Java Cookbook, Second Edition

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 862 pages
• Published by: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
• Edition: 3rd Edition June 14, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0596007019
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0596007010
• Book Dimensions: 8.7 x 7 x 1.6 inches
• Weighs: 2.6 pounds

Product Description
You have a choice: you can wade your way through lengthy Java tutorials and figure things out by trial and error, or you can pick up Java Cookbook, 2nd Edition and get to the heart of what you need to know when you need to know it. With the completely revised and thoroughly updated Java Cookbook, 2nd Edition, Java developers like you will learn by example, try out new features, and use sample code to understand how new additions to the language and platform work--and how to put them to work for you. This comprehensive collection of problems, solutions, and practical examples will satisfy Java developers at all levels of expertise. Whether you're new to Java programming and need something to bridge the gap between theory-laden reference manuals and real-world programs or you're a seasoned Java programmer looking for a new perspective or a different problem-solving context, this book will help you make the most of your Java knowledge. Packed with hundreds of tried-and-true Java recipes covering all of the major APIs from the 1.4 version of Java, this book also offers significant first-look recipes for the most important features of the new 1.5 version, which is in beta release. You get practical solutions to everyday problems, and each is followed by a detailed, ultimately useful explanation of how and why the technology works. Java Cookbook, 2nd Edition includes code segments covering many specialized APIs--like those for working with Struts, Ant and other new popular Open Source tools. It also includes expanded Mac OS X Panther coverage and serves as a great launching point for Java developers who want to get started in areas outside of their specialization. In this major revision, you'll find succinct pieces of code that can be easily incorporated into other programs. Focusing on what's useful or tricky--or what's useful and tricky--Java Cookbook, 2nd Edition is the most practical Java programming book on the market.

Book Info
Reference and handbook for Java developers, offering a collection of recipes for solutions to common problems developers face with Java. Designed so that the recipes may be used as fodder for ideas, or as specific guidelines for solving problems. Softcover. DLC: Java (Computer Program Language). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Java Cookbook (Paperback) The idea of a Java Cookbook is a good one. This book is very similar to the popular and widely acclaimed Perl Cookbook. Even though Perl is more useful for short stand-alone programs and Java is most effective in large-scale systems, a lot of Java code can follow a standard "recipe". For example, writing an equals method is a very common and surprisingly difficult task, so having a standard template available along with a discussion of important points is necessary for all but the most advanced Java programmers. To judge the quality of the recipes, I checked out some very basic and common Java problems, such as writing equals and clone methods, synchronizing threads, and comparing floating point numbers. In most cases, I found flaws in the code or accompanying explanations. The discussion of equals doesn't mention that the hashCode method needs to be compatible with it. The recipe for clone has the method unnecessarily throw a CloneNotSupportedException. The explanation of synchronizing threads says that locks are held on methods, instead of correctly pointing out that locks are held on objects. The code for floating point comparison requires that the user keep track of the magnitude of the numbers being compared. By using the term "Cookbook" in the title, I expected to find a collection of the best standard code templates. Instead, I found code samples that merely demonstrated a basic concept, and that they serve as only a starting point for understanding Java. Together with the misleading explanations, this book has the potential for confusing beginning Java programmers as much as it guides them. This book is best used as merely a guide to get the beginning Java programmer started. The "recipes" should be viewed as started points to be improved upon -- using them as is will result in less than optimal Java code.