C: Supplements

There are several supplements to this book, including the seminar-on-CD packaged in the back and other items, seminars, and services available through the MindView web site.

This appendix describes these supplements so that you can decide if they will be helpful to you.

Foundations for Java seminar-on-CD

The CD that is bound in the back of this book is intended to provide foundation material to prepare you to learn Java from this book or from the Thinking in Java seminar. The bulk of the 400+ Megabytes of the CD is a full multimedia course called Foundations for Java. This includes the Thinking in C seminar, which gives you an introduction to the C syntax, operators and functions that Java syntax is based upon. In addition, it includes the first seven lectures from the 2^nd edition of the Hands-On Java seminar-on-CD that I created and present. Although historically the entire Hands-On Java CD is only available for sale separately (this is also the case with the 3^rd edition of the Hands-On Java CD), I decided to include the first seven lectures from the 2^nd edition because the concepts in these lectures have not changed substantially due to the 3^rd edition of the book, so it will not only provide you (along with Thinking in C) with a foundation for this book and the Thinking in Java seminar, but in addition I hope it will give you a taste for the quality and value of the Hands-On Java CD, 3^rd edition. Feedback

The CD is described in more detail in this book’s Introduction.

Thinking in Java seminar

My company MindView, Inc. provides five-day, hands-on, public and in-house training seminars based on the material in this book. Formerly called the Hands-On Java seminar, this is our main introductory seminar that provides the foundation for our more advanced seminars. Selected material from each chapter represents a lesson, which is followed by a monitored exercise period so that each student receives personal attention. You can find schedule and location information, testimonials, and details at www.MindView.net. Feedback

Hands-On Java seminar-on-CD 3^rd edition

The Hands-On Java CD, 3^rd edition, contains an extended version of the material from the Thinking in Java seminar and is based on this book. It provides at least some of the experience of the live seminar without the travel and expense. There is an audio lecture and slides corresponding to every chapter in the book. I created the seminar (more recently, with input from Andrea Provaglio, who teaches most of the live versions of the seminar) and I narrate the material on the CD. The Hands-On Java CD 3^rd edition is for sale at www.MindView.net. Feedback

Designing Objects & Systems seminar

This seminar has evolved from the popular Objects & Patterns seminar that Bill Venners and I have given together for the past several years. The material in that seminar grew beyond its bounds, so we’ve split it into two seminars: this one, and the Thinking in Patterns seminar described later in this appendix. Feedback

An important part of good object-oriented design is well-designed objects. A major part of the seminar (distributed throughout the week) is the Object Design Workshop, which focuses on guidelines and idioms that help you create well-designed objects. Each of these will be explained and justified, and then discussed by the attendees. This discussion is an integral part of the workshop, aimed at facilitating a conversation about design among peers that can help everyone to learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives. The Object Design Workshop will give you a specific set of practical guidelines and concrete idioms that you can draw upon in your future object designs. Feedback

The other portion of this seminar will focus on the process of developing and building a system, primarily focusing on so-called “Agile Methods” or “Lightweight Methodologies,” especially Extreme Programming (XP). We will introduce methodologies in general, small tools like the “index-card” planning techniques described in Planning Extreme Programming (Beck and Fowler, 2002), CRC cards for object design, pair programming, iteration planning, unit testing, automated building, source-code control, and similar topics. The course will include an XP project that will be developed throughout the week. Feedback

Visit www.MindView.net for schedule and location information, testimonials, and details.