Java programming for the absolute beginner

Java Programming for the Absolute Beginner provides you with an introduction to Java that allows you to learn the fundamentals of object-oriented programming while becoming acquainted with many of the core features of Java. This book starts with the assumption that you have not previously written a computer program. It then walks you through the creation of a variety of games and applications. After you have your footing with the basics, you learn to develop your own systems of classes, and by the end of the book, you are working with many of Java's Graphical User Interface (GUI) features and developing a desktop Windows application. This book provides a solid introduction for anyone desiring a relaxed, fully guided tour of the fundamentals of Java, programming, and the objectoriented approach to application development.

Chapter 1 Getting Started	p. 1
The HelloWeb Applet	p. 2
What Is Java?	p. 2
Java Is a Programming Language	p. 3
Java Is Platform Independent	p. 4
Java Is Object Oriented	p. 5
Classes and Objects	p. 6
Attributes and Methods	p. 6
Why Learn Java?	p. 6
Pathways to Learning Java	p. 7
Where to Start	p. 7
Installing and Setting Up the JDK	p. 8
Accessing the Sun Site	p. 8
The JDK Installation Executable	p. 9
Starting Your Windows Installation	p. 9
Windows Installation and Setup Continued	p. 10
Verifying and Copying the Path to Your JRE	p. 10
Setting the Path Variable	p. 11
Writing Your First Program	p. 11
Setting Up to Work with DOS	p. 11
DOS Commands	p. 14
Creating a Hello World Program	p. 16
HelloWorld Syntax Basics	p. 17
Compiling the Hello World Program	p. 20
Running the Hello World Program	p. 21
Writing Your First Applet	p. 23
Applet Code	p. 23
Compiling the Applet Code	p. 25
Writing an HTML File for an Applet	p. 26
Using the Applet Viewer	p. 27
Running Your Applet in the Browser	p. 28
Summary	p. 29
Chapter 2 Variables, Data Types, and Simple IO	p. 31
The Name Game Application	p. 32
Variables and Data Types	p. 32
Primitive Data Types	p. 33
Understanding Literals	p. 35
Casting and Type Promotion	p. 36
Strings and Character Escape Codes	p. 37
Naming Variables	p. 39
Conventions	p. 40
Assignment and Initialization	p. 41
Working with Numbers	p. 45
Operators and Operands	p. 45
How to Do Math	p. 46
The TipAdder Program	p. 46
Formatting Decimal Precision	p. 48
Operator Precedence	p. 51
Getting User Input	p. 53
The BufferedReader Class	p. 55
The try...catch Block	p. 57
Parsing Strings to Numbers	p. 58
Accepting Command-Line Arguments	p. 62
Strings and String Operations	p. 64
The Name Game	p. 66
Summary	p. 69
Chapter 3 The Fortune Teller: Random Numbers, Conditions, and Arrays	p. 71
The Fortune Teller Application	p. 72
Generating Random Numbers	p. 72
The Math Class	p. 73
The Random Class	p. 75
Generating Different Types of Random Numbers	p. 76
Seeding Values	p. 78
More of the Math Class	p. 81
Flow and Selection	p. 85
Conditions and Conditional Operators	p. 86
Single-Entry Selection	p. 87
The Ternary Operator	p. 91
Boolean Operators	p. 91
The if...else Statement	p. 94
The Temperature Conversion Program	p. 95
The if...else if...else Statement	p. 97
The switch Structure	p. 100
The Dice Roller Program	p. 102
Arrays	p. 104
Declaring Arrays	p. 106
Assigning Values to Arrays	p. 107
Combined Declaration and Initialization	p. 108
Accessing Array Values	p. 108
The Array Use Program	p. 109
The Fortune Teller Revisited	p. 112
Summary	p. 115
Chapter 4 Repetition Statements and Exception Handling	p. 117
The Guess-a-Number Application	p. 118
Flow as Repetition	p. 118
The for Statement	p. 119
The Racer Program	p. 120
Basic Repetition Activities	p. 122
Redefinition of Control Variables	p. 123
Control and Unary Operators	p. 124
Variations on Intervals	p. 126
Compound Assignment Operators	p. 128
Variations on the Use of the for Structure	p. 131
Nested Repetition Blocks	p. 134
The while Statement	p. 138
The do...while Statement	p. 141
The continue and break Keywords	p. 144
Using throw and finally with try...catch Structures	p. 149
Back to Guessing a Number	p. 154
Summary	p. 158
Chapter 5 Object-Oriented Programming	p. 161
Object-Oriented Concepts	p. 162
States and Attributes	p. 162
Behaviors	p. 162
Attributes and Methods	p. 164
Picturing Classes	p. 165
