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Murach’s Java Programming (5th Edition)

by Joel Murach
23 chapters, 762 pages, 326 illustrations
Published June 2017
ISBN 978-1-943872-07-7
List price: $59.50

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 OO programming. Now, this 5th Edition has been updated, reorganized, and improved throughout, to do a better job than ever of teaching core Java to beginners using an IDE (NetBeans or Eclipse) the way today’s professionals do.

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You are currently on the Murach site for instructors. To buy this book, please visit our retail site.

Murach’s Java Programming continues the Murach tradition of publishing only the best training books available.”

Lionel B. Dyck; posted at an online bookseller

  • About this Book
  • Table of Contents
  • Courseware
  • FAQs
  • Corrections

What this book does for your students

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 OO programming. Here are some of the details on how it works for your students.

It gets them off to a quick start

Your students will be writing their first complete Java applications at the end of chapter 2!

It shows them how to build realistic applications

By the end of chapter 5, your students will know how to use Java classes, objects, and methods to write bulletproof applications that use custom methods to validate user input.

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. The book itself shows how to use NetBeans, but we provide a companion PDF that shows how to use Eclipse.

It teaches them OOP in a practical and clear way

Section 2, on object-oriented programming, cuts through the mystery of encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism so your students can learn how to create and use sophisticated business and data access classes. It also shows how to use two new features of Java 9, the module system and Project Jigsaw, to develop truly modular classes that are easier to use and deploy. At that point, your students will know how to develop real-world, object-oriented, business applications.

It expands their core Java skills

In section 3, your students will learn more of the core Java skills that they’ll use all the time, like how to work with arrays, collections, generics, strings, dates, times, file I/O, exceptions, and more! 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 create user-friendly GUIs

Section 4 shows the basics of using the JavaFX and Swing APIs to develop attractive graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that handle events and validate data. JavaFX is newer and offers more advanced features, but Swing has been popular for years and is more widely-used.

It shows them how to work with databases

Section 5 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 SQLite databases. Then, they’ll learn how to use JDBC to work with any database.

It lets them master essential professional skills

Section 6 lets you take your students to a new level. Here, they’ll become proficient with the two most exciting features of Java 8, lambda expressions and streams. And they’ll learn how to use threads to make Java applications run more efficiently. Since these chapters are designed as independent modules, you can teach them earlier in the course, if you prefer.

It prepares them for Android programming and web development

This book has always been a favorite with web developers who use Java servlets and JSPs. Now, this book is becoming a favorite with developers who are moving into Android programming.

That’s because chapters 1-16 deliver the Java skills that they need for Android programming, as well as for servlet/JSP development. So by the time they’re done with the core course, they’re well-prepared for courses on those related subjects. If you’re looking for books on those subjects, our Android and Servlet/JSP texts offer an easy transition for you and your students from our Java Programming book.

What this book does differently than other Java texts

The short answer is: Just about everything. But here are 4 ways our book differs from other Java books.

  • Starting in chapter 1, it teaches how to use the time-saving features of an IDE to develop Java programs. That helps the students learn faster.
  • Chapter 2 presents two complete Java applications that use the Scanner class to get input data. That gives your students a starting subset of the language that they can build on.
  • All of the OOP concepts are presented in the context of complete and practical Java applications. So students get a clear understanding of how OOP works in the real world.
  • It delivers all the content in our distinctive “paired-pages” format that helps students read less and learn more. In addition, this format is easy to use for reference and review.

What’s new in this edition

This book has been updated from Java SE 7 to Java SE 9. Here’s a quick summary of all that’s new.

