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Murach’s Java Programming (6th Edition)
List price: $59.50
Now covers Java SE 17
Ever since the first edition of this book was published in 2001, it’s been a favorite of instructors and students because of the clear, concise way it teaches Java and object-oriented programming. Now, this 6th Edition has been updated, reorganized, and streamlined to focus on the essentials and to do a better job than ever of setting the right pace for a beginning Java student.
Now available as a Canvas course!
The Canvas course file contains all the objectives, quizzes, assignments, and slides that you need to run an effective course. It only takes a few clicks to import it into the Canvas LMS. Then, you can customize it for your course. Learn more.
I love the way this book is set up. We used this in my Java Programming class, and it just makes everything so much easier and clearer.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
- About this Book
- Table of Contents
- Courseware
- FAQs
- Corrections
What this book does for your students
This book focuses on what a beginning Java programmer needs to know. The Table of Contents shows how the content is structured. But briefly, here‘s how the content works for your students:
It gets them off to a quick start
By the end of chapter 2, your students will be writing their first complete Java applications that get input, perform calculations, and display output.
It shows them how to build realistic applications
By the end of chapter 9, your students will be writing object-oriented applications that validate user input and use files to store their data.
It helps them learn faster by using an IDE
Starting from chapter 1, your students will take advantage of the time-saving features that an IDE provides as they use NetBeans or Eclipse to create, compile, run, test, and debug Java applications.
It teaches them OOP in a practical and clear way
Chapter 7 introduces your students to object-oriented programming (OOP), including the concept of encapsulation. Then, chapters 10 and 11 explain inheritance and polymorphism in a practical way that cuts through the mystery and confusion these subjects can cause. This provides the foundation that your students need to develop real-world, object-oriented, business applications.
It shows them how to create user-friendly GUIs
Section 3 shows how to develop attractive graphical user interfaces (GUIs) with JavaFX, a modern library that’s designed to replace the aging Swing library.
It lets them master essential professional skills
Section 4 presents more Java skills that your students will use all the time, like extra skills for working with strings, collections, lambdas, recursion, algorithms, dates, times, and databases. Each chapter in this section is independent of the others, so you can teach these chapters in whatever sequence you prefer.
It shows them how to work with databases
Chapter 19 shows your students how to write database classes that map objects to a relational database. First, they’ll learn how to use SQL to work with a SQLite database. Then, they’ll learn how to use JDBC to work with any database.
It prepares them for web and mobile development
By the end of section 2, your students will have the foundation in Java programming that they need to learn how to develop applications for the web or mobile devices. So, they’ll be ready for other courses that show how to use Java to develop web applications or Android apps.
Why your students will learn faster and better with our book
We’ve specifically designed this book to help your students learn Java faster and better than they ever could before. Here are a few of the ways it does that:
- There are two ways to simplify material: Avoid all complications or present the material in the right order, at the right pace. The no-complications approach doesn’t give students a true view of how Java programming works, so we present each piece slowly and methodically in section 1, building skills and confidence. Then, after the foundation is in place, the rest of the book picks up the pace.
- All the material is in our distinctive paired-pages format, where each topic is presented in a two-page spread: the examples and reference material are on the right-hand page with additional explanation and perspective on the left. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s the ideal format for students who want to read less, do more, and pick up information on demand. Students love it!
- Besides fitting students’ learning style, the paired-pages format also helps your students do their assignments and prepare for tests by making it easy for them to (1) review what they’ve learned and (2) refresh their memories on how to apply their new skills.
- This book presents dozens of complete applications. In each chapter, the applications start simply to illustrate the new concepts and skills, but then show the new skills in the context of real-world programming. We have long felt that these applications are essential to effective learning, and no other publisher does this the way we do. Yes, other books present complete applications too, but when the applications are trivial, they limit what the students can be expected to learn.
What software your students need
- Java Standard Edition (Java SE)
- NetBeans or Eclipse
Although this book covers Java SE 17, the code it presents will work with future versions of Java. In addition, this book clearly notes which features have been added since SE 9, which makes it possible to use this book with earlier versions too.
