Significant content added over the first edition - and a great intro to j2se5 - nice tips on using collections, enumerations and new input/output functions.

What I enjoy about this book is that it's a real pleasure and you get java + oo knowledge transfer all in one book, no other comes close IMHO.

Teaching object oriented programming is tough. Some of the programmers I have worked with talked a good object game but then created library code as objects. I like how this book tries to teach OO from a different angle. I have some issues with the production of the book. In particular I think the balloon metaphor was overused.

If you are looking on a different take on teaching Java you might also want to look at "Head First Java".

This is a very easy to read book. Beginners will find it very useful to learn object technology. The downside is that instead of focusing on just one topic, it tries to cover too many things like GUI development and other things. That's why I gave it a four star.

I really liked the association matrix method of finding associations between classes. Simple explanations such as Methodology = Tool + Process + Notation that is explained with pictures is really nice.

I was shocked to find some of the diagrams being drawn like those that you will find on an email discussion without formal usage of UML notation.

I have the read the first part of the book ( there are 3 parts) and Iam very impressed.

This book is not for :
The book is not for people who want 2 get started in Java programming ,since there is not much syntax to code---this is the only way 2 do it to get working kind of stuff.

This book is for:
This is an excellent book to grab if u are java ( or OO) programmer and want 2 know how 2 write "real" OO code. The examples given by the author are excellent and simple.
The book has got an excellent flow and hence easy 2 follow.
If u r an oo programmer then this book is a goldmine 2 understand the concepts and remember them.

In my opinion, this is one of the best book for Object Oriented Concepts and design. Though Java is not given in full, I don't feel that is a negative point for this book.

I already purchased and read the book when I was in India, but left the book there when I came to US. Bought the same book once again and planning to read again. I don't know if any other book has presented OO in such a nice manner.

Thanks,
Balaji.

Mrs. Barker goes into excellent detail for a 'beginning' book; the explanations are clear and well defined, along with the code. An excellent starter for those who were new to Java, just as myself.

I really got a lot out of this book. I'm an old Basic and C programmer, trying to get my brain around OO and Java. I have several "Bible" type books that attempt to cover it all, but they all seem to have too much detail on components and such and not enough help connecting the dots. I was still baffled by how you approach a java project like the one I was working on. This book put it all together for me, and gave me a good foundation on which I'm currently adding other methodologies and frameworks.
I recently recommended it to a friend and, since the book is 4 years old, I figured I would find used copies fairly cheap (like less than $20). The Amazon price is still up around 60% of the cover, and used copies are only about $5 less than that! In a day when computer books seem to go obsolete in 6 months, I'd say this is one book that holds its value.
There are a lot of reviews that seem to recommend reading other books before this one. I guess it depends on the individual needs of the reader. Whenever you read it, I still recommend it. If you are struggling with just getting your Java program off the dime, this book gives you a good nudge!
If you're already familiar with Java, UML, development methodologies, etc. and are just looking for some new perspective, this book probably won't add much to your knowledge base.

Technical and didactical perfect - forget all this costly vendor courses - thanks Jacquie :-)))

I give this book a solid, very solid, 5 stars.

Be forewarned, however, this book requires discipline. Ya gotta wanna study.

There are plenty of books, on the market, that will teach you the semantics of java programming. But, what if you are asking yourself, "Why do professional java developers write their code the way they do?"

The answer is because they intrinsically know OO methods and techniques. YOU WON'T LEARN THAT FROM A JAVA SEMANTICS BOOK.

Ms. Barker's book takes a different tack. She spends 293 pages, of a 665 page book, explaing WHY the pros do what they do. You don't even touch a source code editor before page 293. That's why I say this book takes discipline. However, those who stick with it, will be amply rewarded.

Source code for the book is available at http://www.objectstart.com and you can even contact Ms. Barker herself if you've got specific questions.

If java represents your first foray into OO technology, do yourself a huge favor and read this book. You, absolutely, will not reqret it.

This book is an excellent choice for being introduced to Java. The analogies the author uses really help the user understand the concept of object oriented programming. You could also apply these analogies to other OO programming languages. In my opinion, all books on programming should be written like this. It would definitely help with the curve of learning other programming languages..

I am doing a course in computing and AI and have had no programming experience before university. I found that I understood the examples in the coursework and recommended reading (Deitel and Deitel), but when it came to writing programmes myself I was confused about syntax etc. This book gave a much more comprehensible explanation of what java sytnax meant, and how object oriented programming works. I would recommend it to anyone beginning programming in java, especially those with no prior programming experience. I also think it would be helpful to those with no experience of OO languages.

Many books give you the pieces of the puzzle, but Jacquie Barker's Beginning Java Objects shows you the picture on the box. If you want to learn Java, this is the book you should read first.

