Java, Java, Java: Object-Oriented Problem Solving
Ralph Morelli, Trinity College
Ralph Walde, Trinity College
Copyright Year:
Publisher: Ralph Morelli, Ralph Walde
Language: English
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CC BY
Reviews
The text adequately addresses areas under Object Oriented Programming using Java as a Programming Language for Introduction to Computer Science courses. It gently introduces basic concepts in computer, objects and java using problem solving... read more
The text adequately addresses areas under Object Oriented Programming using Java as a Programming Language for Introduction to Computer Science courses. It gently introduces basic concepts in computer, objects and java using problem solving approaches and gradually builds up to more advanced Java technologies in such a simplified manner that can be easily understood. The text also provides a table of content at the beginning and a summary of points for each chapter with exercises.
The text content is accurate, without errors and unbiased. There is however some links that needs to be updated.
While the field of computer science with particular emphasis to programming as it relates to this text is constantly evolving, the approach taken by this text to teach the essentials is likely to persist. The code, tested in Java 8, should continue to work with new Java releases. Updates to the text can be done easily by the way it has been written.
The text is written in a clear and easy to understand manner. The objectives, explanations, examples and exercises are clear and easy to follow. The codes are well commented to aid readability.
The text is highly consistent in both structure and terminology. It starts each chapter with objectives and outline and concludes with summary, exercises and solutions. However, some codes within the chapters are put in figures while others are not, this could be confusing.
The text is divided in 17 chapters (0 - 16) and 8 appendices (A – H). Each chapter is further divided into sections and subsections. This breakdown makes it easier for instructors to apportion sections to students at different times within the course.
The text is organized in a manner that is logical and it flows well from section to section. The structure makes navigation from chapter to chapter easier.
I reviewed the PDF version and it looks good to a large extent. The links in the table of contents are working properly. There are clickable links within the text to different figures, sections, such as appendices, and external websites. However, there are some issues with some figure titles, e.g., figure 12, 1.10, 2.7, 2.10, 2.14, etc. are cut off. Some hyperlinks for some figures missing e.g., figure 2.8 and some figures don’t have titles.
The text contains no grammatical errors.
The text is culturally neutral. The examples are unbiased in the way it has been presented.
This book covers Object-Oriented Programming under JAVA. It introduces the concepts of object-oriented programming and they are used for problem-solving. This book covers all the relevant areas of Object-Oriented Programming under Java. Also, it... read more
This book covers Object-Oriented Programming under JAVA. It introduces the concepts of object-oriented programming and they are used for problem-solving. This book covers all the relevant areas of Object-Oriented Programming under Java. Also, it covers more advanced topics such as socket programming and algorithms.
The Object-Oriented concepts and implementation example shown in code samples are accurate and easy to learn as the code samples are aligned with the concept being discussed. Some links and URLs are out-dated but they have little to no impact on student learning. However, I would add a note that says "some of the links and URLs might not up-to-date. However, they can be found using search engines if necessary"
Programming languages get updated regularly to include new and easier functions to use. While it is impossible for a textbook to include every function, this textbook provides a great learning opportunity that allows students to build the muscle to be able to learn more about Java online. When it comes to Object-Oriented concepts, the book is extremely relevant and up-to-date
The textbook is very easy to understand and the code sample is both clear (code readability) and relevant.
The text and the terms it contains are consistent. Also, the textbook follows a consistent theme.
The textbook chapters are divided into sections and subsections that are shown also in the table of contents which can be used to visit each section.
The textbook consists of seventeen chapters that are organized in a logical manner. The more general concepts such as problem-solving and programing are placed at the beginning, then the chapters introduce the discuss Object-Oriented Programming come after the general chapters. The more advanced topics such as socket programming and data structures and algorithms come towards the end. This made a lot of sense to me.
The textbook is easily accessible online and it can be downloaded to open with Edge or Adobe Reader without any problems.