Using the time-saving features of an IDE is the easiest and best way to learn Java. That’s why this book shows how to use NetBeans and Eclipse, the two most popular IDEs for Java development.
Appendix A (Windows) and Appendix B (macOS) explain how to install the software, all of which is free.
What’s new in this edition
This book has been updated from Java SE 9 to Java SE 17, which is the current long-term support (LTS) release. As part of this update, we have streamlined this book to do a better job than ever of setting the right pace for a beginning Java student.
New book features
- Eclipse coverage has been integrated into the book
- Scanner object coverage has been simplified to make it easier and less error-prone for students to get input from the console
- Array and array list coverage has been simplified and is presented earlier to make the book applications more realistic and interesting
- File I/O coverage has been simplified and is presented earlier to make the book applications more realistic and interesting
- JavaFX coverage has been expanded and is presented earlier to engage students by creating visually pleasing graphical user interfaces
- Recursion and algorithm coverage has been added so students can learn about these important programming concepts
New Java features
- Type inference lets you write code that’s more concise and easier to maintain
- Arrow labels provide a more concise and less error-prone way to write switch statements
- Switch expressions provide a more concise way to write switch statements that set the value of a variable
- Pattern matching with the instanceof operator provides a more concise way to get objects that match a specified type
- Records provide a concise way to code immutable objects that you can use to transfer data
- Sealed classes provide a new way to control how inheritance hierarchies work
What people say about this book
“I love this book. It was the required text for my Java class and I'm glad. It's very concise, very easy to follow. The left page will be a detailed description of the figure on the page to the right, along with a breakdown of major takeaways from that section.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“I initially rented this book for a crash course on Java GUI. I liked it so much that I ended up buying a copy.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“One of the things I really like is that this book uses an IDE to teach Java to the next generation of programmers. A lot of books focus on the language itself [as though] an IDE plays no role in learning Java. Any professional programmer will tell you that an IDE is absolutely essential in making you more productive.”
- John Yeary, Java Evangelist
“Another thing I like is the exercises at the end of each chapter. These exercises are a great way to reinforce the main points of each chapter and force you to get your hands dirty.”
- Hien Luu, SD Forum/Java SIG
“I loved the way this book is set up. We used this in my Java Programming class, and it just makes everything so much easier and clearer.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“I've most recently used the Java book to supplement my (rather terrible) textbook for a recent Java class at a local college. I made an A in the class, which wouldn't have been possible with the required textbook alone.”
- IT Manager, North Carolina
“The beauty of Murach books is that they are broken into what I call 'mini lessons.’ I can look at a chapter and decide it has 14 mini lessons, and that is manageable to me as opposed to saying I need to read 30 pages to cover the chapter. In addition, each mini lesson is 2 pages. The left page describes the material and the right page provides the examples. No longer do I have to hunt for the examples in the discussion. And the book is less than $100. This was a true bargain in the runaway prices of textbooks in colleges these days, especially in the STEM subjects.”
- Posted at an online bookseller
“I have worked for several training companies as a trainer, and I can categorically state that Murach Books are superior to any courseware that I have ever encountered. Your examples and code are more hands-on, and they work. You may quote me.”
- Robert Vaughn, PhD, Iowa
View the table of contents for this book in a PDF: Table of Contents (PDF)
Click on any chapter title to display or hide its content.