Features that weren’t in the previous edition

  • A new chapter on lambda expressions and streams
  • A new chapter on the Java 8 date/time API
  • A new chapter on JavaFX
  • Coverage of Java 9’s JShell
  • Coverage of Java 9’s Project Jigsaw

Improved coverage of existing features to improve student skills

  • Separate chapters on strings and dates make the book more modular
  • Database coverage now uses the popular SQLite database
  • More and better applications are used throughout the text

Improved organization for a stronger beginning course

  • The file I/O chapter is now much earlier in the book
  • The GUI chapters are earlier in the book
  • The database chapters are later in the book

Support for Eclipse

The book still provides great support for NetBeans. But now it also includes support for Eclipse. To do that, the download for the book includes (1) a PDF that shows how to use Eclipse and (2) source code that has been formatted for both IDEs. These materials are included in the supporting instructor files we provide for the book, or you can download them from the book page at our retail site.

What software your students need

  • Java Standard Edition (Java SE)
  • NetBeans or Eclipse

Although this book specifically covers Java SE 9, almost all of the core features will work with all previous releases of Java and will continue to work with future releases as well. As for the IDE, we provide materials showing how to use both NetBeans (in the book itself) and Eclipse (in a separate PDF tutorial).

Appendix A (Windows) and Appendix B (Mac OS) explain how to install the software, all of which is free.

Can you use Eclipse with this book?

Yes!

To make that easier for you, we provide (1) the source code for this book in Eclipse format and (2) a PDF tutorial on using Eclipse with this book. Your students can access these materials by going to the FREE Downloads tab on the book page on our retail site. And you can get them in the supporting instructor files we provide for the book…or you can download them from the retail book page if you prefer.

What people say about this book

“If you’re a Java virgin like I was before reading this book, then you’re going to love it. I had a development environment up & running within half an hour and was dabbling with code 15 minutes after that!”
- Andy Bonner, vbcity.com

“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

“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

“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 bought this book to brush up on my Java programming skills in preparation for doing some Android programming. This book brought me up to speed really fast.”
- Posted at an online bookseller

“I’m reading the part of the book that discusses the nio package. The information is so clear, it beats what I read in the Java tutorials on the Oracle web site. Once again, a Murach book adds clarity that’s hard to find elsewhere.”
- Steve, Programmer, Denver, Colorado

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 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

An introduction to Java IDEs

How to use NetBeans to work with existing projects

An introduction to NetBeans

How to open, close, and delete a project

How to compile and run a project

How to use the Output window with a console application

How to work with two or more projects

How to use NetBeans to develop new projects

How to create a new project

How to work with Java source code and files

How to use the code completion feature

How to detect and correct syntax errors

Chapter 2 How to write your first Java applications

Basic coding skills

How to code statements

How to code comments

How to create identifiers

How to declare a class and a main method

How to work with numeric variables

How to declare and initialize variables

How to code assignment statements

How to code arithmetic expressions

How to work with string variables

How to create a String object

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 view the API documentation

How to use the console for input and output

How to print output to the console

How to read input from the console

Examples that get 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

How to test and debug an application

How to test an application

How to debug an application

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 unary operators

How to use the compound assignment operators

How to work with the order of precedence

How to work with casting

How to use the Java Shell to test code

How to use Java classes to work with numbers

How to use the Integer and Double classes

How to use the Math class

How to use the NumberFormat class

The Invoice application with formatting

How to debug a rounding error

How to use the BigDecimal class

The constructors and methods

Examples that work with the BigDecimal class

The Invoice application with BigDecimal objects

Chapter 4 How to code control statements

How to code Boolean expressions

How to compare primitive data types

How to use the logical operators

How to code if/else and switch statements

How to code if/else statements

How to code switch statements

The Invoice application with a switch statement

How to code 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, handle exceptions, and validate data

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

The Future Value application with exception handling

How to validate data

How to prevent exceptions from being thrown

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, debug, and deploy 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 deploy an application

