Is it just me or did the author of this book miss the final closing bracket in almost every "Try it out" example in this book. That's just the tip of the iceberg too. The so called errata doesn't even begin to cover it either. Starting to regret purchasing this book.

Hi, I'm new to Java, well new to programming really!!

I was just about to purchase this book when I spotted your comment!
Still seems like a good read, any small errors that are obvious shouldn't really cause a huge problem, should they??

Anyway was wondering how things are going a month later, any advice on whether I should still buy it or not? Has the booked helped?

Really looking for a substantial book on Java that can take me from the beginner level to a more advanced state.

Would love some experienced programmers advice?

Thanks Damo

Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel at MindView

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jnbutler

If your new to programming in general, and are still working on getting a grasp on the basic OOP fundamentals, this book might be a little confusing. I am far from a professional programmer, however, I feel I have a pretty decent grasp on the fundamentals, and I am still struggling a little in some spots. This author assumes a fair amount of knowledge, which should not be the case in a beginners book. That being said, this book most definitely has more depth than my college textbook. As for the minuet errors, you are correct in that they are not that serious, especially if I can see the error for myself right away. However, when I come to an error that I do not see for myself right away, it is a little frustrating. This book even has an errata on this website that is there to correct any errors that may have wound up in the book, but to be honest, it is lacking and I don't have the time to add to it every time I come across an error. It honestly causes question in me to the credibility of this author when he repeatedly misses something as simple as a final closing bracket. I mean his programs missing that last bracket won't even compile as written, how did he miss that. So all in all, if you are good at picking up and applying technical jargon that is not explained in a way anyone could understand, than this book will probably serve your needs. However, if you need things explained to you in layman's terms and you are not good at spotting an error in others work, this book will frustrate the crap out of you.. By the way, his bracket formatting is crap as well. Makes his code harder to read.

Thanks for that, I am very new so need a sound foundation from the start. I did preview the book and liked it a lot, however your comments have turned me off it now as Im not up on all the jargon and dont want to find myself frustrated later.
Someone suggested Thinking In Java so Im going to look at that now. Have also looked at Java for Dummies and Head First Java.

Any suggestions would be so very welcomed.

Damo