Answer: Java for Everyone is a gentle introduction into programming, suitable for both CS majors and non-majors. Big Java is a more rigorous text, designed to support a first course in a computer science or software engineering curriculum. (Java Concepts contains the first 15 chapters of Big Java.)
Java for Everyone is “classes late”. Students work with standard library objects (streams, scanners, strings, array lists), but they do not design and implement their own classes until the end of the book.
In contrast, Big Java is “classes gradual”. Students start implementing simple classes at the beginning of the book.
Answer: Please go to the request page for college instructors or for high school instructors.
Answer: If you are a student, please ask your instructor. If you are an instructor, please visit http://www.wiley.com/college/horstmann and select "Instructor Resources". You will need to fill out a form and obtain a password to see the solutions to all exercises. If you are neither, we apologize—the book was designed as a part of a college-level course, not for self-study.
Answer: Yes. You can either get a desktop edition or purchase the Wiley PLUS course.
Answer: You need Java 5.0 or later.
Answer: The book uses only standard Java. No additional libraries are required.