Java books

Several of you have inquired about books that provide information or instruction about Java. Here are my recommendations:

For basic instruction in the Java core language:

Arnold, Ken, and Gosling, James. The Java programming language. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company; second edition, 1998. Paperbound. ISBN 0-201-31006-6.

For instruction in software development in Java (presupposing no previous experience with the language):

Eckel, Bruce. Thinking in Java. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall PTR, 1998. Paperbound. ISBN 0-13-659723-8.

The authoritative definition and reference book for the Java core language is:

Gosling, James; Joy, Bill; and Steele, Guy. The Java language specification. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996. Paperbound. ISBN 0-201-63451-1.

The authoritative descriptions of the Java class libraries are:

Chan, Patrick; Lee, Rosanna; and Kramer, Douglas. The Java class libraries: second edition, volume 1. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1998. Hardbound. ISBN 0-201-31002-3.
Chan, Patrick and Lee, Rosanna. The Java class libraries: second edition, volume 2. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1998. Hardbound. ISBN 0-201-31003-1.
Chan, Patrick; Lee, Rosanna; and Kramer, Douglas. The Java class libraries: second edition, volume 1: supplement for the Java 2 platform, standard edition, v1.2. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1999. Paperbound. ISBN 0-201-48552-4.

This document is available on the World Wide Web as

http://www.cs.grinnell.edu/~stone/courses/software-design/Java-books.html

created August 27, 1999
last revised August 27, 1999