Texts and Materials

Texts and Materials (Both Books are Required)
(ALWAYS MAKE  VERY  SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT EDITION OF EACH TEXTBOOK!!!)

1. Robertson, Lesley Anne, Simple Program Design: A Step-by-Step Approach, 5th edition, Thomson Course Technology, Boston, MA), 2007 (ISBN: 10 1 42 390132 0; and 13 978 1 42 390132 7). There may be a book’s Web site at www.course.com . There is no CD in the textbook. THIS BOOK IS REQUIRED.

Why I chose this textbook: This particular book covers programming in a language-free environment. It is important to understand how computers 'work' before you can really program them.

Why I chose this textbook: After using Barnes and Kolling for the first time, I needed to find a text that was usable. This is the best book I have found out of some 40 or so books and online tutorials/books that I reviewed. This book covers Java independent of IDEs (Integrated Development Environments), so we will use BlueJ templates (that I developed) into which to put its codes (from the enclosed CD) directly into the BlueJ IDE.


3. Index Cards: Bring a few 3 x 5" index cards (no other size - borrow one if you have to) to every class. These serve multiple purposes. I use these to conduct surveys about class activities, the class itself, etc., and to start class discussions (minute term papers, minute quizzes). Writing down your comments really helps a lot. I use these during case discussions. I may collect several from you, indicating your level of class participation.


4. Jump (Flash, USB) Drive: You MUST own one of these and bring it to class every day. Even though you can back your work up to your U: drive in the lab classroom, you really need to have portability in your backup capability. Do not rely on the hard disk on the systems in the labs (once you log out, they are wiped clean). You are ultimately responsible for your own lost files. [I am stating this two more times because it is so important!] You are ultimately responsible for your own lost files. You are ultimately responsible for your own lost files.

5. The BlueJ IDE (and the appropriate version of the Java Development Toolkit): (because you own your own PC) (documentation is on the Web site) from www.bluej.org.

6. My Java Documentation: I will be writing documentation and posting it to WebCT on an as needed basis.

NonText(s):


7. Barnes, David J. and Michael Kolling, Objects First with Java: A Practical Introduction Using BlueJ, Third Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ (Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, Essex, England), 2006 (ISBN: 13: 978-0-13-197629-0 and 10: 0-13-197629-X). The book's CD contains a set of software useful and necessary to implement Java code. The book seems to have two companion Web sites: www.pearsoned.co.uk/barnes/ and www.bluej.org/objects-first/ . The BlueJ site is www.bluej.org .


Why I did NOT choose this textbook: This particular book is currently used by other instructors at UGA. I had used this well-known book until the Spring 2007 semester and found that even though it is reputed to be the best BlueJ/Java book out there, most of it (basically Chapters 3 until the end) is incomprehensible to people learning how to program for the first time. If you feel you are missing something, feel free to pick this up, but most people can't understand anything in it until they complete a course like MIST 4600.