Introduction to Java and Software Design breaks the current paradigms for teaching Java and object-oriented programming. This book has been developed from the ground up to be a Java text, rather than a Java translation of prior works. The text uses real Java I/O classes and treats event handling as a fundamental control structure that is introduced right from the beginning. The authors carefully guide the student through the process of declaring a reference variable, instantiating an object and assigning it to the variable. Students will gradually develop a complete and comprehensive understanding of what an object is, how it works, and what constitutes a well-designed class interface.

A challenge to teaching programming using a language as complex as Java, is selecting which portions of the language to teach. The authors have taken great care to select a subset of the language library to illustrate all of the fundamental concepts. The result is that when students are finished with the course, they can write real Java programs without being dependent on a text-supplied library and have the ability to extend their knowledge of I/O classes to include the many optional features that are available.