Java is the language du jour, and many books have been written about it. Throughout, this book introduces features using examples - all thoroughly discussed and explained as a direct and jargon-free a manner that may be implemented. A tricky aspect of Java is the way of the corresponding class, so neat to see a whole chapter devoted to the subject early. The book is completed with a section on applets, the Java plug-ins, and digital signatures. Overall, however, the reader does not get the feeling of working toward a goal, and maybe this will be a better book if the project has a theme. Another odd decision in the mix here is to ignore several - some free - Java IDE is typically used for Java programs. Even beginners find Java more accessible in the programming environment.) However, Learning Java, which uses Java 2 v1.3, doing a competent job introducing the language to beginners. Although this book may fail to inspire in the reader enthusiasm considered Java felt by the author, you can not go wrong with this one, and coverage of issues of object-oriented programming is very good.