Head First Java CliffsNotes Summaries

For this assignment you will create "CliffsNotes" summary for the following selection of chapters from Head First Java:

• Dive in A Quick Dip: Breaking the Surface
• Classes and Objects: A Trip to Objectville
• Primitives and References: Know Your Variables
• Methods Use Instance Variables: How Objects Behave
• Writing a Program: Extra-Strength Methods
• Get to Know the Java API: Using the Java Library
• Inheritance and Polymorphism: Better Living in Objectville
• Interfaces and Abstract Classes: Serious Polymorphism
• Constructors and Garbage Collection: Life and Death of an Object
• Numbers and Statics: Numbers Matter
• Exception Handling: Risky Behavior
• Serialization and File I/O: Saving Objects
• Collections and Generics: Data structures

Each summary will center around explaining a small application that represents the chapter's content. The application must sufficiently represent the chapter (no important concepts omitted), and the summary must sufficiently explain the application (no important constructs ignored). If necessary, you can break the sample application up into several smaller applications. A summary and its sample application(s) should be finalized roughly every three study blocks. This equates to about three chapter summaries a week.

You will know you are successful when peers and instructors find no serious flaws with their summary.

You will know how to improve by peers and instructors identifying omitted concepts or ignored programming constructs.

An example has been provided for chapter 18. You should fork this repository and add similarly structured subdirectories for each chapter.

Workflow

1. Identify and Note Primary Questions - Review the chapter outline and skim the chapter to identify primary questions. For example, given chapter 1's outline, it could start with the following questions: "How does Java work?", "How should Java code be structured?", "What is the anatomy of a class?".
2. Use the Chapter to Answer Questions - Summarize the chapter sections to answer the questions you constructed. You will frequently use example code snippets to support your summary.
3. Construct Sample Application - Build small sample program that highlights this chapter's content. The application does not have to be large or complex, but it should represent the chapter's content.
4. Peer Feedback - Request and respond to feedback from two of your peers. Feedback should be given based on whether or not the summary and application sufficiently represent the chapter.
5. Instructor Feedback - Request and respond to feedback instructors. Feedback will be given based on whether or not the summary and application sufficiently represent the chapter.