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Title: A very difficult read.
Review: In his introductory "Who Should Read This Book" section, the author says "If you're new to programming, welcome!" May I suggest instead, "Run for your life." I try to imagine reading this book as a neophyte programmer, and I just shudder.Although the author covers a lot of ground, wisely leaves the reader to search the SunSoft documentation for details where appropriate, and offers many insightful developer-oriented tips, I find his presentation very confusing. Errors in the code samples, cross-references, figures, and text just make things worse. Also, MacMillan/Sams Publishing seems unable to post the sample code files on their website, as promised in the book. And don't bother with the author's email or website. They don't work, and neither does the editor's email.As a C++ developer moving to Java, I'm beginning to understand why programmers often speak of all the Java books on their bookshelves. This one starts my collection. Next...
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