one who has just finished the APCS Java course (and got a 3 on the exam), I would personally reccomend "Java: How to program" which is published by Deitel and Deitel. However, while this book is my current Java bible, it has almost no relevance to the APCS course. The course generally focuses on data structures (i.e. Arrays, arraylists, linkedlists, hashmaps, binarysearchtrees, etc), with a small marine biology case study at the end. Most books are not geared toward the course (aside from AP specific texts). Since you're trying to get ahead, I would just get the Barron's guide to the APCS Java Exam. Also, screw JCreator. Get JGrasp www.jgrasp.org. It far more comprehensive then most, and has various unique features (i.e. Collapsable methods, Built in UML/documentation generator). It was created by CS majors ad Auburn University.