(Part 3) Top products from r/java

Since you want to learn java and esp. OOP, I would say start with a good book. I like Core Java Vol. 1 and Core Java Vol. 2 but you can start with any book you like.

Download Java from Oracle since they have version 7 for Lion.

For editor, I would stay away from any full featured IDE like Netbeans or Eclipse in starting phase. Start with TextEdit or Sublime Text. Write few code by yourself and compile it using Terminal. This way you will learn the compilation process. All IDEs compile files automatically so you can't learn what is going on behind the screen. If you use command line, you will also learn CLASSPATH, packages, class creation etc.

You should use command line for first 2-3 months only or may be less depending upon your learning curve. After that you can choose IDE. By that time, you will also good knowledge to judge which IDE is good for you. Netbeans and Eclipse both are good and free. I like Netbeans.

Good luck with your learning process.

I have no formal training in CompSci, but this book seems like a pretty standard 1st or 2nd year text. It's one of the best technical book purchases I ever made, imho: Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and the Unified Process by Craig Larman. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn programming. Goes great with the classic "GoF" book, Design Patterns. For any particular language's syntax and libraries, I just read the docs and check stackoverflow or IRC for any tricky idioms and for best practices.

If you want to learn java, it's difficult to emphasize how good the official tutorials are.

I feel they're, for some reason, much underrated/overlooked.

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/

For general programming advice, there are plenty of books out there. It depends a lot on how much of an effort you're willing to make for example. I could recommend you SICP, Little Schemer, and K&R2, which are three books I believe will teach you a lot of programming, but they take a lot of effort to read/go through (I used to underestimate this, but I've seen lots of people trying to follow these books and not being able to -- this was a surprise to me).

• SICP is freely available online => http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/
  
• SICP is not just a book, but also a course taught in many universities. MIT started it, for all I know. In 1985, they've recorded the lectures of the course. These are also freely available, like the book. => http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/video-lectures/
  
• The Little Schemer is a book on recursion which uses a programming language called scheme (as does SICP) - http://www.amazon.com/Little-Schemer-Daniel-P-Friedman/dp/0262560992/
  
• K&R2 refers to a C book written by the creator of the language (R, for Ritchie) and a co-worker of his (K, for Kernighan). The book teaches the C programming language, but is full is interesting programming knowledge, but it's still a book on C => http://www.amazon.com/C-Programming-Language-2nd/dp/0131103628/
  
  None of this uses Java, but I believe they're very good books on teaching you how to program well.

You mentioned Robert Sedgewick. His book, Algorithms and his online courses are highly recommended. And he uses Java in them.

http://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-4th-Edition-Robert-Sedgewick/dp/032157351X
http://algs4.cs.princeton.edu/home/

For object-oriented design the Head First books are great. It also worth to have the classic book Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0201633612

I also recommend the books Code Complete, and Clean Code, they are great.

The stuff you are learning in CS class is definitely important, but it's orthogonal to the things you will need to learn in the industry.

Read "Code Complete" to get a head start on this stuff. - https://www.amazon.com/Code-Complete-Practical-Handbook-Construction/dp/0735619670

As far as some fun interviews with famous programmers, another great book is https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Programming-Addison-Wesley-Professional-Computing/dp/020161586X

I have Beginning Java. It's very comprehensive, but geared towards beginners. So it can get dry at times. Great reference for later on.


Only downside is, it's not one of those learn java fast books. It covers everything properly and thoroughly.
Also pretty cheap for such a large book.

Java Precisely, 2nd Edition
http://www.amazon.com/Java-Precisely-Peter-Sestoft/dp/0262693259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395002387&sr=8-1&keywords=java+precisely

It's fucking awesome. It's not a complete reference (the javadocs are best for that), but it's the kind of thing you can pretty much skim in a day and know the whole language.

Not Java-specific, but this book should give you a solid foundation and will serve as a good reference manual too.

The official tutorial is available as a book. It's very straight forward and easy to understand.

I have enjoyed reading Spring in Action thus far: http://www.amazon.com/Spring-Action-Craig-Walls/dp/1935182358

If you want a deeper understanding of concurrency, the go-to book is Concurrency in Practice.

For Spring, the go-to book is Spring in Action.

The best book I've read for OOP is Agile Patterns, Practices and Principles for C#. The first 1/3 of the book is Agile stuff, but the rest is a wide variety of topics in OOP. There used to be a Java version of this book, but the newer version is C#. But the C# code is nothing to different than what you would do in Java.

If you're looking to only learn Java as a language, I would also recommend Absolute Java (http://www.amazon.com/Absolute-Java-Student-Value-Edition/dp/0132834235). It is a bit pricey, but you can probably find a used 4th edition for a quarter of price, and it is very thorough/complete. However, it will most likely overlap a lot with the book you already have (but it's nonetheless a book suggestion).

https://www.amazon.com.br/Java-Cookbook-applications-technology-development-ebook/dp/B076X7P5ZM

> http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1590282418?cache=ce3142468b03545c10a957e22cf7266d&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1407729669&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

And if that wasn't enough, you could still try http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Rustic-Homesteading-Greenhouses-Self-Sufficiency-ebook/dp/B00M8UFFT6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407821257&sr=8-2&keywords=gardening

If python is an option, I would look for John Zelle.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1590282418?cache=ce3142468b03545c10a957e22cf7266d&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1407729669&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

I realize these are older titles but java is still built on the same principals.

http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-2nd-Edition/dp/0596009208
http://www.amazon.com/Ivor-Hortons-Beginning-Java-Horton/dp/0470404140/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407753555&sr=1-1&keywords=beginning+java

Its not advertised but it uses Java for the examples.

http://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-4th-Edition-Robert-Sedgewick/dp/032157351X

And of course: Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions

Just "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" - http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Interpretation-Computer-Programs-Engineering/dp/0262510871

That's a lot to ask...

http://www.amazon.com/Linux-System-Administration-Handbook-Edition/dp/0131480057

Java: A Beginner's Guide by Herbert Schildt.

I would say either Core Java for the Impatient, or if you wanna get really concise Java Precisely (an unknown gem: https://www.amazon.com/Java-Precisely-Press-Peter-Sestoft/dp/0262529076/)

> if this is the worst of things he won't change on consider yourself lucky; there are loads of teams out there dealing with much worse

Agree with this response. I think it's telling that in Coding Standards the very first section is titled "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff". Professional developers should be able to read and understand a wide variety of conventions.

Developers have a bizarre ability to argue forever about trivial things like curly brace placement and naming conventions.

http://www.amazon.com/Java-Complete-Reference-Herbert-Schildt/dp/0071606300/
I picked up Java one summer (13 years ago) with an older version of this book. It assumes you're a programmer and shows you how to do things in Java. With your c# background, you'll make the transition no problem.