many people pick up the deitels java how to program book?
why? cuz every beginner is recommending it and that's what the market got. for serious programming - try - Learning java for a change.
its not as bulky as the deitels - which is so cuz of the prize tag ,more pages more dollars - try java in 24 hours for the absolute newbie.
question to ask yourself is - how much can a beginner know to recommend a book on programming for me?! deitels are bad. they're one highly touted dry book. but don't get me wrong - they'll get you thru the basics. then, mess you up. i was there as a beginner and if only i got a hold of 'learning java' don't make the mistake i made.
stay away from 'thnking in java' if you are absolutely virgin in this things. it will screw you up - but when u a bit mature - its cool.

to all - search for the ebook online any decent file sharing site /software should get it for you.
try 4shared - query - "learning java" . go for 2005 version.
enjoy.
to all serious coders in the house.
on the other hand - get ur head banging on some data s - data structures. knowing this singular topic alone will get you writing more intelligent programmes - this is where i almost threw deitels book into the gutter . and most books on data s are too theoretical or too shallow.
on the basics - take time to learn how to - write most of the data s - u use. it will build character in you.
[i'm not into mentoring but hope this helps]

^^^^ Is that true? Learning data structures makes you write more intelligent programmes. In this age of free memory, free CPU, faster and more powerful system, you still believe this university lecture statement.

As a programmer one thing you should stay clear of is generalization.

Pls i also need this book.My email is afam4eva@gmail.com. Pls can someone also send me Java for dummies.

@poster

'tis been a while but you could try: Sam's Teach Yourself Java 2 in 24hours

I found it easy to understand and what's more, it's aimed at non-programmers, new programmers or even experienced programmers who want to quickly get up to speed with Java.

I think the best part of it is the fact that this book teaches Java programming from the ground up. It introduces the concepts in English instead of jargon, and plenty of step-by-step examples of working programs you will create.

You can download it for free here: http://www.informit.com/library/library.aspx?b=STY_Java2_24hours

Thinking in Java

nice thrend

@gozzilla
the whole OOP thing is about Objects and u can't operate on group of Objects
without Collections (data structures ) so its fundamental learning - though most platforms come with sophistaced data structure libraries.
at least KNOW the basics. write a stack,write a linked list,write a hashtable, write trees , learn what makes trees desirable (fast insertion,fast deletion etc) learn what makes them undesirable ( complex to write - for newbies just starting out )
infact. learning about trees alone - one can understand how xml,xslt parsers are written! again, this is for hobby programmers i'm talking about . the computer science aspects can be very ugly - lots of maths ,jargons - and i'm not university trained or formally taught so my advice is from the DIY - do it yourself - route.

The best Java Book for A beginner is----------HEAD FIRST JAVA by karthy siera.

head first series are one of the best books that will teach you any programming language.am using their books and is working for me pls if find java difficult and confusing just give headfirst a try!

"Head first Java" is probably the best for beginners, but my favorite is "Thinking in Java". The emphasis is on teaching Java and OO, not on getting cute results like a fancy GUI.

The Deitel book covers a lot of ground, so it has become the defacto introductory text to Java.

Whichever u choose, do it quickly there are so many other books to read, literally hundreds : head first design patterns, Effective Java, Java concurrency in practice, java performance tunning, Java Database Best Practices etc. (these are my favorites)


check this link out http://stackoverflow.com/questions/75102/best-java-book-you-have-read-so-far
Good luck reading

1. A Programming Guide to JAVA Certification------By Khalid Mughal (Best Books in Java Both for beginners and expert)

2. SUN Certification Programming for JAVA 5 _ SCJP -------- Kathy Sierra (Best beginners and professionals)

3. Head First in JAVA -------- Kathy Sierra (Best beginners only)

4. Complete Reference in JAVA 6 (Beginners only)..................

Link to 500 programming ebooks on this thread. https://www.nairaland.com/1076296/definitive-link-list-more-than