Good books for learning programming languages

[wheelerch]

I've just started my BSc in Computing and Internet Technologies, and I'd like to get some books to help with the following topics:

C++
Java
UML
JSP
SQL
OO Programming
MS Project
Unix/Linux

I'm currently looking at the Sams 'Teach your self X in 24 hours' series, are these any good, or are there better books out there.

Also, whats the difference between 'Teach yourself in 24 hours' and 'Teach your self in 21 days'

Thanks

- Chris

[NogDog]

I suspect (or at least hope!) the 21-day versions teach a lot more than the 24-hour ones.

I don't have any specific book references for those topics, but I generally go for the offerings from O'Reilly (http://www.oreilly.com/) as they seem to be competitive as far as content with other publishers, yet typically sell for a somewhat lower price. (I am not affiliated with O'Reilly, just a satisfied customer.)

[wamboid]

I've not read any books recently on those subjects, so any specific info I might give could be horribly out of date. I did read read some of the 21 day and 24 hour books some years back. I remember thinking that the 24 hour books were simply another company trying to 1 up the other by making it seem faster. Both were simply divided into lessons that took at least an hour to finish. If I remember correctly, I liked the 21 day series better. They seemed to go more in depth.

[PeOfEo]

Just never get any asp (.net) books by Greg Buczek and that is all I know.... His code made me cry.

[Jeff Mott]

In regards to the type of books to buy: there may be an expert C++ programmer who writes a book, not to make money, but because it actually matters to them that people have a complete and reliable reference. And then there's book series' that decide they want to expand their market to C++ for example, then seek out some Joe Smoe to write it for them. Given that, my advice is not to stick to any one particular series of books. In the unlikely event that Sam's Teach Yourself Whatever happens to have the best book for a particular subject does not mean that they will have the best book for every other subject as well.

A couple of my own tips when choosing a book: first, learn at least a little bit about the topic from online (wikipedia usually has reliable information). This information gives you a basis to judge books when reading their summaries. For example, if a language was updated in 1999 but the book mentions how it covers the "lastest" update of 1992 then there's a big red flag that the book is out of date.

Another good tip is to make a point to find a reputable author. Often the actual inventor of a particular programming language will author a book themselves. This guarentees you virtually perfect and complete information.

Finally, if the language inventor didn't author a book, is there a book that they personally recommend? Perhaps listed on a FAQ for the author or the official site for the language.

Given all that, I can give recommendations for a few items on your list.

The C++ Programming Language by Bjarne Stroustrup
The Java Programming Language by James Gosling, Ken Arnold and David Holmes
SQL Bible by Alex Kriegel, Boris M. Trukhnov

[PeOfEo]

Right now my java textbook is Java Software Solutions by Lewis and Loftus, but this is geared to be a text book and might not be right for you. But it is fairly high quality book.

[MstrBob]

Though I can't recommend any particular books, I'd like to offer you a bit of advice I've learned from hard experience. Read reviews, if possible, of the books. Go to a place like amazon, where customers can read reviews, and find the worst reviews of a product. This has saved me from many a pointless purchase, and would have saved me from many more if I had read them earlier.

From my limited experience trying to learn C++ and/or Java myself, I'd say that the language isn't so hard to grasp at all. It's the API's. If you can get a good (Up to Date!) book on an API you plan on using, snatch it. I've learned the C++ syntax, but I can barely do anything because I know almost zilch of the Windows API. Find a book or resource that can properly explain and document them - they're invaluable. Java is a little better in this respect, as I found they have much better documentation than Microsoft does for their C++ API.

[theuedimaster]

I'd like to second O'Reilly. They've got real good authors. The microsoft books are pretty damn good too.

[pyro]

Go to a place like amazon, where customers can read reviews, and find the worst reviews of a product. This has saved me from many a pointless purchase, and would have saved me from many more if I had read them earlier.Yeah, but remember that the review could be biased or inaccurate, as well. Perhaps the book (any book) is fine, and just above the reviewers head; or perhaps for some other reason they just didn't like the book and chose to write a bad review. I've definitely got books that fall into the "don't like" category, but I wouldn't necessarily say they are bad books.

[MstrBob]

Yeah, but remember that the review could be biased or inaccurate, as well. Perhaps the book (any book) is fine, and just above the reviewers head; or perhaps for some other reason they just didn't like the book and chose to write a bad review. I've definitely got books that fall into the "don't like" category, but I wouldn't necessarily say they are bad books.

Yahr, but on the other hand the reviews of people who love it tend to gloss over or ignore any issues. And since the seller does that already, I find that if you balance the worst reviews with how the seller praises the product, you generally get a more accurate idea of what it's like. If say, I'm looking at a HTML book, and the book does not embrace 4.01 compliance, will the publisher broadcast that? A bad review will complain loudly about it, and of course it is up to you wether that's a big deal, wether the compliant information is good enough to justify, but you are more aware of what you're buying.

just a tip.