I've found that many other texts on introductory Java get you started by saying Hello to the World as soon as the first chapter of the book. Barker takes a different approach by giving just a little "Taste of Java" by executing System.out.println("Wheee!!!!") in the introductory chapter. However, from then on very little new Java syntax is seen until Chapter 13, leaving us wondering what happens in the intervening chapters 2-12? As the title suggests, this book is not merely an introduction to Java, but an introduction to objects in Java.

These first dozen chapters provide an introduction to object modeling, which every Java programmer, if not every object-oriented software developer, should understand fully. This is where the fundamental concepts of abstraction, classes, object instantiation, method invocations and even inheritance are first introduced, only to be re-introduced as Java-specific syntax later on in the book. Unlike the many other books written on learning to program Java, Jacquie Barker takes the time to make sure the reader understands how to design an entire system in an object-oriented fashion from scratch, by painstakingly taking apart the customer requirements list, specifying use cases, identifying classes and designing both the static hierarchy and the dynamic behavior of all the classes that will be involved. She spends these dozen chapters making sure all that is understood and even drawn out in UML or any similar modeling notation way before the system is to be implemented and actually built. Chronologically this would be what would happen in the real world anyway. There then is no better time to dive into Java syntax and learning the language well than after this extensive object introduction where we are finally ready to program. Obviously the principle of having a sound design reverberates throughout this book. So many times have I attempted to start coding in Java without first using pencil, paper, and my brain. Oh how I wished I had this book at my disposal then.

The final part of the book deals with details that make Java useful and unique, such as single inheritance, casting, exceptions, I/O, garbage collection and even Swing, as she introduces these concepts while detailing how to transform the UML model you have just created into actual Java code.

The books intended audience seems quite broad, aimed at developers who lack a sound object-oriented design knowledge to students learning both Java and OO for the first time. Personally even with my 4 years of Java experience, this book still did a fine job of finding and filling in gaps in my knowledge of OOD. One thing to note is that this book seemed to me to be best read from cover-to-cover, not so much as a reference guide you would thumb through. Leave David Flanagan's Nutshell series on your desk for that purpose.

First let me say despite being published a few years ago this book is still fully relevant as of this review. The author takes a conceptual approach that this much needed for those learning an OOP language for the first time. I'm a PHP programming trying to learn Java. I purchased Ivor Horton's Begining Java 2 book and a few hundred pages in I learned a lot but still lacked the fundamentals of OOP. Jacquie's book has come to the rescue to fill in the underpinnings of objects and how to think about them when tackling software development. When I finish reading her book I'll go back to Ivor's book and continue learning syntax and other important aspects of the Java language. If you're new to OOP definately get this book no matter what language your're trying to learn. Get this in addition to a standard how program in language X book and you'll be doing yourself a favor! Note: I bought the old red Wrox press book and got a great deal, I here the new version is the exact same book with a new cover and no updated material.

In reading Barker's title, one gets an extraordinarily good education into the major considerations for object-oriented design. Although the book's title would imply that Java developers would benefit most, this is a great introductory manual to OOP and Java 2, and perfectly suited for other platforms, as well.

It's actually a very helpful, very educational, very entertaining look at object-oriented software design, at modeling, and at proper management of the process in which they are used to create great software applications.

Barker does a fantastic job of describing the process and life-cycle involved with designing and coding a system, and centers the concepts presented around an iterative practical application, a student registration system for college. She also bases her method of teaching concepts-first-and-then-code around pseudocode, so the reader isn't inundated by too much syntax while trying to grasp fundamental subjects. Barker also steps the reader through the procedural methods of designing an application, such as creating a vision document and glossary of system-specific terms.

In doing so, Barker also uses one of the friendliest voices in her writing that's truly a rarity in technical books these days.

Being an ASP.NET developer working almost exclusively in C#, I got a lot out of it. The Java syntax might be a stretch for VB devs; the book also makes for great recommended reading for those just starting to get into OOP or Java. I'd also recommend this book for Microsoft developers migrating up from Windows DNA and ASP 3.0 technologies, as it really does a good job of walking you through OOP/OOD, which in my opinion has proven to be THE major hurdle for many devs in embracing .NET.

The only downside I can see about this book is that because of the title, developers non-Java other platforms and disciplines will unfairly look past it, and therefore miss out on the important lessons contained within its pages. The book's key strength lies in the chapters on designing use case scenarios and UML diagrams, which I really enjoyed.

It's these unexpected advantages that have put this book in a prominent place in my home library that keep it easily within reach.

I guess I already learned what this book has to offer by chapters 5 & 6 in CJ2, using the API docs, and looking at the Java Source Code for the API.