An introduction to deployment

How to create an executable JAR file

How to deploy the files for an application

How to run a GUI application

How to run a console application

Section 2 Object-oriented programming

Chapter 7 How to define and use classes

An introduction to classes

How classes can be used to structure an application

How encapsulation works

The relationship between a class and its objects

How to work with a class that defines an object

How to use NetBeans to create a new class

The Product class

How to code instance variables

How to code constructors

How to code methods

How to create an object from a class

How to call the methods of an object

How to use NetBeans to work with classes

How to code and use static fields and methods

How to code static fields and methods

How to call static fields and methods

How to code a static initialization block

When to use static fields and methods

The Product Viewer application

The ProductDB class

The user interface and the ProductApp class

More skills for working with objects and methods

Reference types compared to primitive types

How to overload methods

How to use the this keyword

The Line Item application

The user interface

The class diagram

The code for the classes

Chapter 8 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, Book, and Software classes

The ProductDB class

The ProductApp class

More skills for working with inheritance

How to cast objects

How to compare objects

How to work with the abstract and final keywords

How to work with the abstract keyword

How to work with the final keyword

Chapter 9 How to define and use interfaces

An introduction to interfaces

A simple interface

Interfaces compared to abstract classes

Basic skills for working 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 use inheritance with interfaces

How to use NetBeans to work with interfaces

New features for working with interfaces

How to work with default methods

How to work with static methods

The Product Viewer application

The console

The ProductReader interface

The ProductDB class

The ProductApp class

How to implement the Cloneable interface

A Product class that implements the Cloneable interface

A LineItem class that implements the Cloneable interface

Chapter 10 More object-oriented programming skills

How to work with packages

An introduction to packages

How to work with packages

How to work with libraries

How to work with modules

An introduction to the module system

How to create modules

How to use modules

How to use javadoc to document a package

How to add javadoc comments to a class

How to use HTML and javadoc tags in javadoc comments

How to generate documentation

How to view the documentation for a package

How to work with enumerations

How to declare an enumeration

How to use an enumeration

How to enhance an enumeration

How to work with static imports

Section 3 More essential skills

Chapter 11 How to work with arrays

Basic skills for working with arrays

How to create an array

How to assign values to the elements of an array

How to use for loops with arrays

How to use enhanced for loops with arrays

How to use the Arrays class

How to fill, sort, and search arrays

How to refer to, copy, and compare arrays

How to implement the Comparable interface

The Number Cruncher application

How to work with two-dimensional arrays

How to work with rectangular arrays

How to work with jagged arrays

Chapter 12 How to work with collections and generics

An introduction to collections

A comparison of arrays and collections

An overview of the Java collection framework

An introduction to generics

How to work with an array list

How to create an array list

How to add and get elements

How to replace, remove, and search for elements

How to store primitive types in an array list

The Invoice application

The console

The Invoice class

The InvoiceApp class

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

How to use the methods of the Queue and Deque interfaces

A class that uses generics and a linked list to define a queue

How to work with maps

The HashMap and TreeMap classes

Code examples that work with maps

The Word Counter application

Chapter 13 How to work with strings

How to work with the String class

How to create strings

How to join strings

How to append data to a string

How to compare strings

How to work with string indexes

How to modify strings

How to work with the StringBuilder class

How to create a StringBuilder object

How to append data to a string

How to modify strings

The Product Lister application

The user interface

The StringUtil class

The ProductListerApp class

Chapter 14 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 15 How to work with file I/O

