This text uses Java to describe programming concepts, taking full advantage of Java's simpler and more consistent syntax. Its traditional approach uses modern CS tools including a strategic subset of Java and a simple object-oriented graphics library. The text teaches Java as a first programming language and distills it down to a core of fundamental data types, structures and syntax. It presents Java in a leaner and more practical fashion with a subset covering basic types, stream input and output, the "string" class, branches and loops, functions, parameter passing and classes. The book includes a style guide (available in electronic format) and details common student programming mistakes. The library for the book contains a base class from which students can derive their own applets without having to learn a complex event-handling model. An appendix brings students up to speed in ANSI C++ from Java.