Hi,
I'm new to java and currently following the book. "the Art an science of java-Eric Roberts"
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Java-Eric-Roberts/dp/0321486129

do you think I will be an Industry ready professional In java once I complete the book assuming that I understand everything that the book throws at me?
Is there another book thats a good follow-up to this book?

does this book contain everything there Is to know in java?

Warm Regards,
Parastar

 

 

If only, if only...

Mel

 

 

Hey Parastar,

acutally i dont know the book, but my experience is, that a java book isn´t enough to be a industry ready professional. It maybe is a good starting point to learn about the syntax and some features of the java programming language, but this is the easy part i think. When you starting to develop professional software you should start to understand what object orientated Software developing is and how you can use it to write understandable and extensible code. So first read that book and become familiar with the java syntax and then read this book:

http://www.amazon.de/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Freeman/dp/0596007124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books-intl-de&qid=1257245685&sr=8-1

Okay first it looks like a book for childs, but look at the comments of the readers, it´s every cent worth!

After reading both books, you will be ready ;-)
Greetz

 

 

Not in the slightest. The Java language and the standard libs are just the tip of the iceberg.


Tons.


Not even close. Knowing absolutely everything about the Java language itself won't make you a developer.

Is reading the Highway Code enough to make you a good driver?

 

 

can you name a few books that are accurate follow-ups of this book?

okay,assuming I know everything in the book and also know how to Implement it in industry programming,should I be okay?
are there other basic/core methodologies that are not mentioned In this book?
If not where can I learn about them?

Thanks.,.

 

 

You won't be an "industry ready professional" until you've been working in industry for a few years. Yes I know that's a bootstrap problem, but from the companies' perspective it's your problem.

 

 

Assuming that isn't a good idea. Basically, no matter how much you think you've learnt everything you don't know Thing One about actually writing software professionally until you've actually been doing it a while. One thing to note is that coding and Java skills are only a part of the puzzle.


On the job.

/thread

 

 

Let's see: a four year programming degree at a major university doesn't make you an "industry ready professional", so why would reading just one book? That's like saying you read the manual to your Saturn and understood it, so now you are ready to be a mechanic--not hardly. While you are going to get a grasp of some simple concepts and a cursory understanding of Java, there isn't a quick path to becoming a programmer--that much study/training would not even begin to get you into an interview. Invest the time and money in programming degree or technology trade school--you will be doing yourself and anyone that you may interview with a big favor.

When a candidates resume actually makes it through pre-screening process (and yours would not), the first round of interviews is solely based on what have you done--why are you here--why do you think you can be a contributing member of our team? Unless you have a favorite uncle that is willing to give you a "foot in the door" type of job, you just are not going to make it in to actually talk to a human about working at a company with just reading a book--oh, and doing the exercises. Before I moved over to be a DBA we would have 100's of applicants for every entry level position--the top of our requirements: 4 year college degree in computer science or software engineering... we didn't even look at the others, but you can bet that the interviews are rigorous and designed to eliminate anyone that didn't meet our picture of a viable candidate.

 

 

Dude, I've read literally hundreds of programming and related books... Some days I'm definately not an "industry ready professional in Java" [or any other language]. If it was that easy then everyone would be a "professional programmer". Yes?

Folks seem to ignore that fact that IT is a highly competitive industry, and you're setting yourself-up to go "head to head" with thousands of (arguably) the smartest people on the planet.

All these figures are guestimates... I have absolutely no imperical evidence to support them, BUT I do think they're repesentative of how the how this industry actually works. You run a university course, into which you accept a thousand representatives from the top 25% of the population of school leavers. About half of them flunk-out in the first year, and not typically the brighter half either, so we're down to the brightest 12.5% of the population, from which another 10% will get "distracted" in some way over the course of the next two years, leaving the top 11.25% to actually graduate.

Now about one tenth of them will never work in IT (many have double degrees), and about a quarter will get there first start in non-programming IT jobs (like DBA's, sys-ops, network-sparkies, etc, etc)... So we're down to (arguably) to top 7.3125% of the population who ever get a jersey as a junior programmer. About half of them will get distracted, drop-out, freak-out, or just plain burn-out during there first five years, and susequently retrain in a less challenging field such as law, accountancy, rocket science, neurosurgery, or subatomic-physics.

Someone once told me that the average person is capable of holding the state of 7 things in there working memory... the average programmer regularly holds the state of 70 things in there mind, and plays them back and forth like a video.

So...

Q: Is reading one 200 page book enough to make me a "professional programmer"?
A: If you're dumb enough to ask that question the answer is fundamentally mue.

See also: Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years (Why is everyone in such a rush?) by Peter Norvig.

Having said that, everyone has to start somewhere, and reading one book might lead to two, then ten, then holly crap I actually know _some_thing, then fifty, and then two hundred... I just reckon it's time somebody in this business was honest to the latest flock of fledgling hopefuls about what it takes to actually be competative in this game, and just how many good people fall by the wayside (some of them very nice waysides) along the path.

Jeeezus, teach yourself to make coffee in 21 days, a enjoy a lifetime of trying to master the art.

Cheers. Keith.

 

 

Keith ++

 

 

Consciously or otherwise presumably you're referring to The magic number 7 ± 2 which is well worth a read.


I don't think you'd win the argument. Smart != good at maths and logic.

 

 

I guess the correct "there/their/they're" choice was number 8...

:)

 

 

So to sum up, OP, there's nothing inherently wrong with the book you've read, AFAIK, and there's nothing inherently wrong with book-smarts in general. But that alone is not going to make you an "industry standard professional" whatever that is.

 

 

so,If you want to be someone who can develop quality code in java and hold his own among top developers what'a you gotta do?
obviously apart from reading books and attending class?

 

 

Write a lot of (bad) code. Eventually there will be glimmers of quality. Write enough and you might start writing some good stuff.

However, beware the dangers of self-assessment - you might be Incompetent and unware of it. If you read that and don't find it humbling you ought to have.