9 of the Best Free Java Books - Page 2

4. The Java Language Specification, Third Edition

The Java Language Specification, Third Edition is billed as the definitive technical reference for the Java programming language.

Chapters cover:

• Context-free grammars used in this specification to define the lexical and syntactic structure of a program
• Lexical structure of the Java programming language, which is based on C and C++. It has sub-chapters on Unicode, lexical translations, Unicode escapes, line terminators, input elements and tokens, white space, comments, identifiers, keywords, literals, separators and operators
• Types, values, and variables. Types are subdivided into primitive types and reference types
• Conversions and numeric promotions. Conversions change the compile-time type and, sometimes, the value of an expression. Numeric promotions are used to convert the operands of a numeric operator to a common type where an operation can be performed
• Declarations and names, and how to determine what names mean (denote)
• Structure of a program, which is organized into packages similar to the modules of Modula
• Classes. The members of classes are classes, interfaces, fields (variables) and methods. Class variables exist once per class
• Interface types which declare a set of abstract methods, member types, and constants
• Arrays. Array accesses include bounds checking. Arrays are dynamically created objects and may be assigned to variables of type Object. The language supports arrays of arrays, rather than multidimensional arrays
• Exceptions which are nonresuming and fully integrated with the language semantics and concurrency mechanisms
• Activities that occur during execution of a program. A program is normally stored as binary files representing compiled classes and interfaces. These binary files can be loaded into a Java virtual machine, linked to other classes and interfaces, and initialized
• Binary compatibility which specify the impact of changes to types on other types that use the changed types but have not been recompiled
• Blocks and statements, which are based on C and C++
• Expressions. This document fully specifies the (apparent) order of evaluation of expressions, for increased determinism and portability
• Precise way in which the language ensures that local variables are definitely set before use
• Semantics of threads and locks, which are based on the monitor-based concurrency originally introduced with the Mesa programming language
• Syntactic grammar for the language

5. Think Java - How to Think Like a Computer Scientists

Think Java is an introduction to Java programming for beginners. It is tailored for students preparing for the Computer Science Advanced Placement (AP) Exam, but it is suitable for anyone who wants to learn Java.

Chapters code:

• Variables and types
• Void methods
• Conditionals and recursion - includes conditional execution, alternative execution, chained and nested conditionals, the return statement, type conversion, recursion, and stack diagrams for recursive methods
• GridWorld: Part 1 - AP Computer Science Case Study (in 3 parts)
• Value methods including composition, overloading Boolean expressions and methods, and logical operators
• Iteration and loops examines the while statement, tables, two-dimensional tables, and encapsulation
• Strings and things - characters, length, traversal, run-time errors, reading documentation, the indexOf method, looping and counting and more
• Mutable objects - use two objects from Java libraries, Point and Rectangle
• Gridworld: Part 2
• Create your own objects
• Arrays - a set of values where each value is identified by an index
• Arrays of Objects - defines a Card class and write methods that work with Cards and arrays of Cards
• Objects of Arrays - creates a Deck class and write methods that operate on Decks
• Object-oriented programming - presents object-oriented programming (OOP) and transforms the Card and Deck classes into a more OOP style
• GridWorld: Part 3
• Appendices: Graphics, Input and Output in Java, Program development, and Debugging

Permission is granted to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt this work under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

6. The Java Tutorial 4th Edition

The Java Tutorial 4th Edition is a hands-on guide to the Java programming language. It provides a compilation of Java tutorials which can be downloaded as a bundle or individually.

The compilation provide practical guides for programmers who want to use the Java programming language to create applications. They include hundreds of complete, working examples, and dozens of lessons. The collection:

• Getting Started — An introduction to Java technology and lessons on installing Java development software and using it to create a simple program
• Learning the Java Language — Lessons describing the essential concepts and features of the Java Programming Language
• Essential Java Classes — Lessons on exceptions, basic input/output, concurrency, regular expressions, and the platform environment
• Collections — Lessons on using and extending the Java Collections Framework
• Deployment — How to package applications and applets using JAR files, and deploy them using Java Web Start and Java Plug-in
• Preparation for Java Programming Language Certification - List of available training and tutorial resources