Introduction to directories and files

A package for working with directories and files

Code examples that work with directories and files

Introduction to file I/O

How files and streams work

A file I/O example

How to work with 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

Two interfaces for data access

A class that works with a text file

The Product Manager application

The console

The ProductManagerApp class

How to work with binary files

How to connect a binary output stream to a file

How to write to a binary file

How to connect a binary input stream to a file

How to read from a binary file

A class that works with a binary file

Chapter 16 How to work with exceptions

An introduction to exceptions

The exception hierarchy

How exceptions are propagated

How to catch exceptions

How to use the try statement

How to use the try-with-resources statement

How to use the methods of an exception

How to use a multi-catch block

How to throw exceptions

How to use the throws clause

How to use the throw statement

How to work with custom exceptions

How to create a custom exception class

How to use exception chaining

An interface that uses custom exceptions

A class that uses custom exceptions

Section 4 GUI programming

Chapter 17 How to get started with JavaFX

An introduction to GUI programming

A GUI that displays ten controls

A summary of GUI APIs

The inheritance hierarchy for JavaFX nodes

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

The user interface

The code

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

How to get started with FXML

An introduction to XML

How to code an FXML application

How to create the files for an FXML application

The Future Value application with FXML

The FXML file

The controller class

The application class

Chapter 18 How to get started with Swing

An introduction to GUI programming

A user interface with ten controls

A summary of GUI APIs

The inheritance hierarchy for Swing components

How to create a GUI that handles events

How to display a frame

How to set the look and feel

How to work with panels

How to work with buttons

How to handle action events

How to work with labels

How to work with text fields

How to work with layout managers

A summary of layout managers

How to use the FlowLayout manager

How to use the BorderLayout manager

How to use the GridBagLayout manager

How to add padding to a GridBagLayout

How to solve a common problem with the GridBagLayout

The Future Value application

The user interface

The code

How to validate Swing input data

How to display a dialog box

How to validate the data entered into a text field

The Validation class

How to validate multiple entries

Chapter 19 More Swing controls

More skills for working with controls

How to work with text areas

How to add scroll bars

How to work with check boxes

How to work with radio buttons

How to add a border and title

How to work with combo boxes

How to work with lists

How to work with list models

The Payment application

The user interface

The code

Section 5 Database programming

Chapter 20 An introduction to databases with SQLite

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 SQLite Manager

An introduction to SQLite

How to connect to a SQLite database

How to work with a SQLite database

How to execute SQL statements

How to create a SQLite database

Chapter 21 How to use JDBC to work with a 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 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 insert, update, and delete data

How to work with prepared statements

A class for working with databases

The DAO interface

The ProductDB class

Code that uses the ProductDB class

Section 6 Advanced skills

Chapter 22 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 23 How to work with threads

An introduction to threads

How threads work

Typical uses for threads

Classes and interfaces for working with threads

The life cycle of a thread

Two ways to create threads

Constructors and methods of the Thread class

How to extend the Thread class

How to implement the Runnable interface

How to synchronize threads

How to use synchronized methods

When to use synchronized methods

Reference Aids

Appendix A How to set up Windows for this book

How to install the JDK and NetBeans

How to install the source code for this book

How to install Eclipse

How to install SQLite Manager

Appendix B How to set up Mac OS X for this book

How to install the JDK and NetBeans

How to install the source code for this book

How to install Eclipse

How to install SQLite Manager

Index

If you aren’t already familiar with the supporting courseware that we provide for a book, please go to About our Courseware. As you will see, our courseware consists of the end-of-chapter activities in the book, the files in the student download at our retail site, and the instructor’s materials. These components provide everything that other publishers provide, in a way that delivers better results.

If you are familiar with our courseware, here’s a quick summary of the courseware for this book. For a detailed description, please read the Instructor’s Summary .

End-of-chapter activities in the book

  • Chapter summaries
  • Practice exercises

Student download at our retail site

  • Source code for the applications in the book
  • Starting code for the exercises at the end of each chapter
  • Solutions to those exercises
  • A PDF tutorial on using Eclipse with this book

All the code is provided in both NetBeans and Eclipse formats.

Instructor’s materials

  • Instructional objectives by chapter
  • PowerPoint slides for classroom presentations
  • Test banks in multiple formats
  • Dozens of projects that let your students prove how well they have mastered the material
  • The files that students can download at our retail site (see the details above)

To view the "Frequently Asked Questions" for this book in a PDF, just click on this link: View the questions

Then, if you have any questions that aren't answered here, please email us. Thanks!

To view the corrections for this book in a PDF, just click on this link: View the corrections

Then, if you find any other errors, please email us so we can correct them in the next printing of the book. Thank you!

Murach college books and courseware since 1974