Customer Reviews:
 Very good book for introducing TDD August 9, 2008
I found this book to be an excellent text when learning TDD. Being a contractor this book brought me upto speed on how to do TDD, invaluable when you need to write good quality tests for code.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is begining in Java, as i think its essential you know how to write code the right way. As for more experianced developers, i think the book is worth a read and you can read it in a short space of time due to simple writing style.
 The Best Introduction to Java Available July 12, 2008
This book is a superb introduction to Java and TDD. The author takes the courageous approach of introducing objects and unit tests right from the start, rather than the traditional approach of covering 'procedural Java' first. The clarity and organization of the material is first rate, as is the gradual inclusion of real world issues. My only criticisms are firstly that it should be updated to use JUnit 4 and secondly that the setup appendix should cover Eclipse and/or NetBeans as well as IDEA.
Brilliant introduction to Test Driven Development and Java 5 April 1, 2006
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is a great book. It's not for complete beginners to object oriented programming and Java - get yourself acquainted with the syntax and the basic OOP way of doing things with Head First Java first. Then dive into this book, which goes beyond syntax and into how to actually design code without making a horrible mess.The genius of Agile Java is that it's immensely practical, with plenty of tips and advice. It's also very well written, not dry and textbook-like at all. It introduces the sort of stuff that is bread-and-butter to most Java developers: test driven development with JUnit, refactoring, IDEs, and the use of Ant. The same project is used for the examples throughout the book (an application to keep track of student information at a college), which works very well in illustrating TDD and how to add functionality and complexity to your apps from nothing. There's lots of good stuff on the practicalities of TDD, too. Just knowing how JUnit work is not a guarantee that you can use it effectively. The copious unit tests here will set you on the right path. The discussion of how to unit test are also good, and it touches on some fairly advanced techniques, like mocks and testing GUI components, although you may need to turn to more specialised books (such as those by Link and by Astels) for the full story. This also very handily introduces several Java 5.0 features such as annotation and generics. While not as comprehensive as Thinking In Java, it covers the 80-90% you'll normally use, and the code examples are superior, hands down. If you've learnt the basics of Java, I can't think of a better way to introduce yourself to agile techniques. Highest recommendation.
A Great book for novices and the more experienced July 3, 2005
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book. I have read a large number of programming books over the years, and the thing that really sticks out for me in this book is the way the book tackles three things aspects of program development together, namely java development, test-driven development and object-oriented design. Right from the off, the examples and exercises have you writing tests cases and then producing the actual code. The author uses this to gently introduce the reader to language elements and code-design principles. By incrementally expanding and developing the examples, you never get bogged down by the examples but can concentrate on the ideas and practice you're actually trying learn and develop. Fantastic!
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