Amazon.com
Special Edition: Using Java 2 Standard Edition puts an all-inclusive tutorial on desktop Java development into your hands in one big volume. Chock-full of examples and tips, this one-stop source for learning Java will suit the needs of beginning or intermediate Java developers.

This massive, comprehensive guide to Java, weighing in at over 1,100 pages, is dedicated to the principle that more is more. Beginning with basic Java syntax and keywords, the fundamentals of Java are examined in a tour of the basics that is probably as good as any available--in that it mentions important object-oriented design principles early on without getting bogged down in jargon. The book also manages to integrate some Unified Modeling Language (UML)--particularly class diagrams--throughout, making this an up-to-date and effective guide to object-oriented design. Sections on built-in core Java classes for strings, threads, and collections (centering on the new collection classes from Java 2 onward) help build basic Java skills.

The book does a good job of exploring user interface design and graphics under both the older Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) and the new Swing classes. The solid tour of basic image processing and the nicely meticulous tour of user interface components are especially good. Advanced programmers will benefit from the material on the JFC Accessibility APIs; drag-and-drop functionality; and Java Media Framework API (JMF), which permits video and sound streaming.

Later sections move on to coverage of network, I/O, and database programming, including a clear explanation of the (sometimes confusing) support for Java streams. Later chapters on JDBC cover the basics while highlighting new features in Java 2 (which permit updating records, for instance). For advanced developers, a closing section on the powerful Java support for reflection (which allows code to "inspect" Java classes at run time and call methods dynamically) rounds out this capable tour. All in all, this text covers virtually all the topics that Java beginners will need in order to use its core features effectively--and, if you're in a hurry, you can read chapter by chapter. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to object-oriented programming and the Unified Modeling Language (UML)
• Java as a programming language
• A basic "Hello, World" program in Java
• In-depth basic language tutorial (including data types, operators, expressions, and control flow statements)
• Basic class design in Java (variables and methods, inner classes, and packages)
• String and text processing
• Java interfaces
• JDK 1.0 and JDK 1.2 collection classes
• Java threads and synchronization techniques
• The Java Foundation Classes (JFC)
• Basic user interface programming with the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) and Swing
• The JFC Accessibility APIs
• AWT and Java 2D graphics tutorial
• Drag-and-drop and clipboard programming with JFC
• Introduction to the Java Media Framework API (JMF)
• Java I/O with files
• Streams and object serialization
• Java networking basics (using TCP/IP and sockets, UDP, and handling URLs)
• Java internationalization and locale support
• JAR files (deployment and security issues)
• Beginning and advanced database programming with JDBC 2.0
• Reflection and class inspection
• Working with JavaBeans for custom UI components
• Reference for setting up the Sun JDK
• Guide to Java tools
• Sun's HotSpot compiler and other JDK 1.3 performance enhancements

• Paperback: 1152 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education; edition (Dec 27, 2022)
• ISBN: 0789724685
• Average Customer Review: Based on 7 reviews.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: 151605

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Too dense with no conceptual flow, Sep 26, 2023
This book has good breadth, but fundamentally fails to help the reader understand Java.

I am a Java trainer, and have used many books and training material. I recently chose this book for a class because of its breadth. Unfortunately, I had to write a lot of supplemental information to make up for the book's lack of clarity and structure.

A book should simplify key concepts by highlighting key points, using diagrams, etc. This book doesn't do that. It's like a brain dump, where the authors talk and talk about a given topic, but in a way that lacks structure. There is no flow or progression of concepts.

The book also has poor layout. Books should be designed with an eye toward ease of reading. Are key points highlighted? Are diagrams effective? If you're in a bookstore open the book to a random page. Are the highlighted sections important? Is the conceptual outline of the page apparent? For me, the answer is no.

Here's one of the highlighted paragraphs I've chosen at random:
"The ability to specify indexes when working with a List places an additional burden on you as a programmer. You must always ensure that any index you pass to a List method is greater than or equal to zero, and less than or equal to the size of the collection minus one. Each List method that accpets an indx throws an IndexOutOfBoundsException at runtime when this is not the case."

Rather than highlighting this key point with this dense paragraph, the author could have provided a simple diagram and an example. The reader would have understood the point immediately, rather than having to read and re-read a prose explaination.

Diagrams are similarly poor. There are a few diagrams, but they are not effective at communicating concepts. It's as if an editor said "we need a diagram" so someone whipped one out, whether or not it was effective.

In summary, this book has good breadth but is poor at helping the reader understand Java.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Good book for Beginner as well as Experienced Programmer, Dec 23, 2022
This is very good book. As I take this book when I wann to Start Java again from Starting point. So can say that I've some knowledege of java and I wann to recall it with some good examples. And also I wann to touch which I never touch like Java Beans, Thearding, networking etc. and I found that this book really helpful for me.
One more thing I wann to say that this book would be more useful if authore cover some more tpoics like security, little bit introduction of servlet, jsp etc.
Anyway, I've full marks to this book.
Pranav

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

If I could give to this 6 starts, then I would give him 10, Jun 13, 2023
I had the great happiness of receiving this book as a gift of a dear friend. I am a beginner in the Java programming. For me, this it is an excellent book, their authors wrote it with a lot of grace and with a lot of ability so that the reader understood it. Don't doubt to buy this book. If I could give to this 6 stars, then I would give him 10.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Using Java 2 Standard Edition, Apr 16, 2023
Excellent book!!! Even somebody like me could understand it and write couple of programs! I will say book had something to do with it. Best one by far.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

A very good book on Java, Mar 14, 2023
I've just switched over to Java from doing only Microsoft ASP and HTML. I found this book to be exactly what it says, "a book for programmers new to the Java language" and will be a good reference for me later.

The book is big and packed with more than enough examples to see the material in action. I've had no problems running any of the examples, although the formatting of one of them was moved to the next line and I had to move it back. No big deal for me.

What I like about this style of book is that it did not try to cover anything related to the enterprise edition, but stayed with the core Java libraries. That's enough as the size of this book is over 1000 pages. There are some differences in style between the authors as far as how they formatted their examples, but it gives me different ways that I can structure my code. I sort of like these multi-author books, rather than just a single author. Like I said, the style is a little different between them, but the flow is very easy. It's obvious to me that they must have worked closely together, unlike another book I recently bought on Java Server Pages which was all over the place.

All in all, a great book for those just moving to the Java language and wanting more than a reference or API. The other thing I like about this book is there's no annoying attempt at humor. Very professional approach, without attempting to be comedians.

• > Subjects > Computers & Internet > Programming > Java > General
• > Subjects > Computers & Internet > Programming > Software Design > Object-Oriented Design
• > Subjects > Computers & Internet > General
• > Substores > Software Books > Design & Development > Object-Oriented Design