Java For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Getting Started with Java
	Chapter 1 All about Java
		What You Can Do with Java
		Why You Should Use Java
		Gaining Perspective: Where Java Fits In
		Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
			Object-oriented languages
			Objects and their classes
			What’s so great about an object-oriented language?
			Objects and classes are everywhere
		What’s Next?
	Chapter 2 All about Software
		Get Ready for Java
		The Inside Scoop
			What is a compiler?
			What is a Java virtual machine?
		Developing Software
		Spoiler Alert!
	Chapter 3 Using the Basic Building Blocks
		Speaking the Java Language
			The grammar and the common names
			The words in a Java program
		Checking Out Java Code for the First Time
		Understanding a Simple Java Program
			The Java class
			The Java method
			The main method in a program
			How you finally tell the computer to do something
			Brace yourself
		And Now, a Few Comments
			Adding comments to your code
			What’s Barry’s excuse?
			Using comments to experiment with your code
Part 2 Writing Your Own Java Programs
	Chapter 4 Making the Most of Variables and Their Values
		Varying a Variable
			Assignment statements
			The types of values that variables may have
			How to hold the line
			Numbers without decimal points
			Combining declarations and initializing variables
		Experimenting with JShell
		What Happened to All the Cool Visual Effects?
		The Atoms: Java’s Primitive Types
			The char type
			The boolean type
		The Molecules and Compounds: Reference Types
		An Import Declaration
		Creating New Values by Applying Operators
			Initialize once, assign often
			The increment and decrement operators
			Assignment operators
	Chapter 5 Controlling Program Flow with Decision-Making Statements
		Making Decisions (Java if Statements)
			Guess the number
			She controlled keystrokes from the keyboard
			Creating randomness
		The if statement
		Equal, equal
		Brace yourself
		Your intent to indent
		Elseless in Helsinki
		Using Blocks in JShell
		Forming Conditions with Comparisons and Logical Operators
			Comparing numbers; comparing characters
			Comparing objects
			Look!
			Java’s logical operators
			Vive les nuls!
		(Conditions in parentheses)
		The Nesting Habits of if Statements
		Choosing among Many Alternatives
			Java’s glorious switch statement
			A switch in time saves 14
			Your grandparents’ switch statement
			Free fall
	Chapter 6 Controlling Program Flow with Loops
		Repeating Instructions Over and Over Again (Java while Statements)
		Count On Me
			The anatomy of a for statement
			The world premiere of “Al’s All Wet”
		You Can Always Get What You Want
			The root of the matter
			Reading a single character
			File handling in Java
			Block on the while side
Part 3 Working with the Big Picture: Object-Oriented Programming
	Chapter 7 The Inside scOOP
		Defining a Class (What It Means to Be an Account)
			Declaring variables and creating objects
			Initializing a variable
			Using an object’s fields
			One program; several classes
			Declaring a public class
		Defining a Method within a Class (Displaying an Account)
			An account that displays itself
			The display method’s header
		Sending Values to and from Methods (Calculating Interest)
			Passing a value to a method
			Returning a value from the getInterest method
		Giving Your Numbers a Makeover
		Hide-and-Seek
			Good programming
			Public lives and private dreams: Making a field inaccessible
			Enforcing rules with accessor methods
		Barry’s Own GUI Class
	Chapter 8 Saving Time and Money: Reusing Existing Code
		What It Means to Be an Employee
			The last word on employees
			Putting your class to good use
			Cutting a check
		Working with Disk Files (a Brief Detour)
			Storing data in a file
			Repeat after me
			Reading from a file
			Who moved my file?
			You moved your file!
			Reading a line at a time
			Clean up after yourself
		Defining Subclasses (What It Means to Be a Full-Time or Part-Time Employee)
			Creating a subclass
			Creating subclasses is habit-forming
		Using Subclasses
			Making types match
			The second half of the story
		Changing the Payments for Only Some of the Employees
			A Java annotation
			Using methods from classes and subclasses
	Chapter 9 Constructing New Objects
		Defining Constructors (What It Means to Be a Temperature)
			What is a temperature?
			What is a temperature scale? (Java’s enum type)
			Okay, so then what is a temperature?
