Chapter 1. A Quick Tour

 

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This chapter is a whirlwind tour of the Java programming language that gets you started writing code quickly. We briefly cover the main points of the language, without slowing you down with full-blown detail. Subsequent chapters contain detailed discussions of specific features.

Getting Started

In the Java programming language, programs are built from classes. From a class definition, you can create any number of objects that are known as instances of that class. Think of a class as a factory with blueprints and instructions to build gadgets—objects are the gadgets the factory makes.

A class contains members, the primary kinds being fields and ...

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