Advanced Topics in Java

This book assumes you have a working knowledge of basic programming concepts such as variables, constants, assignment, selection (if...else), and looping (while, for). It also assumes you are comfortable with writing functions and working with arrays. If you are not, it is recommended that you study Java Programming: A Beginner’s Course (www.amazon.com/Java-Programming-Beginners-Noel-Kalicharan/dp/1438265182/) or any other introductory Java programming book before tackling the material in this book. The emphasis is not on teaching advanced concepts of the Java language, per se, but rather on using Java to teach advanced programming concepts that any aspiring programmer should know. The major topics covered include elementary sorting methods (selection, insertion), searching (sequential, binary), merging, pointers (called references in Java), linked lists, stacks, queues, recursion, random numbers, files (text, binary, random access, indexed), binary trees, advanced sorting methods (heapsort, quicksort, mergesort, Shell sort), and hashing (a very fast way to search).