			What you can do with a temperature
			Constructing a temperature; a slow-motion replay
			Some things never change
		Doing Something about the Weather
			Building better temperatures
			Constructors for subclasses
			Using all this stuff
			The default constructor
		A Constructor That Does More
			Classes and methods from the Java API
			Live dangerously
Part 4 Smart Java Techniques
	Chapter 10 Putting Variables and Methods Where They Belong
		Defining a Class (What It Means to Be a Baseball Player)
			Another way to beautify your numbers
			Using the Player class
			One class; nine objects
			Don’t get all GUI on me
			Some facts about potatoes
		Making Static (Finding the Team Average)
			Why is there so much static?
			Meet the static initializer
			Displaying the overall team average
			The static keyword is yesterday’s news
			Could cause static; handle with care
		Experiments with Variables
			Putting a variable in its place
			Telling a variable where to go
		Passing Parameters
			Pass by value
			Returning a result
			Pass by reference
			Returning an object from a method
			Epilogue
	Chapter 11 Using Arrays to Juggle Values
		Getting Your Ducks All in a Row
			Creating an array in two easy steps
			How to book hotel guests
			Tab stops and other special things
			Make life easy for yourself
			Stepping through an array with the enhanced for loop
			Do you have a room?
			Writing to a file
			When to close a file
		Arrays of Objects
			Using the Room class
			Yet another way to beautify your numbers
			The conditional operator
		How to Argue with Your Code
			Settling the argument
			Checking for the right number of program arguments
	Chapter 12 Using Collections and Streams (When Arrays Aren’t Good Enough)
		Arrays Have Limitations
		Collection Classes to the Rescue
			Using an ArrayList
			Using generics
			Wrap it up
			Are we done yet?
			Once and again
			So many collection classes!
		Functional Programming
			Problem-solving the old-fashioned way
			Lambda expressions
			A black sheep among the lambdas
			A taxonomy of lambda expressions
			The interpretation of streams
			Why bother?
			Method references
	Chapter 13 Looking Good When Things Take Unexpected Turns
		Garbage In
			The parameter in a catch clause
			Do it yourself
			Who will catch the exception?
			Catching two or more exceptions at a time
		The Buck Stops Here, Except When It Doesn’t
			Catch it soon
			Catch it later
			Checked or unchecked?
		Try, Try Again!
	Chapter 14 Sharing Names among the Parts of a Java Program
		Access Modifiers
		Classes and Their Members
		Public and Private Access for Members
			Drawing on a frame
			Putting a package in its place
			Making a frame
		Default Access for Members
			Switching to Default access
			Accessing default members within a package
		Protected Access for Members
			A class in one package and a subclass in another
			Two classes in the same package
		Access Modifiers for Java Classes
			Public classes
			Nonpublic classes
		From Classes Come Modules
	Chapter 15 Fancy Reference Types
		Java’s Types
		The Java Interface
			Declaring two interfaces
			Implementing interfaces
			Putting the pieces together
		Abstract Classes
		Caring for your pet
		Using all your classes
		Relax! You’re Not Seeing Double!
	Chapter 16 Java’s Juggling Act
		Juggling Two or More Calls
			Events and event handling
			Follow the thread
			Don’t miss this
			Inside the actionPerformed method
		Some Events Aren’t Button Clicks
		The Inner Sanctum
	Chapter 17 Using Java Database Connectivity
		Creating a Database and a Table
			Seeing what happens when you run the code
			Using SQL commands
			Connecting and disconnecting
		Putting Data in the Table
		Retrieving Data
		Destroying Data
		One Step Beyond
Part 5 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 18 Ten Packs of Java Websites
		This Book’s Website
		For Business Issues Related to This Book
		Download the Java Development Kit
		Your Grandparents’ Java Download Site
		The Horse’s Mouth
		Join Java User Groups
		Find the Latest News about Java
		Find News, Reviews, and Sample Code
		Got a Technical Question about Anything?
		Become Involved in the Future of Java
	Chapter 19 Ten Bits of Advice for New Software Developers
		How Long Does It Take to Learn Java?
		Which of Your Books Should I Read?
		Are Books Other than Yours Good for Learning Java and Android Development?
		Which Computer Programming Language(s) Should I Learn?
		Which Skills Other than Computer Coding Should I Learn?
		How Should I Continue My Learning as a Software Developer?
		How Else Should I Continue My Learning as a Developer?
		How Can I Land a Job Developing Software?
		I Still Don’t Know What to Do with My Life
		If I Have Other Questions, How Can I Contact You?
Index
EULA