This book is too basic for _PROGRAMMERS_ (who grasp things quickly) and they will be bored. I guess I feel that if you need this book, you probably shouldn't have chosen programming as a career. A programmer needs to be resourceful and be able to figure out complex puzzles in a reasonable amount of time. This book walks you through "tediously" step by step in agonizing detail the four or five main object oriented principles.

That being said, for you non-programmers, this book is great and probably just what you need (hence the 3 stars). If encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance are buzzwords that you don't really fully get and can't explain in detail what each is, yet regularly use in conversation, this book could help as well.

Different Strokes for Different Folks.

I've bought maybe 10 Java books and read almost all of Sun's docs and still didn't "get" object oriented programming as implemented in Java until I read "Beginning Java Objects". (And I've been a programmer since the days of the Commodore 64 - wrote my first side scroller game for the XT)

Anyone who is new to OO programming or Java should read this book cover to cover BEFORE (or while) embarking on a Java programming course.

I've found that learning some languages like C, C++ and Java (as opposed to Basic) require a certain threshhold of knowledge before the "aha" moment comes and everything starts making sense. This book distills that pool of knowledge down so that moment comes faster. You should get that overall understanding of OO and Java by the end of reading it.

The book is written in a easy to understand way that EXPLAINS any necessary jargon and acronyms so you UNDERSTAND them (rather than just throwing more pocket-protecter-induced obscure jargon at you like the Sun docs and many reference books)

Anyway - THANK YOU, Jacquie! You've saved me from more frustrated days (er weeks, no months) at the computer.

Karen at Redwood Games

Perhaps better then Prata's seminol work in C++ instruction. Clear, easy to understand. With a sensible project model used to explain newly introduced coding concepts. Past conventions and usages constantly reintroduced in a manner which improves learning. Does everything right that Schildt does wrong. Hope to see more books soon by this author!

This is one of the best Java books I've come across. I found this to be one of the most complete and easy to understand explainations of java objects yet. I learned a lot about the language as well through the introductions in the book. I would highly recommend this to anyone getting started with Java. In fact, this should be the first book you own before purchasing a core language reference.

New to Object Oriented Programming? New to Java? Read a beginners Java book but confused? Can't quite grasp OOP or Java? Then buy this book NOW!

This book is absolute essential reading for ALL Java newbies. Do not purchase a beginning Java book without buying this book as well. It is the PERFECT compliment to any beginner Java book.

The author takes you by the hand and babysteps you though the basic and advanced skills of object oriented design. I read Ivor Horton's "Beginning Java 2" and was quite confused, then I read "Beginning Java Objects" and ALL my confusions disappeared. As someone in the bible said, "I was blind and now I can see."

Do your self a favor and pick-up this book right away!!

I'm really enjoying this book. I have read other books on Java, but I find this to be the most useful for a beginner to the Java language and OOP. It puts java in a broader context, and also covers UML and other necessary concepts to software development. Highly Recommended.

Before reading this book I have read about half a dozen of Java books. I am also a Sun Certified Java programmer. But after reading this book I have totally changed the way I looked at Java as a language. This book will help you to use an object oriented programming language properly. Especially if you have structural programming experience this book will help you to design and code in an object-oriented manner.

If you want to learn Object Oriented Programming using Java then look no further than this book. This is probably one of the best programming books available for beginners and medium level programmers. Highly recommended.

I am glad I found this book in time when I was looking some for some good books in Java after reading few chapters of Thinking in Java and not understanding what's going on.
After finishing this book which made me very comfortable in understanding Java with SRS system(I am not working in java) I started looking into certification with other books and now I am certified.Thanks to Jacquie for writing such a nice book.

I bought on recommendation only to find the first five chapters review. The UML coverage is decent, but I disagree with the approach somewhat, using noun/verb analysis and functional decomposition. I don't believe this is the best approach for developing OO solutions.

A book I highly recommend for getting your arms around OO we a design patterns spin is "Design Patterns Explained." Takes the Gof4 book and breaks it down to easy to understand conceptual examples.

This book enabled me to understand O-O concepts, e.g., "static" and polymorphism, that I just could not figure out despite having taken a Java programming class, and having read a number of other Java books and on-line tutorials. I was seriously stuck in my ability to progress with the language until I read this book. Now I'm going for the SCJP certification. By far the best book I've found for explaining the O-O paradigm in a way that makes sense to me.

Also, I really appreciated the clear and non-confusing code examples. I find many programming books include unecessarily complex code examples, or throw in new concepts in a code example without explaining them first, or letting you know they are coming. This causes confusion and frustration, and interferes with learning. It was refreshing that this book did none of that.