No grammar issues have been noticed.
This textbook is neutral and unbiased.
None
This textbook covers Object-Oriented Programming with Java programming language pretty well. It starts with the concept of Objects and problem solving skills and then dive into Java programming language syntax. Overall, it appropriately covers all... read more
This textbook covers Object-Oriented Programming with Java programming language pretty well. It starts with the concept of Objects and problem solving skills and then dive into Java programming language syntax. Overall, it appropriately covers all areas of the subject including the main principles of Object-Oriented Programming and Java programming language. In the later chapters, this textbook also introduces advanced topics such as concurrent programming, network/socket programming and data structures. The textbook provides table of contents at the beginning and index of terms at the end. Each chapter also provides a list of key words and a list of important concepts and technique terms.
The content of the textbook is mostly accurate. Many URLs linked to Java documentations and APIs are not up-to-date.
Many URLs to Java references are not up-to-date and many online samples are not accessible. Nonetheless, the concepts of Object-Oriented Programming and Java programming language syntax are mostly current. Any updates to the contents of the textbook can be implemented with minimal effort.
The text is easy to understand. However, some of the texts are not displayed on adobe reader.
The text is consistent in terms of framework. Each chapter starts with introduction to a problem, and then discussion and design of the solution with UML diagrams; then Java is used to implement the solution(s). However, there is some level of inconsistency in terms of Java code samples. For example, some Java code examples use appropriate indentations and new lines, but some examples do not. This may confuse students.
Each chapter is divided into different sections and subsections. A student can go to each section of a chapter by clicking it in the Table of Contents.
The topics in this text book are organized in a reasonable order. It starts with general concepts of computer and program design, then Objects and Java Programming Language, and then advanced topics in computer programming. It would be better if the textbook starts with Java programming language and then principles of Object Oriented programming.
Some of the texts are not displayed in the reviewer's adobe reader. Many diagrams and figures are poorly drawn. Overall, the interface of the book is one area that needs improvement.
No major grammar issues has been noticed.
The text of this textbook is a neutral and unbiased.
Overall, this textbook covers materials of Object-Oriented Programming with Java taught in first or second-year computer science course. However, the contents of Java programming language has not been up-to-date and the interface of the book is very poor compare to similar books the reviewer has used for learning and teaching the same materials. Some sample codes are not well written or inconsistent in terms of the use of indentation and new lines. Many URLs are obsolete and the web pages are not accessible.
The textbook includes the material that is typically covered in a college-level CS1 course. Using an “early objects” approach and Java as the programming language, the authors go over problem-solving techniques based on object-oriented... read more
The textbook includes the material that is typically covered in a college-level CS1 course. Using an “early objects” approach and Java as the programming language, the authors go over problem-solving techniques based on object-oriented programming principles. In addition to an Index of terms towards the end of the text, each chapter summary includes the technical terms used, along with a bulleted-list of important points discussed in that chapter.
The computer science concepts and the accompanying sample code are accurate and error-free; however, the only issue is the fact that the URLs that make references to various aspects of Java, such as API documentation, JDK, and the Java Language Specification, have not been updated to reflect the fact that Sun Microsystems was acquired by Oracle back in 2010.
Like other software systems, Java is updated on a regular basis; nonetheless, the computer science concepts discussed in the textbook are based on standard undergraduate curriculum taught in a CS1 course. Therefore, any updates to the textbook would need to be with regard to the version of Java with minimal effort.
The authors deliver clear explanations of the computer science concepts and the accompanying Java language features.
There is a consistent theme throughout much of the text: A topic is introduced and discussed within the context of a problem. Its solution is then designed and explained using UML diagrams; finally, Java is used to illustrate how the solution is implemented on the computer.
