CIT 591 Textbooks and Resources
Fall 2009, David Matuszek

Required Textbook

Exploring Python by Timothy Budd Paperback: 278 pages Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 1 edition (February 17, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0073523372 ISBN-13: 978-0073523378 This book should be used, rather than just read. If you are sitting at a computer with Python running (from the command line or the IDLE application) and trying things as you go, you will learn a great deal about programming. If you just read the book, you will have the illusion of having learned something.

Recommended Textbook

Murach's Java SE 6: Training & Reference by Joel Murach, Andrea Steelman, Doug Lowe Paperback: 832 pages Publisher: Mike Murach & Associates (April 20, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 1890774421 ISBN-13: 978-1890774424 I like this book because it has good, detailed explanations of each topic, and good examples to go with them. It's also a book in which you can read about topics (after the first three introductory chapters) in pretty much any order you need to--you don't have to read front to back.

Eclipse IDE Pocket Guide by Ed Burnette Paperback: 127 pages Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc. (August 12, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0596100655 ISBN-13: 978-0596100650 This is a very short introduction that will get you up and running in a hurry. Eclipse itself contains extensive documentation, for when you want to explore additional features

Software and Additional Documentation

Essential:

Python 2.6.6 Download

This is the software you need to install on your computer in order to write Python programs. Do not get the newer Python 3. Note: This download contains IDLE.

Python 2.6.6 Documentation

I recommend downloading this to your computer (python-2.6.6-docs-html.zip). For CIT 591, the most relevant document is the Language Reference, but there is a lot of other value here.

Java SE Downloads

This is the software you need to write Java programs. Download the latest version of JDK 6 (not JRE 6) from here. You should also download the documentation from this same page. The API describes all the classes and methods you need to use; it does not, however, cover Java syntax.

Eclipse

This is the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) you will use to create Java programs. I recommend the "Classic" version, as it includes most of the things you will need.

Useful:

10 Free Python Programming Books

The two most interesting of these are How to Think Like a Computer Scientist, which is nice and short; and Dive Into Python, which is comprehensive, available in several languages, and has a section on unit testing.

Free Java Books

There are longer lists of free Java books, but many are very specialized. These books (with the exception of the Data Structures & Algorithms book) are for people just learning the language.

The Java Tutorials

Sun (the maker of Java) has truly extensive tutorials online. If you want to read lots and lots of material about Java, not just our skinny little textbook, this is the place to go.

CETS Answers

All kinds of important information from our computer support group.

Java Syntax Pages

Because the API does not describe Java syntax, I wrote up these pages as an online resource. They cover most of the basics of Java, but are not complete by any means!

Java O-O concepts

This is a page I wrote in an attempt to describe all the concepts involved in Java Object-Oriented programming. You can use this as a study guide for the conceptual part of the final exam.

Java 6 API on the Web.

This is where you can read the Java documentation on the Web, if you are at a computer that does not have the documentation installed.

Interesting:

Joel on Software

A worthwhile blog, by a programming manager. His Archive is full of interesting articles; check it out in your spare time!

The Daily WTF

A real-life chronicle of management stupidities, interview stupidities, and code stupidities. Often amusing, and a good place to learn about things you should avoid doing.

xkcd

This is a webcomic that I frequently enjoy. Many of the jokes are "insider" jokes.