If you have been wanting to learn Java, check out the newly revised fourth edition of the best-seller Sams Teach Yourself Programming with Java in 24 Hours. This step-by-step tutorial will teach you how to create simple Java programs and applets. Comprised of 24 one-hour lessons, this new edition focuses on key programming concepts and essential Java basics, has been improved by dozens of reader comments, and is reorganized to better cover the latest developments in Java. The book's coverage of core Java programming topics has also been expanded. A great starting point for learning Java, this book is also a great primer to reading sams Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. I. GETTING STARTED. Hour 1: Becoming a Programmer.     Choosing a Language     Telling the Computer What to Do     How Programs Work     How Programs Don't Work     Next Stop: Java     Workshop: Installing a Java Development Tool     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 2: Writing Your First Program.     What You Need to Write Programs     Creating the Saluton Program     Storing Information in a Variable     Saving the Finished Product     Compiling the Program into a Class File     Fixing Errors     Workshop: Running a Java Program     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 3: Vacationing in Java.     First Stop: Sun Microsystems     Going to School with Java     Lunch in JavaWorld     Watching the Skies at NASA     Getting Down to Business     Stopping by Gamelan to Ask Directions     Workshop: Venturing into Another World     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 4: Understanding How Java Programs Work.     Creating an Application     Sending Arguments to Applications     Applet Basics     Sending Parameters to Applets     Workshop: Viewing the Code Used to Run Applets     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities II. LEARNING THE BASICS OF PROGRAMMING. Hour 5: Storing and Changing Information in a Program.     Statements and Expressions     Assigning Variable Types     Naming Your Variables     Storing Information in Variables     Workshop: Using Expressions     All about Operators     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 6: Using Strings to Communicate.     Storing Text in Strings     Displaying Strings in Programs     Using Special Characters in Strings     Pasting Strings Together     Using Other Variables with Strings     Advanced String Handling     Workshop: Presenting Credits     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 7: Using Conditional Tests to Make Decisions.     Testing a Condition     if Statements     if-else Statements     switch Statements     The Conditional Operator     Workshop: Watching the Clock     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 8: Repeating an Action with Loops.     for Loops     while Loops     do-while Loops     Exiting a Loop     Naming a Loop     Workshop: Teaching Your Computer a Lesson     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 9: Storing Information with Arrays.     Creating Arrays     Using Arrays     Multidimensional Arrays     Sorting an Array     Workshop: Array of Prizes, Indeed     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 10: Creating Your First Object.     How Object-Oriented Programming Works     Objects in Action     What Objects Are     Understanding Inheritance     Building an Inheritance Hierarchy     Converting Objects and Simple Variables     Workshop: Creating an Object     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 11: Describing What Your Object Is Like.     Creating Variables     Creating Class Variables     Creating Behavior with Methods     Putting One Class inside Another     Using the this Keyword     Workshop: Using Class Methods and Variables     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 12: Making the Most of Existing Objects.     The Power of Inheritance     Establishing Inheritance     Working with Existing Objects     Storing Objects of the Same Class in Vectors     Workshop: Creating a Subclass     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities IV. PROGRAMMING A GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE. Hour 13: Building a Simple User Interface.     Swing and the Abstract Windowing Toolkit     Using Components     Workshop: Creating Your Own Component     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 14: Laying Out a User Interface.     Using Layout Managers     Workshop: Laying Out an Application     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 15: Responding to User Input.     Getting Your Programs to Listen     Setting Up Components to Be Heard     Handling User Events     Workshop: A Little Lotto Madness     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 16: Building a Complex User Interface.     Scroll Panes     Sliders     Change Listeners     Menus     Workshop: Using Image Icons and Toolbars     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities V. CREATING MULTIMEDIA PROGRAMS. Hour 17: Creating Interactive Web Programs.     Standard Applet Methods     Putting an Applet on a Web Page     A Sample Applet     The Java Plug-in     Sending Parameters from a Web Page     Receiving Parameters in the Applet     Workshop: Handling Parameters in an Applet     Java Web Start     Using Java Web Start     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 18: Handling Errors in a Program.     Exceptions     Assertions     Workshop: Throwing and Catching Exceptions     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 19: Creating a Threaded Program.     Threads     Working with Threads     Starting with init()     Catching Errors as You Set Up URLs     Handling Screen Updates in the paint() Method     Starting the Thread     Handling Mouse Clicks     Workshop: Revolving Links     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 20: Reading and Writing Files.     Streams     Writing Data to a Stream     Reading and Writing Configuration Properties     Workshop: Writing Bytes to an MP3 File     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities VI. CREATING MULTIMEDIA PROGRAMS. Hour 21: Reading and Writing XML Data.     Creating an XML File     Reading an XML File     Workshop: Reading RSS Syndication Feeds     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 22: Using Fonts and Color.     Using the Font Class     Using the Color Class     Other Ways to Choose Colors     Workshop: Displaying a Danger Message     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 23: Working with Graphics.     Using Graphics     Drawing Lines and Shapes     Workshop: Baking a Pie Graph     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities Hour 24: Creating Animation.     Animating a Sequence of Images     Sending Parameters to the Applet     Workshop: Follow the Bouncing Ball     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities VII. BONUS. Hour 25: Creating Web Services with XML-RPC.     Working with Apache XML-RPC     Creating an XML-RPC Handler     Creating an XML-RPC Server     Creating an XML-RPC Client     Workshop: Enhancing the LottoMadness Application     Summary     Q&A     Quiz     Activities APPENDIXES. Appendix A: Using the Java Development Kit.     Choosing a Java Development Tool     Configuring the Java Development Kit     Using a Text Editor     Creating a Sample Program     Setting Up the CLASSPATH Variable Appendix B: Programming with the Java Development Kit.     An Overview of the JDK     The java Interpreter     The javac Compiler     The appletviewer Browser     The javadoc Documentation Tool     The jar Java File Archival Tool     The jdb Debugger     Using System Properties     Summary     Q&A Appendix C: Using the NetBeans Integrated Development Environment.     Choosing a Java Development Tool     Creating a Sample Program Appendix D: Where to Go from Here: Java Resources.     Other Books to Consider     Sun's Official Java Site     Other Java Web Sites     Java Newsgroups     Internet Relay Chat     Job Opportunities Appendix E: This Book's Website. Index.