I have reviewed a lot of Java Books. And finally I found a book which was detailed and complete in all respects. It covers from the very basics and leads up to Advanced Java. I would recommend this book for anyone who needs to learn Java on their Own without any external help. This books has complete Examples with source code which is also made available on the accompanying CD so you donot need to type a single line of code to review the examples. So any folks interested in learning Java should definitely buy this book. This book can also kept as a good reference book for those who are already familiar with Java.

This book is a soup to nuts coverage of the Java programming language. I used it to learn (we primarily use C/C++ in Electrical and Computer Engineering) and code Java for a Senior Programming Project. It's a fantastic reference and I highly recommend their C/C++ book if you're learning those languages (that's how I knew to look for a Java version). Deitel makes fantastic books.

I purchased this text for my class on Java Programming. I never had experience with any Object Oriented Programming (OOP) languages such as C++, C# and Java before. I love the way that this text introduces the concepts "Object" and "UML" and tries to familiarize you with complex terminology and structure of Java. Sometimes you feel confused with terms such as method, class, argument, identifier adn etc., but the way that this text presents and gives the examples for each of them is excellent. Case Study examples are complete with thorough explanations and are "oriented to objects".

No doubt that I am confident in giving 5 stars to this text. However, I must mention couple cons I encountered in the text and I hope Authors will take'm into consideration in future editions:

1) "Error Prevention", "Good Programming Practice" and other tips occur in the middle of the text quite frequently and therefore are sometimes a bit distracting when you read the text. However, sometimes they do contain very important concepts and definitions for terminologies which are very pricy to ignore or skip (sometimes I did so in order to focus on the main text:-( ). Therefore I would urge the authors to incorporate those tips into the text so that readers would neither skip those concepts nor be distracted by frequent occurance of the tips.

2) I personally had difficulty in installing the JDK and JRE's latest versions and the directions in the text are not user friendly.

3) The "Examples" folder in CD does not have Appendix M.

Nonehteless, these cons do not affect the overall quality of the text, and again, it is highly recommended to own one!

There is no other book which is so complete and student oriented like this. It is worth any penny of its price. It covers programming from the basics and it takes you to an intermediate level of knowledge. The presentation of the ULM stuff in combination with OOD/OOP is super.

If you want to learn Java from scratch this is the book!

Used this book for a hybrid Introduction to Java Program Course. Didn't need to e-mail the professor at all for help on assignments or online tests. I recommend either jGrasp or Netbeans for your compiler. Used both and they were both extremely helpful.

I purchased this book after I had taken a Java class that used the Head First Java book as a textbook. I could not stand trying to use that book, so I purchased the Deitel book. It is a great book to learn java and to use as a reference. I have continued to use this book in every java class I have had and even purchased another Deitel book (C#) because they are so informative and easy to use.

I bought this book for a sophomore computer science class on OO and web-design. This was one of the worst textbooks I've come across. The examples are old. (Who really wants another Employee class example?). The text is full of 'helpful' facts that are often obscure and distracting. This book never really explained the most important topics of OO (such as polymorphism) in a way that I understood.

Computer Science textbooks should not be sold based on weight but on content. Do yourself a favor and purchase Head First Java.

This is THE authoritative source for Java Programming. I teach from this book, and have been teaching from previous editions as well since 1999.

The students are usually able to grasp the concepts easily enough, and the examples help to drive the concepts home.

As a professional Java developer, I still use it for a reference for some of the things I don't handle every day.

All in all, I would definitely recommend it!

I learned my first C language with this series "C: How to program". After that, How to program series are my favorite programming books on my bookshell. I highly recoment this book to who are java beginners. For a biginner, the most important is simple codes with line by line explaination. The book is just written on this way. Good job!

I recently took the Sun Microsystems Java Programming Language course, the SL-275, and was kinda hard to keep up with no previous experience with java. But with this book everything is getting clear now.

It's well written, easy to understand, very explanatory, i haven't finished it yet because i was reading some Debian Linux books. But i can tell you, this is a must if you want to learn java.

I am a hobby programmer.
I really like the style of this book.
I played with Java a little before this book and I had trouble with compiling and running the programs.(You have to edit the environmental variables in XP)
He covered that almost immediately. That alone told me how systematic his approach is.
I have not delved in any further then Chapter 8, but following the samples with the proper way of preparation is very helpful.

I am currently taking a class in Java and this book has been a great help in understanding the fundamentals. It is written really well and example codes and the code explanations are very helpful. The case studies at the end of the chapters are great. The CD with example files is helpful because it allows you to do more than read, you can get hands on work with the codes.

The only drawback is the size of the book and that isn't very serious compared to all of its good qualities

I've been programming C++ for 12+ years now (C for 23+), and I was hoping Deitel had a Developer Series book for Java (like they have for C#), but there currently is not one.

However, that did not deter me from purchasing their "How to Program" book, and it has been worth it. If you are an experienced developer, this book still contains good info, with great examples, is up-to-date with the latest Java language enhancements.

If you're one of those people who judge a book by the inverse proportion of the number of pages, please rethink your view. Sure, this book is big, but it shows all you need to know, which is great if you are new to programming, and is a minor hassle if you are not.

Colorized code helps greatly (like your IDE). It gets into language syntax/semantics but also the various java import libraries - graphics, database, et. al.

The Software Engineering tips are always "right on".

I am currently taking a graduate class in Java at my local university and this book has come in handy.

I used this book to begin my studies in Java. I finished all chapters and then bought an SCJP preparation book. I completed the exam with a score of 75% (59% is passing). I constantly use this book for reference. Well layed out and has everything.

The text assumes no prior programming experience. The style is clear, if somewhat oversimplified, examples are easy to follow. There are appendices for reference on questions such as operator precedence. Problems at the end of chapters reflect the material presented.
New terms are defined precisely and clearly, and relevant examples are given. CD's with many example programs are included.
The authors, however, have a tendency to repeat themselves, possibly in an attempt to make the material more accessible. Self-evident concepts, such as that pseudocode is not real code are repeated unnecessarily. Also, sections of example Java code are reprinted in full repeatedly with code additions or variations. This repetition and oversimplified approach has resulted in a 1596 page text. Don't drop it on your foot!
Yes, I recommend this text, but you may have to exercise some patience with occasional overly drawn out exposition.

This book is awesome. As with most Computer Science students, I need to focus on problem solving and writing fast and efficient algorithms. When programming, I find myself all too often debugging and searching for syntax errors in my code. This completely distracts from solving the actual problem and causes more time to be wasted. This book has so many code examples and covers so many topics, that it almost eliminates my time wandering through the API documentation and searching google for code. I wish I would have had this book when I first started programming in Java. It would have made the language much easier.

It is not a theory book and never implies that it should be, hence the title "Java How to Program". But if your looking for a Java programming guide/reference, I have never seen better.

This book has everything my professor was talking about in my online programming class.
I have two books for my class, but didn't even need to read the other one because this book has everything.
Very good examples of codes. I like a book that has a lot of code examples. It has a long list of index too for great searching.

It is both detailed and easy to understand. Covers pretty much every aspect of Java with lots of examples but doesn't spoon feed you with overly simplified examples even in the early chapters. I haven't finished reading all of it yet (its a massive 1500 pages and packed) but so far I feel it has definitely been worth the money. I am looking forward to reading what seems to be an in depth coverage of Web Applications and Web Services in this book. And at the time of my writing of this review, this book is as up to date as it gets.