Section 1 Essential concepts and skills
Chapter 1 An introduction to Java
An overview of Java
Java timeline
Java editions
How Java compares to C++ and C#
Types of Java applications
Two types of desktop applications
Web applications and mobile apps
An introduction to Java development
The code for a console application
How Java compiles and interprets code
How to use the command prompt to compile and run a Java application
An introduction to Java IDEs
How to get started with NetBeans
An introduction to NetBeans
How to open and close a project
How to compile and run a project
How to work with the Output window
How to create a new project
How to get started with Eclipse
An introduction to Eclipse
How to open and close a project
How to compile and run a project
How to work with the Console window
How to create a new project
Chapter 2 How to write your first applications
Basic coding skills
How to declare a class and a main() method
How to code statements
How to code comments
How to work with numeric variables
How to declare and initialize variables
Rules and recommendations for naming variables
How to code arithmetic expressions
How to work with string variables
How to declare and initialize a string
How to join and append strings
How to include special characters in strings
How to use classes, objects, and methods
How to import classes
How to create objects and call methods
How to use the console for input and output
How to print output to the console
How to read input from the console
How to code simple control statements
How to compare numeric variables
How to compare string variables
How to code if/else statements
How to code while statements
Two illustrative applications
The Invoice application
The Test Score application
Two more skills for the road
How to test and debug an application
How to view the documentation for a class
Chapter 3 How to work with the primitive data types
Basic skills for working with data
The eight primitive data types
How to declare and initialize variables
How to declare and initialize constants
How to code arithmetic expressions
How to use the binary operators
How to use the compound assignment operators
How to use the unary operators
How to work with the order of precedence
How to work with casting
More skills for working with numbers
How to use the Math class
How to use the NumberFormat class
How to print formatted output to the console
The Invoice application with formatted output
How to debug a rounding error
Chapter 4 How to code control statements
How to code Boolean expressions
How to use the relational operators
How to use the logical operators
How to work with if/else statements
How to code if/else statements
How to work with braces
How to code nested if/else statements
How to work with switch statements and expressions
How to code switch statements
How to use arrow labels with switch statements
How to code switch expressions
The Invoice application with a switch expression
How to work with loops
How to code while loops
How to code do-while loops
How to code for loops
The Future Value application
How to code nested loops
How to code break and continue statements
How to code break statements
How to code continue statements
The Guess the Number application
Chapter 5 How to code methods and handle exceptions
How to code and call static methods
How to code static methods
How to call static methods
The Future Value application with a static method
The Guess the Number application with static methods
How to handle exceptions
How exceptions work
How to catch exceptions
How to prevent exceptions
How to validate data
How to validate a single entry
How to code a method that validates an entry
The Future Value application with data validation
The console
The code
Chapter 6 How to test and debug an application
Basic skills for testing and debugging
Typical test phases
The three types of errors
Common Java errors
A simple way to trace code execution
How to use NetBeans to debug an application
How to set and remove breakpoints
How to step through code
How to inspect variables
How to inspect the stack trace
How to use Eclipse to debug an application
How to set and remove breakpoints
How to step through code
How to inspect variables
How to inspect the stack trace
Chapter 7 How to code classes
An introduction to classes and objects
How classes can be used to structure an application
How encapsulation works
The relationship between a class and its objects
How to code a class that defines an object
The Product class
How to code instance variables
How to code constructors
How to code methods
How to create an object and call its methods
How to work with static fields and methods
How to code static fields and methods
How to call static fields and methods
The ProductDB class
The Product Viewer application
The console
The code
More skills for working with objects and methods
Reference types compared to primitive types
How to code a copy constructor
How to overload methods
How to use the this keyword
The Line Item application
The console
The class diagram
The code
Chapter 8 How to work with arrays and array lists
How to work with an array
How to create an array
How to assign values to an array
How to use loops with arrays
How to work with rectangular arrays
How to use the Arrays class
How to fill, sort, and search arrays
How to refer to, copy, and compare arrays
The Number Cruncher application
How to work with an array list
A comparison of arrays and array lists
How to create an array list
How to add and get elements
How to replace, remove, and search for elements
How to store primitive values in an array list
The Invoice application
The console
The Invoice class
The InvoiceApp class
Chapter 9 How to work with file I/O and exceptions
Introduction to file I/O
How files and streams work
A file I/O example