I'm greatly looking forward to Ms Barker's next book.

As the title of the book suggests, this book is more about Object Oriented Modeling rather than being a Java only book. This book is intended to be a university textbook. Thus, it has few exercise questions at end of each chapter.

All examples in the book revolve around a Student Registration System application developed in java. The organization of chapters is in three sections. First section focuses on basic OO concepts. The second section gives introduction of UML and some Java concepts like Garbage Collection and Exception Handling. Having laid down all the basic stuff i.e. OO concepts and model, the third section of the book is mainly about implementation. It describes GUI Layout fundamentals, Frames, Panels and Listener classes.

The book is easy to follow and useful for beginners. I will recommend this book to everyone who wants to start learning OO programming. Basic OO concepts are presented in the book in nice way. I have not read any other book doing it in such a simple way. Other books tend to get more abstract or complicated. This book presents a nice mix of code and OO Modeling.

It's an introduction to object oriented programming using Java. It does a fine job of covering the various steps you MUST do before you sit down to write code. The first few chapters deal with the design phases of a project and would be helpful to any object oriented language.

This is a good book that uses the clever device of starting with theory rather than with actual Java programming. The theory is well written, but any theory is a little hard to follow as it gets more complex, unless you have a lot of hands-on practice to put with it.

I find that many of the Wrox books tend to have less hands-on practice than some other publishers. And many of the Wrox books get a ton of favorable reviews. I guess that either people like books that do not have a lot of practice examples, or something else is going on.

I have read 5-6 Java books. This comes out somewhere in the middle for my purposes.

Jacquie Baker's book is great, no doubt. However, I truly believe that a complete beginner to this topic of object technology will need to study more than one book at the same time for clarifications here and there!

This is what I am now doing, and for the first time, the big picture is getting home. My combination? Jacquie Bakers's Beginning Java Objects, Dr. David Taylor's Object Technology: A Manager's Guide, and - of course - Walter Savitch's Java: An Introduction to Computer Science and Programming.

Walter Savitch's book is marvelous, repetitive by design; with these three books, there is no place else to go except forward.

Good Luck!

Jacquie Barker has done all people interested in programming a big favour by writing this amazing book. The main things I loved about this book were its a. tempo and b. conceptual clarity. The book wisely starts with an overview of objects and then quickly gets you up to speed on the basic syntax of Java. Then the book spends a great deal of effort on doing a much more thorough introduction to object concepts, very well-ordered and explained, than I've seen done anywhere else. These chapters are worth the price of the book alone. Once this is done, the book then actually goes into good design practices, providing the context for objects (major bonus). Afterwards, the book goes back into Java nitty-gritty. Throughout, a Student Registration System is featured - consistently and clearly.

This is a very elegant, informative, thorough book. Most programming books either dive into too much detail too quickly or leave conceptual loose-ends. Jacquie's book, by contrast, is remarkably lucid and well-organized. She also has a great sense of humour.

I'd recommend this book to anyone either learning programming or who wants a fantastic review of objects.

I quite agree with all the reviewers. She did a good job in explaining the basic concept and follow with a sample SRS application. I believe the best way to learn programming is practise with examples.

I give her 10 stars **********

Preface: I'm a graduate student in Human-Computer Interaction, and just finished 2 semesters of Java programming at a university.

When I buy technical books, I'll usually buy a bunch at a time, because the odds are that at least one book will make the other purchases worthwhile. I bought Java XML, Java Servelets, Mathematics for Computer Graphics, Thinking in Java, and Java Objects.

The Java Objects book was my lucky lottery ticket this time, and I didn't really have high hopes for the book at first. However, its conceptual presentation of OOP programming finally made the language useful as a problem-solving tool. I wish my professor had required all us beginner Java students to read this book before actually learning how to write code.

In fact, I'm applying the object-modelling skills from this book to the Actionscript language in Macromedia Flash.

As a entry level programmer and beginning student of Java, this is one of the best books for getting and intoduction to Java AND learning important programming topics related to the language. I learned Java programming before I even picked up this book. The Object Orient programming topics help me understand the importance of developing a program with a good design. The author eloquently teaches the reader topics every programmer should know. Even if you are not a Java developer, you should read this book. This book should be made mandatory for developers and students. It is a must have. I just hope the author creates a follow-up.

Before learning Java, you must master OO concepts,without a good background of OO, you won't use Java language,properly. This book go step by step for newbies,it explains clearly the OO concepts, gives a good introduction to UML(as an analysis tool before programming) and of course explains the java language.

If you know nothing aboutjava language and OO concepts, this is the BOOK you should buy to start. You will enjoy the first page to the last.
The only negative point,is that the answers of the exercices are not available.