Customer Reviews

Hello World(s) -- From Code to Culture: A 10 Year Celebration of Java Technology

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Scary that a ten year anniversary of Java is already upon us. To celebrate, Sun put forth this book, which walks us through the short and tumultuous history. It describes how Java grew from ideas in the early 90s, which were inspired by Sun's longstanding slogan, "the network is the computer". And which predates the Web.

Indeed, the book shows at a nontechnical level how Java has largely delivered on this promise. More so than any other alternative. However, the book is rather sparse on technical details. Or even about the personalities like Joy and Gosling. It is a coffeetable book. Rendered somewhat bland because Sun itself put it out. Sure, the text has all sorts of free flowing and casual phrases. But there is very little of substantive details. Not just about the technical aspects.

What we still need is a book that goes into far more detail about how we went from Oak to Java. It need not necessarily have to have a lot of programming level information. But it should also give insight into the key players. Along with commentary on how Java has actually and ironically delivered little in significant tangible revenue to Sun. Though, to be sure, it has helped give Sun immense mindshare in the programming crowd. That book would need to be written by someone independent of Sun.

You know you're a geek when your coffee table books feature programming languages... Hello World(s)! - From Code to Culture: A 10 Year Celebration of Java Technology.

Contents: The World of Possibilities; The World of Choice; The World of Curiosity; The World of Community; The World of Adoption; The World of Inevitability; The World of Today; The World of Tomorrow

I had a real hard time trying to figure out how to frame this book. From a visual perspective, it's very nice. Heavy page stock, colorful graphics, and unique page layout. On the other hand, after you've spent 30 minutes reading through the approximately 100 pages, you'll wonder what you should do with the book now. Then I noticed the "author"... Sun Microsystems. This is one of those coffee table books produced by the company who owns the subject matter, and it's the type of book you can give to clients and other tech geeks who are part of the Java movement. Given that framing, I understand its function and am inclined to cut it a bit more slack in terms of reviewer rating.

There's nothing in here that you probably haven't already heard in other books on Java. Granted, this style of book allows for more color and background as to what was going on at the time, and what some of the players were thinking during crucial moments in Java's history. I enjoyed reading it, but I was a bit surprised that all the "historical" material that revolved around dates seemed to end at 1999 or so. I almost felt like this was a dot.com era book that finally made it off someone's pet project list after three or four years, but that wasn't updated with more current events.

So, do you run out and buy this book? Depends... If someone *gives* you a copy, by all means take it and enjoy. Heck, stick it on your coffee table with pride (after you move the pizza boxes off). But if you're looking for in-depth analysis and historical perspective on Java, you'll likely end up walking away feeling less than satisfied...

I was looking for an intro to Java - what is it all about, why does it work everywhere but all of the books I scanned were very specialized programming books - seems odd that this is the only intro book but it is!
Beautiful book with great pictures and history - quick read but you will understand what why it is on everything from phones to mainframe computers.
cheers, lee

This is a nicely produced coffeetable book that sets out the ten years of Java from a concept of how household devices might be controlled to where it is today - such as on a whole lot of cellphones for example. The book is not a technical one. Instead it is a celebration of the language with large color photos, good graphics, and the tale of how Java happened. There are the stories of the "Oak" and "Green" days, how the basic premise of Java as a language for controlling consumer devices had to be scrapped and started over, and then how the Internet finally gave the language that "big break" and the purpose it had been looking for.

The book takes you to the splitting of Java into three targeted platforms, and to where we are today, which is Java Everywhere: Phones, smart cards, PC's, the Internet. There are also lots of pretty interesting tidbits of information. Lots of it I knew, but there are quite a few odds and ends I did not know. For example, this book tells you what names for the language preceded Java, and why Java was ultimately the name that stuck.

This being a book by Sun intended to celebrate Java's tenth birthday, there's not much in here about what bothers people about the language. For example, don't expect discussions on the problems caused by the language carrying its Virtual Machine wherever it goes, and that Java's "write once run everywhere" GUI's can often turn into "write once, debug everywhere" GUI's. However, there's no denying that this language has been and can be downright fun to use - no PR-based coffeetable book could invent that fact out of thin air. Also, it is much easier to use than C++ even if they are suited for different types of tasks.

At any rate, reading this book has resulted in some serious flashbacks for me anyway, since I've been using the language from the beginning. This is a pretty light but interesting book that will get you remembering and thinking about Java's progress over the years, which is probably the reason Sun produced it in the first place.

"Hello Worlds" celebrates Java turning 10. With special paper and pictures galore, the book walks through the history of Java.

This is not a technical book and reads like the story it is. Cute anecdotes are included from the programming language's conception to launch to present day. There's even a post-it note with how the name Java was picked. And of course, Duke - the Java mascot - is in there.

The book takes less than an hour to read, but makes a nice commemorative item. It also makes a great holiday stocking stuffer in the $20 range. I know I enjoyed reading about the origins of Java.