Java All-in-One For Dummies, 4th Edition

Introduction

Welcome to Java All-in-One For Dummies, 4th Edition — the one Java book that's designed to replace an entire shelf full of the dull, tedious titles you'd otherwise have to buy. This book contains all the basic information you need to know to get going with Java programming, starting with writing statements and using variables and ending with techniques for writing programs that use animation and play games. Along the way, you find plenty of not-so-basic information about programming user interfaces, working with classes and objects, creating web applications, and dealing with files and databases.

You can (and probably should, eventually) buy separate books on each of these topics. It won't take long before your bookshelf is bulging with 10,000 or more pages of detailed information about every imaginable nuance of Java programming. But before you're ready to tackle each of those topics in depth, you need to get a bird's-eye picture. That's what this book is about.

And if you already own 10,000 pages or more of Java information, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of detail and wonder, “Do I really need to read 1,200 pages about JSP just to create a simple web page? And do I really need a six-pound book on Swing?” Truth is, most 1,200-page programming books have about 200 pages of really useful information — the kind you use every day — and about 1,000 pages of excruciating details that apply mostly if you're writing guidance-control programs for nuclear missiles ...