Learn Java the Hard Way

The book is a good way to get started from the absolute basics. I like the emphasis on using Notepad++, which is very simple, along with the command line to execute programs- this approach is much simpler to begin with, as opposed to using a full IDE (such as Netbeans or IntelliJ).

There are a lot of learning resources out there that baby you too much and never take off the training wheels. On the other side of things, there are a lot of resources for "beginners" out there that leave people confused and put off. Learn Java the Hard Way strikes a good balance. The author is great at what he does.

It was fun! Challenging at times, but I found it was less technically informative than I'd like. I used google-fu to define a lot of of the code you're given and make sense of nomenclature which wasn't expounded upon in the book

I did the Learn Java Book and website and found it very verbose and pretty basic.

LJTHW is an awesome book for a total beginner. I studied a bit of java in college but never really got it. Im 90% done with this book and understand and can apply every topic covered. I even find myself wanting to modify the examples to make them more functional or logical.

I love the lessons so far! This is the first programming language I'm learning and all the instructions have been very plain english and informative.

First of all, great book! I'm going through the sample at the moment and will definitely buy the rest. I had tried many times learning Java before (as a means of eventually getting into Android development) but always found the learning materials confusing and uneven in their "teaching curve" (if that's a thing). It looks like this time I'll be able to stick around to the end.

I highly recommend Learn Java The Hard Way. It's the most amazing tool I've used to learn Java yet! (Though I've never used an actual classroom haha)