Each chapter is divided into sections that can easily be identified within the table of contents. Therefore, it’s fairly easy for a student to pick and choose a section in a chapter and work on the other sections later. Throughout each chapter, there are self-study exercises to incrementally test understanding of the covered material. Solutions to those self-study exercises are then provided towards the end of the chapter. In addition, each chapter includes end-of-chapter exercises that can be used to assess one’s understanding of the computer science concepts as well as the various features of Java.
The book consists of seventeen chapters; however, a typical CS1 course would need the material in the first ten chapters only, and those chapters are set up in a logical manner, allowing one to go through the material sequentially. Depending on how fast he first ten chapters are covered during the course of a semester, an instructor may choose from the last seven chapters in the text to introduce more advanced topics in computer science and/or Java.
The textbook can be accessed online or opened using Acrobat Reader with no problem. There are no issues, as long as navigation is done one page after another manually. However, when browsing through the table of contents (TOC) or the Index, the entries are not set up using any live links. That is, you cannot click on a page number associated with an item within the TOC or the Index to go directly to that page.
This reviewer did not come across any such issues, while going through the text.
This is a computing textbook, where the contents are presented using technical terms. Culturally, the textbook is completely neutral and unbiased in terms of how the material is presented.
Table of Contents
- 0 Computers, Objects, and Java
- 1 Java Program Design and Development
- 2 Objects: Defining, Creating, and Using
- 3 Methods: Communicating with Objects
- 4 Input/Output: Designing the User Interface
- 5 Java Data and Operators
- 6 Control Structures
- 7 Strings and String Processing
- 8 Inheritance and Polymorphism
- 9 Arrays and Array Processing
- 10 Exceptions: When Things Go Wrong
- 11 Files and Streams
- 12 Recursive Problem Solving
- 13 Graphical User Interfaces
- 14 Threads and Concurrent Programming
- 15 Sockets and Networking
- 16 Data Structures: Lists, Stacks, and Queues
Ancillary Material
About the Book
We have designed this third edition of Java, Java, Java to be suitable for a typical Introduction to Computer Science (CS1) course or for a slightly more advanced Java as a Second Language course. This edition retains the “objects first” approach to programming and problem solving that was characteristic of the first two editions. Throughout the text we emphasize careful coverage of Java language features, introductory programming concepts, and object-oriented design principles.
The third edition retains many of the features of the first two editions, including:
- Early Introduction of Objects
- Emphasis on Object Oriented Design (OOD)
- Unified Modeling Language (UML) Diagrams
- Self-study Exercises with Answers
- Programming, Debugging, and Design Tips.
- From the Java Library Sections
- Object-Oriented Design Sections
- End-of-Chapter Exercises
- Companion Web Site, with Power Points and other Resources
The In the Laboratory sections from the first two editions have been moved onto the book's Companion Web Site. Table 1 shows the Table of Contents for the third edition.
About the Contributors
Authors
Ralph Morelli, Professor of Computer Science Emeritus. Morelli has been teaching at Trinity College since 1985, the same year the computer science major was first offered. More recently, he was one of the Principal Investigators (PIs) for the Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) project, an NSF-funded effort to get undergraduates engaged in building free and open source software that benefits the public. In summer 2011 a team of Trinity HFOSS students and faculty traveled to Haiti to build an open source mobile application that helps manage beneficiaries for a humanitarian aid organization. Currently Morelli is the PI of the Mobile CSP project, an NSF-funded effort to train high school teachers in CT and elsewhere to teach the emerging Advanced Placement CS Principles course that is being created by the College Board. The main goal of this NSF initiative is to increase access to computer science among underrepresented groups, including girls, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. The Mobile CSP course teaches students to create mobile apps to serve their community. In summer 2014, a group of 20 Mobile CSP students spent their summer building mobile apps for the city of Hartford.
Ralph Walde. Dr. Walde has given Trinity 28 years of distinguished service, first as a Professor of Mathematics and now as a Professor of Computer Science. He was instrumental in helping to establish and nourish computing at Trinity and was one of the founding members of the Computer Science Department.