Head First Java: A Brain-Friendly Guide

What will you learn from this book?

Head First Java is a complete learning experience in Java and object-oriented programming. With this book, you'll learn the Java language with a unique method that goes beyond how-to manuals and helps you become a great programmer. Through puzzles, mysteries, and soul-searching interviews with famous Java objects, you'll quickly get up to speed on Java's fundamentals and advanced topics including lambdas, streams, generics, threading, networking, and the dreaded desktop GUI. If you have experience with another programming language, Head First Java will engage your brain with more modern approaches to coding--the sleeker, faster, and easier to read, write, and maintain Java of today.

What's so special about this book?

If you've read a Head First book, you know what to expect--a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. With Head First Java, you'll learn Java through a multisensory experience that engages your mind, rather than by means of a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.

Kathy has been interested in learning theory since her days as a game designer for Virgin, MGM, and Amblin', and a teacher of New Media Authoring at UCLA. She was a master Java trainer for Sun Microsystems, and she founded JavaRanch.com (now CodeRanch.com), which won Jolt Cola Productivity awards in 2003 and 2004.

In 2015, she won the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Pioneer Award for her work creating skillful users and building sustainable communities. Kathy's recent focus has been on cutting-edge, movement science and skill acquisition coaching, known as ecological dynamics or Eco-D. Her work using Eco-D for training horses is ushering in a far, far more humane approach to horsemanship, causing delight for some (and sadly, consternation for others). Those fortunate (autonomous!) horses whose owners are using Kathy's approach are happier, healthier, and more athletic than their fellows who are traditionally trained.You can follow Kathy on Instagram @pantherflows

Before Bert was an author, he was a developer, specializing in old-school AI (mostly expert systems), real-time OSes, and complex scheduling systems. In 2003, Bert and Kathy wrote Head First Java and launched the Head First series. Since then, he's written more Java books and consulted with Sun Microsystems and Oracle on many of their Java certifications. He trains authors and editors to create books that teach well. Of the hundreds of authors he's trained, many have gone on to write best-selling books. Bert's a Go player, and in 2016 he watched in horror and fascination as AlphaGo trounced Lee Sedol. Recently he's been using Eco-D (ecological dynamics) to improve his golf game and to train his parrotlet Bokeh. You can email Bert at CodeRanch.com.

Trisha Gee is a Java Champion, published author, and leader of the Java developer advocacy team at JetBrains. She’s developed Java applications for companies of all sizes in the finance, manufacturing, and nonprofit industries and beyond. Trisha has expertise in Java high-performance systems, dabbles with open source development, and is a leader of the Sevilla Java User Group.