Sams Teach Yourself Java in 24 Hours is a step-by-step tutorial that teaches someone with no previous programming experience how to create simple Java programs and applets. It starts out at a lower level than Sams Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days, and takes things at a slower pace, focusing on key programming concepts and essential Java basics. Although the basic structure of the book, and many of its examples, will remain the same in this new edition, the author will make use of dozens of reader comments to make improvements to explanatory text and example programs. This new edition of the book maintains and improves upon all these qualities, while updating, revising, and reorganizing the material to cover the latest developments in Java and to expand the book's coverage of core Java programming topics.

Table of Contents:
(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with a Summary, Q&A, Quiz, and Activities.) 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. Hour 2. Writing Your First Program. What You Need to Write Programs. Creating the Saluton Program. Beginning the Program. Storing Information in a Variable. Saving the Finished Product. Compiling the Program into a Class File. Fixing Errors. Workshop: Running a Java Program. Hour 3. Vacationing in Java. First Stop: Sun Microsystems. Going to School with Java. Lunch in JavaWorld. Taking in a Ballgame at ESPN.com. Getting Down to Business. Stopping by Gamelan to Ask Directions. Workshop: Putting Java on Your Desktop. 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. II. LEARNING THE BASICS. 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. 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. 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. 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. III. WORKING WITH INFORMATION IN NEW WAYS. Hour 9. Storing Information with Arrays. Creating Arrays. Using Arrays. Multidimensional Arrays. Sorting an Array. Workshop: Array of Prizes, Indeed. 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. 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. Hour 12. Making the Most of Existing Objects. The Power of Inheritance. Establishing Inheritance. Working with Existing Objects. Workshop: Creating a Subclass. 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. Hour 14. Laying Out a User Interface. Using Layout Managers. Workshop: Laying Out an Application. 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. Hour 16. Building a Complex User Interface. Scroll Panes. Sliders. Change Listeners. Menus. Workshop: Using Image Icons and Toolbars. 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. Hour 18. Handling Errors in a Program. Exceptions. Assertions. Workshop: Throwing and Catching Exceptions. 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. Hour 20. Reading and Writing Files. Streams. Writing Data to a Stream. Workshop: Writing Bytes to an MP3 File. VI. CREATING MULTIMEDIA PROGRAMS. Hour 21. Using Fonts and Color. Using the Font Class. Using the Color Class. Other Ways to Choose Colors. Workshop: Displaying a Danger Message. Hour 22. Playing Sound Files. Retrieving and Using Sounds. Java Archives. Workshop: Making Your Computer Talk to You. Hour 23. Working with Graphics. Using Graphics. Drawing Lines and Shapes. Workshop: Baking a Pie Graph. Hour 24. Creating Animation. Animating a Sequence of Images. Sending Parameters to the Applet. Workshop: Follow the Bouncing Ball. VII. APPENDIXES. Appendix A. Tackling New Features of Java 2 Version 1.4. Java Web Start. Using Java Web Start. Appendix B. Using the Java 2 Software Development Kit. Choosing a Java Development Tool. Configuring the Software Development Kit. Using a Text Editor. Creating a Sample Program. Setting Up the CLASSPATH Variable. Appendix C. Programming with the Java 2 Software Development Kit. An Overview of the SDK. 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. Appendix D. Using Sun ONE Studio. Choosing a Java Development Tool. Configuring Sun ONE Studio. Creating a Sample Program. Appendix E. Where to Go from Here: Java Resources. Other Books to Consider. Sun's Official Java Site. Other Java Web Sites. Java Newsgroups. Job Opportunities. Appendix F. This Book's Web Site. Index.