Java in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference - Hardcover

9780596001117: Java in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0596001118 ISBN 13: 9780596001117

The bestselling Java in a Nutshell has been updated to cover Java 1.1. If you're a Java programmer who is migrating to 1.1, this second edition contains everything you need to get up to speed on the new features of Java 1.1. Or if you are just now jumping on the Java bandwagon, Java in a Nutshell still has all of the features that have made it the Java book most often recommended on the Internet. An advanced introduction to Java for C and C++ programmers teaches you everything you need to know about the language, while the complete quick-reference contains descriptions of all of the classes in the Java 1.1 API, with the exception of the Enterprise APIs.Java in a Nutshell also fully describes the syntax of the Java language, making it the only quick reference that a Java programmer needs.The second edition of Java in a Nutshell covers Version 1.1 of the Java Development Kit (JDK). It includes all of the material from the first edition, as well as the following updated information for Java 1.1:

A detailed overview of all of the features in Java 1.1, both on a package-by-package basis and in terms of overall functionality.
A comprehensive tutorial on "inner classes" that explains how to use all of the new types of inner classes: static member classes, member classes, local classes, and anonymous classes.
Practical, real-world example programs that demonstrate the features in Java 1.1, including object serialization, the new AWT event handling model, internationalization, and a sample Java Bean.
A complete quick reference for all of the classes, methods, and variables in the core Java 1.1 API. The quick-reference pages include indicators that make it easy to find the 1.1 material. In addition, cross-reference material is now provided directly on each reference page.

With the 1.1 release, Java has grown too large to fit in a single book, even in quick-reference form. Thus, we see the need to splitJava in a Nutshell into multiple volumes. This volume, the "original" Java in a Nutshell, documents the most commonly used features of Java and is an indispensable reference for all Java programmers. We may publish a separate volume that will cover the Java "Enterprise APIs", which include the database connectivity, remote method invocation, and security features, as well as other forthcoming components, such as CORBA IDL support and the electronic commerce framework. And as other new Java APIs are developed and released, we may consider adding new volumes to the Java in a Nutshell series.

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Review

The 3rd edition of the well-known reference Java In a Nutshell covers the essential APIs of Java 1.2, including networking, security, input and output, and basic language and utility classes. Due to the size of the Java 1.2 API, graphics and graphical user interface classes are now examined in a volume called Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell and server-side and enterprise programming are detailed in Java Enterprise in a Nutshell.

Though primarily a reference, the book starts off with a thorough, fast-paced introduction to Java, exploring all the key topics including syntax, Object-Oriented programming, security, beans and tools. These discussions are brief and very information-dense but if you are buying this book to learn the language, you will probably be overwhelmed by the speed of this initiation.

This book intends to document quite a bit of Java and it easily succeeds with broad coverage of Java programming in Part I and API cataloguing broken down by package in Part II. For example, discussions in Part I explain types, reflection, and dynamic loading. The handling of these topics takes a little over a page but the book gives a useful overview with code examples that clearly illustrate the points made. It is one of the clearest and most concise treatments of these three topics available.

The chapters in Part II include an introduction, diagrams, and sections for each class in the package. The sections for each class can be very informative, as in the discussion of the Socket class in the java.net chapter, which includes how to instantiate a Socket object, getting I/Ostreams from the object you instantiated, and how to alter the behaviour of sockets. This discussion, like most in this book, is brief, clear and to the point.

If you are looking for a Java reference, this is a solid volume that will provide lasting value. --John Keogh

Topics covered: Part I, Introducing Java, provides broad coverage of Java programming topics, including: data types, syntax, classes and objects, Java file structure, inner classes, interfaces, packages, creating and initialising objects, destroying and finalising objects, input/output, cryptography, networking, security, threads, Java Beans, Java Doc and tools that come with Java 1.2 SDK.

Part II, the Java API Quick Reference, includes chapters on the following Java packages: java.beans, java.beans.beancontext, java.io, java.lang, java.lang.ref, java.lang.reflect, java.math, java.net, java.security, java.security.acl, java.security.cert, java.security.interfaces, java.security.spec, java.text, java.util, java.util.jar, java.util.zip, javax.crypto, javax.crypto.interfaces, javax.crypto.spec and a final chapter which provides an index for classes, methods and fields.

About the Author

David Flanagan is a consulting computer programmer, user interface designer, and trainer. His other books with O'Reilly & Associates include JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, Netscape IFC in a Nutshell, X Toolkit Intrinsics Reference Manual, and Motif Tools: Streamlined GUI Design and Programming with the Xmt Library. David has a degree in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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