Concurrent Programming: The Java Programming Language [Paperback]

Stephen Hartley (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195113152 | ISBN-13: 978-0195113150 | Publication Date: March 26, 1998

The popularity of the Internet has led to rapidly expanding interest in client-server programming by all kinds of businesses and organizations. Many client and server applications benefit from their design as object-oriented programs with multiple threads of control. An object-oriented language with built-in threads, Java is ideal for concurrent programming and developing multi-threaded applications. Demand for programmers skilled in object-oriented design and concurrency will only grow in the future, making concurrent programming and the Java programming language increasingly important to programming students and professionals.
Designed for students and professionals, Concurrent Programming: The Java Programming Language provides a practical, demonstrative introduction to the issues and concepts in concurrent programming, operating systems, the client-server model, and multiple threads. It features numerous Java example programs as stand-alone applications rather than as simple applets, showing readers how to utilize the Java programming language to write programs that use semaphores, monitors, message passing, remote procedure calls, and the rendezvous for thread synchronization and communication. Each example program includes output from one or more sample runs. Multithreading issues such as race conditions, critical sections, mutual exclusion, and condition synchronization are covered. Several thread communication tools used extensively in client server programming--message passing, the rendezvous, and remote procedure calls--are also described. An algorithm animation package, written in Java, is used in several of the example programs. The book concludes with a brief introduction to parallel processing with Java.
Concurrent Programming: The Java Programming Language is suitable for a concurrent programming course or as a supplement in an operating systems class. Professional programmers will also find the presentation accessible. All source code for the book is available by anonymous ftp from ftp.mcs.drexel.edu and from the World Wide Web at http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~shartley/ConcProgJava/index.html.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great book. Our top students love it. We could use it in three courses."--R. Waldo Roth, Taylor University

"A neatly written book, a handy companion to an operating systems text."--Marek, Suchenek, California State University Dominguez Hills

"Hartley's excellent introduction to the concurrency features of Java uses concurrency problems from the operating systems domain as the driving applications. . . . Examples guide the student through many iterations of solutions, and show along the way how some solutions may be incorrect, and how they can be corrected and made efficient. . . . Suitable for undergraduate and graduate students and practitioners who already know sequential Java well, and who are interested in understanding and implementing concurrent programs in Java."--Choice

About the Author

Stephen Hartley is at Drexel University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195113152
• ISBN-13: 978-0195113150
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,094,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly Edited. Oxford UP should be ashamed., January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Concurrent Programming: The Java Programming Language (Paperback)

This book is passably written by an author who cares much more about concurrent applications than about java. Java is perhaps just a hook to get you to buy the book. Why spend chapters on semaphores when the language has native monitor support? The editing of this book, however, makes it nearly unreadable and unusable. The text regularly refers to "Class 2.5" or "Listing 3.4" (for example) yet none of the code listings are labeled, and may not be on the same page. You'll drive yourself nuts trying to figure out what he's talking about. Also, the text makes reference to code and listings that can only be found on the author's web page without explicitly stating this. Finally, is the first philosopher "Philosopher 1" or "Philosopher 0"? An editor should have picked this up and corrected it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, November 12, 2001

By 

M. Peabody (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Concurrent Programming: The Java Programming Language (Paperback)

Let's get something straight, I'm currently a college student at Drexel University (The Author's college). I am a Dual BS/MS Student with a GPA > 3.8 in computer science. This book is without a doubt the worst book I've ever been forced to purchase for a class and I am fully convinced that we only use it because the author is part of the community at this school. As has been mentioned before, the code samples are not labeled. Working with the code is also a horrendous experience trying to figure out which problem matches up with which set of 4 letter source files (such descriptive names as "bbpc.java"). I do not agree that the theory is all that great in this book. Personally, I think that by reading the Javasoft tutorial one can get a better understanding of Concurrent Programming. The other reviewers are also correct in saying that the book is very poorly edited. It looks like something banged out over a month's period or time. My Recommendation? Don't buy this book, and if your professor makes you buy it for a class, protest. I told mine flat out that the book (...). Not much came of it, but at least it's out in the open. I would give this book a negative rating if (possible).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ho-Hum, June 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Concurrent Programming: The Java Programming Language (Paperback)

The book is great on theory and poor on programming ideas. He writes "The best way to debug a Java program is with the System.out.println statement, as is the case with any high-level programming language." Inexcusable language for a professor in computer science.