style.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" />

Textbook

Our required textbook for CSE 143 this quarter will be the following:

Reges/Stepp. Building Java Programs: A Back to Basics Approach, 4th edition. ISBN 978-0134322766

This required book was written specifically for this course and makes a valuable supplement to the lecture presentations. The book contains the problems we will assign you each week before your discussion section.

Code Files

The textbook includes many sample programs. You can access a full set of code files that is organized chapter by chapter. This will allow you to download any of the programs and run them on your own computer.

Video Notes

New copies of the textbook come with an access code to watch "Video Notes." These videos supplement the lecture and book material by walking through more examples in detail. You can access the video notes at the Pearson VideoNotes web site.

Online Problems

We have written a web application called Practice-It that allows you to write solutions to lots of our Java practice problems. You can type in your solution and submit it to the server to be tested. You will receive feedback about whether your code succeeds or fails.

How to purchase:

Physical copy: Students can purchase the textbook from the UW Bookstore. The book is also available to be ordered online from online retailers such as the following:

Free Trial and Discounted Digital Copy: Until April 22nd 2019, all current students will have complimentary access to the textbook in VitalSource Bookshelf. To access the book, just go to the course's canvas page and select "Modules" on the left:


Then click on the "Building Java Programs 4th Edition" module:


On the new page, click "Load Building Java Programs 4th Edition in a new window" to be taken to VitalSource:


On VitalSource, you should see the book listed, and until April 22nd 2019 you will be able to read the book for free by clicking "Read Now":


After April 22nd, you will need to purchase the book for continued lifetime access. Pearson and University Book Store have partnered with VitalSource Bookshelf to offer Building Java Programs 4th Edition to students at a discounted price through the Inclusive Access program. To purchase the book at this discounted price through the UW University Book Store, click here.

After purchasing, you will once again be able to access the book through the canvas module or through your VitalSource account at https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/.

If you have an difficulty accessing the free trial or purchasing the discounted book, please contact jsanders@cs.washington.edu.

Older Editions of the Textbook

If you see a book with our book's title but a different ISBN available for sale online (probably used), this is not the correct textbook. It is likely either the previous "1st edition", "2nd edition" or an even older "preliminary custom edition" version of the book that was used in past years. These older versions of the book do not contain all of the content from the correct course textbook. The 1st and 2nd editions are not suitable for CSE 143 this quarter; we do not suggest using them as your textbook for the course this quarter.