Murach's Java SE 6: Training & Reference

This book teaches how to develop Java applications at the professional level. It starts by showing how to code, test, and debug everyday business applications that won t crash. It presents object-oriented features like classes, inheritance, interfaces, and polymorphism in a way that s both understandable and useful in the real world…perspective that s often missing in Java training. It presents essential Java skills such as working with data types, control statements, arrays, collections, generics, enumerations, exceptions, threads, Swing components, applets, and text and binary files. It covers new Java SE 6 features such as new JDBC features, the StAX XML API, and the built-in Derby database. And it s all done in the distinctive Murach style that has been training professional programmers for more than 30 years.
From the Publisher

Developers often tell me they wish they'd found our Java book first, before spending time and money on others. Here are 4 of the reasons why I believe this book will work equally well for you:

#1: The first six chapters get you off to a fast start
By the time you complete these chapters, you'll be writing bulletproof, object-oriented applications with business classes and objects. These chapters work well for the complete beginner. But they also get the experienced developer up-to-speed fast.

#2: The class summaries help you master the Java API and save you hours of research
Although most books present dozens of coding examples that illustrate the use of some Java classes, they don't try to summarize all of the classes, constructors, and methods that you'll use the most. Our book does both. For instance, to learn how to use the LinkedList class, you'll first see a summary of its primary constructors and methods. Then, you'll see coding examples that show you how you can apply those constructors and methods. This can save you hundreds of hours of research over the course of the book.

#3: Chapters 7 and 8 show you how to use inheritance, interfaces, and polymorphism in a way that is both practical and understandable
You won't find any toy applications or cat and dog objects in these chapters. Instead, you'll study practical examples that show you how to use inheritance, polymorphism, interfaces, type-safe enumerations, and the factory pattern in business applications. This at last takes the mystery out of object-oriented programming. And we just haven't seen this done right in any other book.

#4: The paired-pages format lets you set your own pace
Murach books have a distinctive format, where each two-page spread presents a single topic. Both beginning and experienced developers find that this format makes it easy to focus on the information they need, whether they're using the book for training or reference. To see how this works, you can download sample chapters for free from the Murach web site.