How to use a try-with-resources statement to handle I/O exceptions
How to work with text files
How to connect a character output stream to a file
How to write to a text file
How to connect a character input stream to a file
How to read from a text file
The ProductDB class
The Product Manager application
The console
The ProductManagerApp class
How exceptions work
The exception hierarchy
How exceptions are propagated
More skills for working with exceptions
How to declare a method that throws an exception
How to throw an exception
How to use the methods of an exception
How to code a finally block
Section 2 Object-oriented programming
Chapter 10 How to work with inheritance
An introduction to inheritance
How inheritance works
How the Object class works
Basic skills for working with inheritance
How to create a superclass
How to create a subclass
How polymorphism works
The Product application
The console
The Product class
The Book and Software classes
The ProductDB class
The ProductApp class
More skills for working with inheritance
How to cast objects
How to check the type of an object
How to compare objects for equality
How to define a custom exception
How to work with abstract, final, and sealed classes
How to work with abstract classes
How to work with the final classes, methods, and parameters
How to work with sealed classes
How to work with records
An introduction to records
How to use and customize records
Inheritance vs composition
When to use inheritance
When to use composition
Chapter 11 More skills for object-oriented programming
An introduction to interfaces
A simple interface
Interfaces compared to abstract classes
How to work with interfaces
How to code an interface
How to implement an interface
How to inherit a class and implement an interface
How to use an interface as a parameter
How to work with default and static methods
How to work with enumerations
How to declare an enumeration
How to use an enumeration
How to enhance an enumeration
How to work with packages and libraries
An introduction to packages
How to use NetBeans to work with packages
How to use Eclipse to work with packages
How to work with libraries
How to work with modules
An introduction to the module system
How to create and use modules
How to use javadoc to document a package
How to add javadoc comments to a class
How to generate Java documentation
How to view the documentation
Section 3 GUI programming
Chapter 12 How to get started with JavaFX
An introduction to GUI programming
A GUI that displays ten controls
A summary of GUI frameworks
The inheritance hierarchy for JavaFX nodes
How to start a JavaFX project
How to use NetBeans
How to use Eclipse
How to create a GUI that accepts user input
How to create and display a window
How to work with labels
How to set alignment and padding
How to work with text fields
How to set column widths
How to create a GUI that handles events
How to work with buttons and boxes
How to handle action events
The Future Value application
How to validate user input
How to display an error message in a dialog box
How to validate the data entered into a text field
The Validation class
How to validate multiple entries
Chapter 13 More skills for working with JavaFX
Seven more JavaFX controls
How to work with check boxes
How to work with radio buttons
How to work with combo boxes
How to work with date pickers
How to work with list views
How to work with text areas and scroll bars
The Social Media Signup application
The user interface
The code
Section 4 More concepts and skills
Chapter 14 More skills for working with strings
How to work with the String class
How to compare strings
How to work with string indexes
How to modify strings
How to work with the characters in a string
The Create Account application
The user interface
The CreateAccountApp class
More skills for working with strings
How to work with text blocks
How to split and join strings
How to format strings
The Hangman application
The user interface
The WordList class
The Hangman class
The HangmanApp class
How to work with the StringBuilder class
An introduction to StringBuilder objects
How to use a StringBuilder object with a loop
Chapter 15 More skills for working with collections
An introduction to collections
The Java collection framework
More about generics
How to work with a linked list
How to create a linked list and add and get elements
How to replace, remove, and search for elements
The Invoice application
How to sort the items in a collection
How to sort a collection of numbers or strings
How to sort objects by implementing the Comparable interface
How to sort objects with a custom comparator
How to work with stacks and queues
How to work with a stack
How to work with a queue
How to use generics to create a custom collection
How to work with maps
The HashMap and TreeMap classes
Code examples that work with maps
The Word Counter application
Chapter 16 How to work with lambda expressions and streams
How to work with lambda expressions
Anonymous classes compared to lambdas
Pros and cons of lambda expressions
A method that doesn’t use lambdas
A method that uses lambdas
The syntax of a lambda expression
How to use functional interfaces from the Java API
How to use the Predicate interface
How to use the Consumer interface
How to use the Function interface
How to work with multiple functional interfaces
How to work with streams
How to filter a list
How to map a list
How to reduce a list
Chapter 17 How to work with recursion and algorithms
An introduction to recursion
How to add a range of numbers
How to compute the factorial of a number
Common recursive algorithms
How to implement the binary search algorithm
How to calculate a value in the Fibonacci series
How to decide if you should use recursion
The Directory Search application
