Reddit mentions of The Java Programming Language, 4th Edition

You don't need school to learn how to do that. It's true for most things in life but it is even easier with computer science.

Want to learn C ? No school will ever teach it better than the book The C Programming Language (also called K&R) by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie.
Want to learn C++ ? You should start with C or C# or Java and then go for Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup.
Want to learn Python ? Go to python.org and pick a tutorial.
Want to learn Javascript ? Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke.
Want to learn HTML5 ? Maybe have a look at diveintohtml5.info or W3Schools
Want to learn Java ? The Java Programming Language by Ken Arnold or Head First Java by Kathy Sierra.

You need two things, time and will. You'd be surprise how easy it is to learn all those things if you like it and if you have a dream project.

edit: Woh, thanks for the gold. :D

Some tips:

1. Make sure you are using the best books available (ex: for C++ try: http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq/buy-several-books.html, for Java: http://www.amazon.com/The-Java-Programming-Language-Edition/dp/0321349806). Don't always go with just the book your professor recommended. Check the internet to know what the best books are. Pointers are really easy when TAUGHT properly.
   
   
2. Use StackOverflow extensively. Often when trying to explain your problem you suddenly see what the problem is.
   
   
3. For programming languages, university courses are overrated, you don't want to depend on the class. Get a great book and learn from it. Learning programming languages is a highly practical activity.
   
   

I cannot recommend The Java Programming Language highly enough. It was written by the creator of Java, and it shows. It's the reason I've spent my 12 year programming career using Java.

Coming to Java after a bunch of other languages, I found The Java Programming Language and Effective Java really helpful.

The first is a massive, and incredibly dry tome, but it leaves out nothing. Every question I had about the language was answered somewhere in the book. No technical details were ignored or glossed over. If you're looking for something really technical, it's hard to complain!

Effective Java is more useful as a sort of crash course in Java design patterns. The chapters are more conversational, but they give a really good sense of what professional idiomatic Java looks like, and how to think about the language. If you read through it, and understand the thought process behind each chapter, you'll have a really good sense of what good Java looks like.

1. Effective Java 2nd edition
   
   
2. Core Java ~ Fundamentals
   
   
3. Core Java ~ Advanced Features
   
   
4. Pragmatic programmer This is a very good OOP design book.
   
   
5. Java Programming Language
   
   SO Guide on Java Books
   
   Better SO Thread

После java можно как-раз.
По java советую Thinking in Java и Effective Java и в довесок.

I've heard good things about these two:

• http://www.amazon.com/Java-Program-Early-Objects-10th/dp/0133807800/
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/
  
  My first Java book was:
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Java-Programming-Language-4th/dp/0321349806/
  
  Although I enjoyed it a lot it's extremely weak on exercises (besides teaching java 1.5 (iirc)).
  
  The java tutorials are quite good, but lack on the exercises area, which is sort of crucial to learning how to program.
  
  
• https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/
  
  It's good too keep those tutorials in mind though because they're great as a first read on a particular piece of the java language and/or library.
  
  I think the best mix of learning java and learning how to program among these books is in the one by Paul and Harvey Deitel.
  
  Another good one on Java is the "Core Java" two volumes pack:
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Core-Java-I--Fundamentals-10th/dp/0134177304/
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Core-Java-II--Advanced-Features-10th/dp/0134177290/
  
  Although they're also weak on exercises, I remember the second volume being filled with examples.
  
  By the way, don't get discouraged by the sizes of those books. They're big not because they're difficult, but because there are lots of things to talk about. Generally speaking, all these books are mostly easy.

Depends on your experience. If you haven't programmed before, I think Big Java would be a good book to start with (it's the book MIT's Civil Engineering Dept uses to get them up to speed with Java). If you've programmed before, you're better off doing the official java tutorials followed by Core Java 1 and Core Java 2.

Regardless of the path you take, if you intend to do ANY kind of "serious" java programming, Effective Java is a must-read.

Finally, you'll want a good reference book. Gosling's Java Book is the definitive one, although you might prefer a book by O'Reilly.

I can't help with MATLAB much, but with Java I'd recommend a couple things.

For books, The Java Programming Language, from the creators of Java is an excellent resource. Another book that is not specifically Java related that I recommend is The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master, as it is a great book on programming practices and good things to know. I've read or looked at a bunch of the books by the Pragmatic guys and they are all really good if you ever get into other languages as well.

In general though for all programming, the most practical way to learn is to start with simple problems that interest you, or maybe ones from sites like Project Euler and just learn by doing. There are lots of great tutorials online, and if you ever get stuck, Google and Stack Overflow are your friends.