<p>What is a common text for this?</p>
<p>Everyone here uses Barron's.</p>
<p>Sorry, I was not specific enough!</p>
<p>I meant like a common college text used in AP.</p>
<p>don't get any java-oriented book, or any language-oriented book because they cover a bunch of crap that is nothing more than a waste of time. get some old or new book covering algorithms because that is what CS AP really tests. It doesn't test your knowledge of java so much as it tests your knowledge of how to program. At my job, one of my bosses has an old book on algorithms from the sixties, and it has almost everything you'd need to know.</p>
<p>Java Methods, by Litvin</p>
<p>So, the Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth will actually work for AP Comp. Sci.?</p>
<p>never heard of it, but as long as it covers stuff like complexity, iterators, and all that stuff, i'm sure it's fine. however, i've heard that java methods is really good. it's by the author that wrote be prepared for the AP computer science exam in java, which is by far the best book on the market for cs ap--if you're looking for a quick review. you do need to know java well so that you understand and can answer the questions. i just had bad experiences with java-oriented textbooks this past year in cs. they were worthless. however, we didn't use java methods.</p>
<p>My only problem with Java Methods is that many chapters cover toics not found on the AP exam. I had to carefully examine the sylibus before deciding which chapters I needed to know and which chapters were useless for the exam(GUIs ect.). I did finish or even attempt several of the more involved labs but still got a 5 on the AB exam.</p>