How to use the File class
The algorithm
A directory tree
The console
The code
Chapter 18 How to work with dates and times
An introduction to date/time APIs
The date/time API prior to Java 8
The date/time API for Java 8 and later
How to use the new date/time API
How to create date and time objects
How to get date and time parts
How to compare dates and times
How to adjust dates and times
How to add or subtract a period of time
How to get the time between two dates
How to format dates and times
An Invoice class that includes an invoice date
Chapter 19 How to work with a database
How a relational database is organized
How a table is organized
How the columns in a table are defined
How tables are related
How to use SQL to work with a database
How to query a single table
How to join data from two or more tables
How to add, update, and delete data in a table
How to use DB Browser for SQLite
An introduction to SQLite
How to use DB Browser to view and edit a table in a SQLite database
How to use DB Browser to run SQL statements
How to create a SQLite database
An introduction to database drivers
Four types of JDBC database drivers
How to download a database driver
How to add a database driver to a project
How to use JDBC to work with a database
How to connect to a database
How to return a result set and move the cursor through it
How to get data from a result set
How to work with prepared statements
How to insert, update, and delete data
A class for working with a database
The ProductDB class
Code that uses the ProductDB class
Appendices
Appendix A How to set up Windows for this book
How to install the JDK
How to install the source code for this book
How to install Netbeans
How to install Eclipse
How to install DB Browser for SQLite
Appendix B How to set up macOS for this book
How to install the JDK
How to install the source code for this book
How to install Netbeans
How to install Eclipse
How to install DB Browser for SQLite
Unlike other publishers, we don’t fill dozens of pages in our books with end-of-chapter activities that may never be used. Instead, we provide everything you need for an effective course in a download from our instructor’s website. Then, you decide which of these materials you want to use. In short, our instructor’s materials provide a turnkey package for a powerful Java course.
For a detailed description of all the materials, please see the Instructor’s Summary PDF. But here’s a quick overview:
End-of-chapter exercises
- The EOC exercises are carefully designed to let your students (1) practice what they’ve just learned and (2) apply what they’ve learned in new ways.
- Our exercises start from partial applications, so your students can focus on new skills and not waste time on repetitive code that they’d never code from scratch in a work environment.
- Students can download the solutions to the EOC exercises from our retail website. We’ve found that these solutions keep students from giving up when they get stuck on a problem and that the model code also helps them refine their future work. For testing your students' coding skills, we provide projects where the solutions are available only to instructors (see below).
- These exercises allow your students to practice and learn more in less time.
Objectives
- Our objectives describe the skills that the students should master, and this mastery can be measured by the test banks and projects that we provide. As a result, our objectives facilitate learning.
Test banks
- To test comprehension, we provide test banks in multiple formats that can be imported to all modern LMSs.
- Each test bank provides questions that are designed to test the skills described by the objectives for that chapter, and each test question is designed to test the skill described by one objective. This keeps the promise to the students that they will only be expected to have the skills that are described by the objectives.
- In the test banks, we use only multiple-choice test questions because they have the highest validity. In other words, the students with the best knowledge and skills will get the best scores. In contrast, matching and true/false questions have low validity, so we don’t use them.
Projects
- The best way to develop programming skills is to write, test, and debug applications from scratch. To that end, we provide a set of projects for each chapter. These projects can be used for both practice and tests.
- To make the projects as useful as possible, we provide a range of difficulty levels. That way, you can assign projects at levels that are appropriate for the students in your class.
- Some of these projects can be done in an hour or less, so you can use them as tests. This is the only sure way to test whether your students have the skills described by the objectives.
PowerPoint slides
- In our books, the figures present all of the critical information, including screen shots, diagrams, tables, code examples, and applications. Then, we build our PowerPoint slides from the figures, which means that our slides let you review everything that’s presented in the book. This makes it easy to answer any questions that your students raise or review any skills that your students are having trouble with.
- The slides for each chapter start with the chapter objectives. That helps your students stay focused on what they’ll learn and be tested on.
On this page, we’ll be posting answers to the questions that come up most often about this book. So if you have any questions that you haven’t found answered here at our site, please email us. Thanks!
There are no book corrections that we know of at this time. But if you find any, please email us, and we’ll post any corrections that affect the technical accuracy of the book here. Thank you!
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