<p>I am going to be a junior and was very interested in learning the java language, so I decided I would self study it and also take the AP Computer Science test at the same time. I have 10 to 11 months to do it. Where should I get started and what materials should I use</p>
<p>search this forum, it probably has 10 pages of advice</p>
<p>I have searched the forums but no specifics</p>
<p>I took AB, but as my third year of Comp Sci at school, second year of Java. Barrons is pretty good, but I think to really learn it, you need to code it, on a real computer. We did tons of projects in my class. I'm not sure how you should practice as a self-study, but you could go through the concepts in Barrons and play around w/them on the computer as you go.</p>
<p>Go to your local store, and buy a beginner java self-teach book. There will be plenty of them. Search amazon.com or a simmilar site to see their reviews and prices or just go to the store and see which one you like. You will have to download the java developer kit from <a href="http://www.sun.com%5B/url%5D">www.sun.com</a>. There are plenty of guides on the web if you don't want to spend the money.</p>
<p>Computer Science A is really beginning concepts of the field of Computer Science. The College Board site has a list of everything covered on the exam somewhere in a fairly large PDF file. You could probably buy any review book or any beginner Java book. I read the Princeton Review book two weeks before the exam for AB, after taking the A course, and I'll get back to you once I get my score on the AB to see how well it prepared me. Send me a message if you ever need help.</p>