Section 3.1. What You Will Learn | Java Application Development on Linux

3.1. What You Will Learn

Java syntax and semantics for the familiar (to an experienced programmer) programming constructs.
How Java implements the OO: buzzwords of inheritance, encapsulation, and polymorphism.
How Java deals with the absence of C++-style multiple inheritance.
Why the absence of templates in Java is not as crippling as a C++ programmer might suppose.
How final is better than virtual and how interfaces are often better than multiple inheritance.

This is going to be a whirlwind tour. Our book assumes that you already know programming in general, and have had some exposure to OO programming. We are going to distill into a single chapter material that comprises significant portions of other books. In particular, if there are concepts here that you are not already familiar with, look at Chapters 19 of Bruce Eckel's wonderful book, Thinking in Java, 3rd ed., published by Prentice Hall PTR (ISBN 0-131-00287-2). It is, genuinely, one of the best books on the market for learning the Java language and the design principles Java embodies.

If you are somewhat new to programming, but technically quite adept (maybe a system administrator or database administrator with little formal programming background), you may want to supplement your reading with a book that, unlike Eckel's, is targeted more toward the novice programmer. We like Java Software Solutions: Foundations of Program Design, 3rd ed., by John Lewis and William Loftus, Addison-Wesley, 2003 (ISBN 0-201-78129-8). It will introduce the concepts behind the programming constructs, whereas we will assume that you know these concepts so we can focus only on the Java syntax.