Jeremy Watts wrote:
I take it that 'goof' is a typo for 'good' not 'goofy'...
(And if I'm wrong then I'm sure someone will be happy to make a few goofy
recommendation... Andew ? ;-)
There's a book called:
Objects First with Java
A Practical Introduction using BlueJ
of which you can find a description here:
http://www.bluej.org/objects-first/description.html
Be warned: /I have not read the book/, so I can't actually recommend it (so
maybe this is a bit goofy after all).
So why suggest it ? The reason is that it's based on the BlueJ IDE. BlueJ is
a Java IDE designed from the ground up for use in teaching beginners. I have
looked at BlueJ (and the papers that describe its rationale) and it seems to me
to be very well thought out for its purpose. The approach its designers took
seems to me to show considerable intuition into both what programming is really
about, and into how to teach it. AFAIK, the writers of the book have been
heavily involved in the creation of BlueJ, as well as teaching with it, so I
have hopes that the book is as well-considered as the IDE.
Of course, the book may just be a pile of crap, but I hope not. In any case, I
feel it's worth checking if you can find a copy to browse in your local
bookshop. With luck somebody else here /has/ read it, and can comment more
usefully.
(Incidentally, the BlueJ tool is freely downloadable from the above website,
but the book itself costs money.)
-- chris