CS 492 Home News Assignments Class Presentations Syllabus Bibliography

Required Textbook

• Larman, Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design, Prentice Hall PTR, 1998.

Other Software Engineering Textbooks

• Jorgensen, Software Testing, CRC Press, 2002.
• Larman, Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design, Prentice Hall PTR, 1998.
• Schach, Software Engineering with Java, Irwin, 1997.

Other Extreme Programming References

• Beck, Extreme Programming Explained, ?, ?.
• Fowler, Refactoring, Addison-Wesley, ?.

Other OOD and UML References

• Wirfs-Brock, Wilkerson, and Wiener, Designing Object-Oriented Software, Prentice Hall, 1990.
• Fowler, UML Distilled: Applying the Standard Object Modeling Language, Addison-Wesley, 1997.
• Booch, Object-Oriented Design (most recent edition) Benjamin Cummings
• Booch, Rumbaugh, Jacobson, The Unified Modeling Language User Guide, Addison-Wesley, 1999.
• Jacobson, Booch, Rumbaugh, The Unified Software Development Process, Addison-Wesley, 1999.
• Rumbaugh, Jacobson, Booch, The Unified Modeling Language Reference Manual, Addison-Wesley, 1999.

Other Design Pattern References

• Gamma, et al, Design Patterns, Addison Wesley, 1995.
• Grand, Patterns in Java, Volume 1, John Wiley & Sons, 1998.

Java References

Online References
• The Java Tutorial -- Sun's online tutorial for Java 2 (also available as several books)
• Online documentation of all standard Java classes: Java 2, Version 1.2, Java 2, Version 1.3

  Books    (See below for Autumn Spaulding's reviews)

• John Cowell, Essential Java 2 Fast, Springer
• David Flanagan, Java in a Nutshell, O'Reilley
• Cay Horstmann and Gary Cornell, Core Java 2, Volume I, Prentice Hall
• James M. Slack, Programming and Problem Solving with JAVA, Brooks/Cole
• Peter van der Linden, Just Java 2, Prentice Hall
• Geoff Friesen, Java 2 By Example, Que

Program Style

• Vermeulen, et al, The Elements of Java Style, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  I agree with everything in this book except:
  5. Use 4 spaces rather than two; put the left brace on its own line, lined up with the right brace.
  24. I usually don't like get/set methods. If you use them, be sure to think in terms of object attributes from the client's perspective, rather than the actual internal representation.
  30. Should isolate field names (data hiding) -- this is the same concern as for Rule 24.
  66. The semi-colon indicating an empty statement should be on the next line and indented, just as a normal statement would be. This provides an extra visual clue that the statement associated with the control structure is empty.
  70. I agree with the principles and most of the specifics of this rule, but some of the strictures against overriding are misleadingly strong. The last example clarifies acceptable use.

• The Kalamazoo College Computer Science Program Style Guide and Documentation Standards.
• A Java class template that meets the documentation standards

Remember that you can use Ariadne and other library resources through the world wide web.

Autumn's Book Reviews, revised 20 June 2000

Five star rating sysem:

***** you'll sleep with it under your pillow
**** you'll use it often
*** you'll find it useful
** you'll find it frustrating
* you'll throw it out the window

Just Java 2, Peter van der Linden, Sun Microsystems Press
$44.99/$31.40 at Amazon.com

Just Java is an excellent book with which to learn Java. The book begins with an interesting and thorough description of Java and its inception and continues with useful hints for C/C++ programmers in converting to Java. The book is highly recommended. The book is neither brief nor cheap, neither is it obfuscated nor worthless. If you want a no-nonsense "give me the espresso quick" intro to Java, this may not be your book. This is more the "large cup of coffee and a jelly donut" type of book--a bit easier to stomach. The author's light tone and (not bad) humor makes it a quicker read than you might think, and you learn some handy tips along the way. Just Java 2 is an excellent book for giving you a good foundation in the Java paradigm and will serve you well. If you have trouble seeing the forest for the trees, this book may give you a good grasp of the overall picture. If you have trouble seeing the trees for the forest, you should look elsewhere for a quick and easy book. I learned Java using this book and found it to be very useful in giving me a good background knowledge and then showing examples. ****

Java in a Nutshell, David Flanagan, O'Reilley
$29.95/$20.97 at Amazon.com

My copy of Java in a Nutshell has more bookmarks in it than any other book I own and never leaves my desk when I'm writing Java code. Students planning or considering a major or minor in computer science are highly recommended to obtain a copy for themselves. Students who do not plan to continue in computer science will also find it useful but will find that the online documentation coupled with the other recommended textbooks may be sufficient. Java in a Nutshell is a Quick Reference that is straightforward, easy to use, and does not contain examples. It lists the classes and the member functions associated with those classes so that using Java's extensive built in libraries is made easier. Java in a Nutshell is _not_ intended to be an introduction to Java (much like Webster's Dictionary is not used for teaching first graders how to read) but it is very useful once you have the basics down. Java Examples in a Nutshell used to be included in this book but has become a separate volume so that it could be made more extensive. I have this book and I have found other books to be more useful for examples. It is not a recommended book, although you are welcome to preview my copy if you think it may be useful to you. ** or ***** (depending on whether you like reading the online documentation, which is essentially the same)

Essential Java 2 Fast, John Cowell, Springer
$29.95 at Amazon.com

This is the aforementioned "give me the expresso quick" book. If you want a no-nonsense "throw you in the deep end and teach you how to swim" book, this is for you. Short and to the point. Lacks much of the interesting text that other books give you but it isn't verbose. Much better than the previous version, this book should be useful although not exhaustive. This book can give you a taste of Java and attempts to cover a broad range of topics in about one tenth of the space that other books would use, for better or worse. ***

Programming and Problem Solving with JAVA, James M. Slack, Brooks/Cole
$62.95 at Amazon.com

This book gives a good overview of Java Programming, then gets more specific in subsequent chapters. The writing style is clear and sticks to the point while giving good explanations of concepts. The code examples are extremely well thought out (giving the impression that the author knows what they are talking about) and even the simple examples are well-designed. I have found no complaint with this book. We are currently choosing textbooks for our CS-1 class and I have not seen a single book that can even compare to this. The organization of the book is well thought out, and the appendices are very useful as optional material. The author's explanations of his code examples and the subsequent explanations of alternate methods and the reasons why a programmer would choose one over another for a particular task are extremely useful. I would recommend this book to anyone learning Java or as a reference for understanding Java concepts. *****

Java 2 By Example Geoff Friesen, Que
$24.00/17.49 at Amazon.com

This book has (big surprise) lots of code examples. If you think Java in a Nutshell is a little too "in a nutshell", this book gives a concise but through explanation of Java's properties, making Java easier to understand. This book would be useful as a reference because it explains things well. Say you're in class, and the professor is talking about linked lists or arrays or calling methods or inheritance, and you have no idea what he/she was talking about, you can look it up in this book and there is an explanation of just that thing, and (usually) an example. Good for the beginning Java programmer to an experienced programmer who needs a refresher once in a while. A well-written book. Most students will find it useful. ***

Any of these books are available for preview if you are not sure which to buy. Contact Alyce Brady (abrady@max.cs.kzoo.edu) or Autumn Spaulding (autumn@max.cs.kzoo.edu) for more advice on books to buy or to look over a copy of a book.