The Definitive Guide to Java Swing (Definitive Guides) [Paperback]

John Zukowski (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1590594479 | ISBN-13: 978-1590594476 | Publication Date: December 2004 | Edition: 3rd

Fully updated for the 1.5 edition of the Java 2 Platform, the third edition of this praised book is a one-stop resource for serious Java developers. This book shows you the parts of Java Swing API that you will use daily to create graphical user interfaces (GUI). You will also learn about the Model-View-Controller architecture that lies behind all Swing components, and about customizing components for specific environments.

Zukowski also provides custom editors and renderers for use with tables, trees, and list components. You'll encounter an overview of Swing architecture, and learn about core Swing components, toggelable components, event handling with the Swing Component Set, Swing menus and toolbars, borders, pop-ups, choosers, and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Zukowski conducts strategic Java consulting with JZ Ventures, Inc. and works with SavaJe Technologies to develop a next-generation mobile phone platform. Zukowski authors separate monthly tech tips for Sun’s Core Java Technologies newsletter, and IBM’s Taming Tiger series at developerWorks. He has written several popular titles including Java AWT Reference (1565922409), Mastering Java 2 (078214022X), Learn Java with JBuilder 6 (1893115984), and Java Collections (1893115925).

Product Details

• Paperback: 1000 pages
• Publisher: A-Press; 3rd edition (December 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590594479
• ISBN-13: 978-1590594476
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,214,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, no long-term reference value, July 20, 2005

By 

Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Definitive Guide to Java Swing (Definitive Guides) (Paperback)

This is a standard GUI toolkit walkthrough. Each of the chapters covers a set of the UI controls and provides a set of code samples to show how the different features are used. More than most this book relies on the code to do the heavy lifting. Several example code blocks run several pages with no comments or interleaved exposition.

In a book like this I look for both a good walkthrough, and a good reference section. I find that the walkthrough is good. But the long-term reference value isn't there. So while you may get an education from it, you aren't going to be going back to it on your bookshelf looking for classes and methods. That being said, with today's IDEs and their integrated documentation, this may be all the book you need. Your call.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK - Not great, March 22, 2006

By 

J. Trieu - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Definitive Guide to Java Swing (Definitive Guides) (Paperback)

The book is good for examples of using various SWING components. For new comers to Java SWING, however, it does a poor job of explaining what the components are and when to use them. It makes references to AWT but if you don't know AWT, it doesn't help. I found more useful information in that area from Sun's website. Sun's website also does a better job of explaining SWING's architecture and how it fits into MVC architecture.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent, but sorely lacking as a tutorial, July 10, 2006

By 

Rusty Shackleford - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Definitive Guide to Java Swing (Definitive Guides) (Paperback)

This book is an alright reference, but a poor tutorial. The problem is that there is no examples of a complete GUI, especially real life examples. Sadly, this a a flaw in many other Java books, Head First Java is particularily bad in this regard.

What these types of books need is a full blown example, one that has a menu bar, tool bar, and multiple items on one or more panels, complete with layout and listeners.

A book like this must be a nightmare for a total beginners, having to piece together info from all over the book.