Implementing a Class	p. 167
Defining Attributes	p. 169
Defining Methods	p. 169
Default Constructors	p. 171
Overloaded Constructors	p. 172
Creating a Test Driver Class	p. 174
Encapsulation	p. 178
Scope Considerations	p. 179
The Scope and ScopeTest Classes	p. 180
More on Methods	p. 184
Method Overloading	p. 184
Method Signatures and Return Operations	p. 186
Assignments and Cascading Calls	p. 188
Points of Return	p. 189
Static Methods and Attributes	p. 190
More on Constructors and the this Keyword	p. 193
Composition	p. 195
The Card Class	p. 197
The CardDeck Class	p. 201
Testing the Associated Classes	p. 205
Trump	p. 207
Summary	p. 211
Chapter 6 Building a Class Hierarchy	p. 213
Software Reusability	p. 214
Specialization and Generalization	p. 215
Creating a Class Hierarchy	p. 218
Concrete Classes	p. 220
A Concrete Base Class	p. 221
Testing the Base Car Class	p. 224
Second-Tier Classes	p. 226
Third-Tier Classes	p. 235
Method Overriding	p. 239
The Sedan Class and Overriding	p. 241
Testing the Sedan Class	p. 243
Finalization	p. 245
Polymorphism	p. 246
ChildCart	p. 248
DieselElectric	p. 250
GasElectric	p. 252
Using Polymorphic Options	p. 254
Summary	p. 258
Chapter 7 Abstract Classes and Interfaces	p. 261
Abstract Classes	p. 262
Abstract Methods	p. 263
Picturing Abstract Classes and Methods	p. 264
Using Abstraction in the Car Hierarchy	p. 267
The Car Class as an Abstract Class	p. 267
The Economy Class as an Abstract Class	p. 271
Creating a Concrete Class	p. 272
Other Concrete and Abstract Classes	p. 274
Polymorphic Uses of Abstract Data Types	p. 276
References and Identifiers	p. 276
References and Collections	p. 277
Interfaces	p. 282
Multiple Inheritance and the Use of Interfaces	p. 285
Picturing Interfaces	p. 286
Creating a Test Application	p. 287
Implementing a GUI Application	p. 287
Accommodating Window Closing Events	p. 293
Inner Classes	p. 296
Explicitly Named Inner Classes	p. 296
Inner Anonymous and Final Classes	p. 301
Summary	p. 304
Chapter 8 Graphic User Interface Activities	p. 305
Setting Up a Window	p. 306
Lab View A	p. 306
Layout Management	p. 312
Other Layout Managers	p. 315
Pluggable Look and Feel	p. 317
Adding Menu Features	p. 318
Arrays and Patterns	p. 321
Lab View B	p. 322
Event Handling	p. 331
The Handler	p. 332
Associating Events with Menu Items	p. 333
Identifying and Processing Messages	p. 333
JOptionPane Dialogs	p. 335
Window Location Using the Java Toolkit	p. 340
Use of a JLabel Object for a Status Bar	p. 342
Summary	p. 343
Chapter 9 Refactoring and Data Containers	p. 345
Custom Dialogs and the Lab View Application	p. 346
Refactoring and Software Patterns	p. 346
Models and Views	p. 348
Refactoring the showElements() Method	p. 349
Implementing the Elements Class	p. 351
Hashtable	p. 359
Hashtable Construction Activities	p. 361
Tokenizing a String	p. 366
Enumeration	p. 369
ArrayList	p. 370
String and StringBuffer	p. 373
Glyph Problems	p. 374
Tabs	p. 375
Cleaning Up Data	p. 375
The Inner Class and the finalize Method	p. 376
Mutator and Accessor Methods of the Elements Class	p. 377
Exceptions	p. 377
Summary	p. 378
Chapter 10 Extending Applications	p. 381
Using Dialogs to Extend the Application	p. 382
Child Windows	p. 384
The JDialog Window	p. 385
JDialog Construction	p. 391
Disposal and Initialization	p. 391
The Box Layout Manager	p. 392
Fonts	p. 393
Lab View Menu Considerations	p. 394
An Abstract Primary Dialog	p. 397
Mouse Drawing and Graphics	p. 400
Input/Output Operations	p. 407
Writing to a File	p. 412
Reading from a File	p. 413
Reading Information for a Help Dialog	p. 414
The TableMaker Class	p. 417
Layout for the Dialog	p. 427
Event Processing	p. 428
Processing Details	p. 430
Other Concerns	p. 431
Summary	p. 432
Appendix ConTEXT for Java	p. 435
Setting Up an Editor for Java	p. 435
Obtaining ConTEXT	p. 436
Installing ConTEXT	p. 437
Setting ConTEXT Options	p. 441
Accessing Your Java Files	p. 442
Selecting the Highlighter for Java	p. 443
Setting Up the Highlighter	p. 443
Setting Up Associations	p. 443
Setting the Backup Directory	p. 446
Word Wrap and the Ruler	p. 447
Setting the Function Keys	p. 447
Associating F9 with the javac Command	p. 447
Testing F9	p. 448
Associating F10 with the java Command	p. 449
Testing F10	p. 452
Index	p. 453

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