Sams Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days helps the serious learner gain true mastery over the new Java 8. In this book's straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds on everything that's come before, helping readers learn Java's core features and techniques from the ground up. Friendly, accessible, and conversational, Sams Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days offers a practical grounding in the language, without ever becoming overwhelming or intimidating.

Table of Contents:
Introduction WEEK I: The Java Language DAY 1: Getting Started with Java The Java Language History of the Language Introduction to Java Selecting a Development Tool Object-Oriented Programming Objects and Classes Attributes and Behavior Attributes of a Class of Objects Behavior of a Class of Objects Creating a Class Running the Program Organizing Classes and Class Behavior Inheritance Creating a Class Hierarchy Inheritance in Action Interfaces Packages DAY 2: The ABCs of Programming Statements and Expressions Variables and Data Types Creating Variables Naming Variables Variable Types Assigning Values to Variables Constants Comments Literals Number Literals Boolean Literals Character Literals String Literals Expressions and Operators Arithmetic More About Assignment Incrementing and Decrementing Comparisons Logical Operators Operator Precedence String Arithmetic DAY 3: Working with Objects Creating New Objects How Objects Are Constructed A Note on Memory Management Using Class and Instance Variables Getting Values Setting Values Class Variables Calling Methods Formatting Strings Nesting Method Calls Class Methods References to Objects Casting Objects and Primitive Types Casting Primitive Types Casting Objects Converting Primitive Types to Objects and Vice Versa Comparing Object Values and Classes Comparing Objects Determining the Class of an Object DAY 4: Lists, Logic, and Loops Arrays Declaring Array Variables Creating Array Objects Accessing Array Elements Changing Array Elements Multidimensional Arrays Block Statements If Conditionals Switch Conditionals The Ternary Operator For Loops While and Do Loops While Loops Do-While Loops Breaking Out of Loops Labeled Loops DAY 5: Creating Classes and Methods Defining Classes Creating Instance and Class Variables Defining Instance Variables Class Variables Creating Methods Defining Methods The this Keyword Variable Scope and Method Definitions Passing Arguments to Methods Class Methods Creating Java Applications Helper Classes Java Applications and Arguments Passing Arguments to Java Applications Handling Arguments in Your Java Application Creating Methods with the Same Name Constructors Basic Constructors Calling Another Constructor Overloading Constructors Overriding Methods Creating Methods That Override Existing Methods Calling the Original Method Overriding Constructors DAY 6: Packages, Interfaces, and Other Class Features Modifiers Access Control for Methods and Variables Static Variables and Methods Final Classes, Methods, and Variables Variables Methods Classes Abstract Classes and Methods Packages The import Declaration Class Name Conflicts Creating Your Own Packages Picking a Package Name Creating the Folder Structure Adding a Class to a Package Packages and Class Access Control Interfaces The Problem of Single Inheritance Interfaces and Classes Implementing and Using Interfaces Implementing Multiple Interfaces Other Uses of Interfaces Creating and Extending Interfaces New Interfaces Methods Inside Interfaces Extending Interfaces Creating an Online Storefront DAY 7: Exceptions and Threads Exceptions Exception Classes Managing Exceptions Exception Consistency Checking Protecting Code and Catching Exceptions The finally Clause Declaring Methods That Might Throw Exceptions The throws Clause Which Exceptions Should You Throw Passing on Exceptions throws and Inheritance Creating and Throwing Exceptions Throwing Exceptions Creating Your Own Exceptions Combining throws, try, and throw When Not to Use Exceptions Bad Style Using Exceptions Threads Writing a Threaded Program A Threaded Application Stopping a Thread WEEK II: The Java Class Library DAY 8: Data Structures Moving Beyond Arrays Java Structures Iterator Bit Sets Array Lists Looping Through Data Structures Stacks Map Hash Maps Generics Enumerations DAY 9: Working with Swing Creating an Application Creating an Interface Developing a Framework Creating a Component Adding Components to a Container Working with Components Image Icons Labels Text Fields Text Areas Scrolling Panes Check Boxes and Radio Buttons Combo Boxes Lists The Java Class Library DAY 10: Building a Swing Interface Swing Features Standard Dialog Boxes Using Dialog Boxes Sliders Scroll Panes Toolbars Progress Bars Menus Tabbed Panes DAY 11: Arranging Components on a User Interface Basic Interface Layout Laying Out an Interface Flow Layout Box Layout Grid Layout Border Layout Mixing Layout Managers Card Layout Using Card Layout in an Application Cell Padding and Insets DAY 12: Responding to User Input Event Listeners Setting Up Components Event-Handling Methods Working with Methods Action Events Focus Events Item Events Key Events Mouse Events Mouse Motion Events Window Events Using Adapter Classes Using Inner Classes DAY 13: Creating Java2D Graphics The Graphics2D Class The Graphics Coordinate System Drawing Text Improving Fonts and Graphics with Antialiasing Finding Information About a Font Color Using Color Objects Testing and Setting the Current Colors Drawing Lines and Polygons User and Device Coordinate Spaces Specifying the Rendering Attributes Creating Objects to Draw Drawing Objects DAY 14: Developing Swing Applications Java Web Start Using Java Web Start Creating a JNLP File Supporting Web Start on a Server Additional JNLP Elements Improving Performance with SwingWorker WEEK III: Java Programming DAY 15: Working with Input and Output Introduction to Streams Using a Stream Filtering a Stream Handling Exceptions Byte Streams File Streams Filtering a Stream Byte Filters Character Streams Reading Text Files Writing Text Files Files and Paths DAY 16: Using Inner Classes and Closures Inner Classes Anonymous Inner Classes Closures DAY 17: Communicating Across the Internet Networking in Java Opening a Stream Over the Net Sockets Socket Servers Testing the Server The java.nio Package Buffers Channels DAY 18: Accessing Databases with JDBC 4.2 and Derby Java Database Connectivity Database Drivers Examining a Database Reading Records from a Database Writing Records to a Database Moving Through Resultsets DAY 19: Reading and Writing RSS Feeds Using XML Designing an XML Dialect Processing XML with Java Processing XML with XOM Creating an XML Document Modifying an XML Document Formatting an XML Document Evaluating XOM DAY 20: XML Web Services Introduction to XML-RPC Communicating with XML-RPC Sending a Request Responding to a Request Choosing an XML-RPC Implementation Using an XML-RPC Web Service Creating an XML-RPC Web Service DAY 21: Writing Android Apps with Java The History of Android Writing an Android App Organizing an Android Project Creating the Program Running the App Designing an Android App Preparing Resources Configuring a Manifest File Designing the Graphical User Interface Writing Code APPENDIXES APPENDIX A: Using the NetBeans Integrated Development Environment Installing NetBeans Creating a New Project Creating a New Java Class Running the Application Fixing Errors Expanding and Shrinking a Pane Exploring NetBeans APPENDIX B: This Book’s Website APPENDIX C: Fixing a Problem with the Android Studio Emulator Problems Running an App Install HAXM in Android Studio Install HAXM on Your Computer Checking BIOS Settings APPENDIX D: Using the Java Development Kit Choosing a Java Development Tool Installing the Java Development Kit Configuring the Java Development Kit Using a Text Editor Creating a Sample Program Compiling and Running the Program in Windows Setting Up the CLASSPATH Variable APPENDIX E: Programming with the Java Development Kit Overview of the JDK The java Virtual Machine The javac Compiler The appletviewer Browser The javadoc Documentation Tool The jar Java File Archival Tool The jdb Debugger Debugging Applications Debugging Applets Advanced Debugging Commands Using System Properties The keytool and jarsigner Code Signing Tools