This is book that perfectly matches my approach to beginning programming. The book is oriented around exemplar programs which start simple and become progressively more complex. In A Nutshell by David Flanagan. This is an excellent reference book. Class will be conducted on a Macintosh using VisualCafe for Java.
Students have the option of using other software packages for their programming assignments.
This is largely because programming has so many individual skill components that one has to master. Programming also involves learning the many idioms and standard procedures used in a programming language. The Handbook will also include the programming projects that you complete during the course and capture the evolution of your experience in the class learning to program. Each person comes to this class with a unique background. One function of the Handbook is to be a vehicle for you to construct a representation of what you have gathered from this course in a way that is relevant to you.