Java 2 Core Language Little Black Book [Paperback]

Alain Trottier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002 | Series: Little Black Book Series

The focus of this book is on the core Java language as implemented by the new version of Java, version 1.4. The book features a logical, sequential approach with concise overviews, then step-by-step immediate solutions created by a master Java programmer. This book is also packed with over 150 code listings which can be used as is or quickly modified.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alain Trottier observes the .com warfare of Southern California as a technology management consultant (Strategic Business Resources) and an adjunct professor at Vanguard University. He has been in the tech sector for two decades. On the electronics side, he has worked with RF gear, nuclear power plants, and electromechanical devices. On the IT side, he has held roles as a technologist, a developer support specialist, a programmer, an architect, and a manager. Alain got a kick out of being in the U.S. Submarine Navy (nuclear power division), and he was impressed with his bosses at Chevron's world-class research center. He was astonished by the .com bubble while at Adforce and then Winfire, where he experienced a meteoric IPO and then a subsequent flameout. He has been through a get-it-right-at-all-cost experience in a Fortune 30 company, and he also has witnessed the other extreme, in which one bets it all on a get-it-out-there-at-no-cost venture.

Alain enjoys a difficult technological challenge and likes the people even better. He believes that his degrees in religion (Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts with a specialization in the linguistics of ancient religious texts) is a terrific way to broaden one's abilities. He has certifications from both Microsoft and Sun, so his bias is simply what works best for a given situation. If you have a question, comment, or even a challenge, the author would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact him (think Chief Technology Ambassador) from the book's Web site, at http: //www.inforobo.com/scwcd/examcram.

Steve Heckler is a freelance programmer and IT trainer specializing in .NET, Java, ColdFusion, Flash ActionScript, and XML. Based inAtlanta, Georgia, he works with clients nationwide. In addition, he is the author of the Sun Certification Instructor Resource Kit (310-025, 310-027): Java 2 Programmer and Developer Exams and Sun Certification Instructor Resource Kit (310-080): Java 2 Web Component Developer Exam. He is currently writing an ASP.NET-related book for Addison-Wesley.

Before being self-employed, Steve served nearly seven years as vice president and president of a leading East Coast IT training firm. He holds bachelors and masters degrees from Stanford University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Paraglyph Press; 1 edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932111662
• ISBN-13: 978-1932111668
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,386,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful little problem solving guide..., February 9, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Java 2 Core Language Little Black Book (Paperback)

Target Audience
Intermediate Java developers who want brief explanations of syntax and working examples to study

Contents
This is a condensed guide to the Java language with a heavy emphasis on code examples that can be used to solve your programming issues.

The book is divided into the following chapters: Getting Started With Java; Essential Java Syntax; Blocks And Statements; Methods, Classes, And Packages; Data Structures; Files And Streams; Java Database Connectivity; The Internet And Networking; XML And Java; Advanced Techniques; Security; Internationalization; Development Tools; References; The Java Virtual Machine; Active RFCs.

Review
There are some people who can read an explanation of something technical and immediately grasp how to use it in a real program. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I work best when I can read the explanation of how something works, and then see a working example that I can copy and use. That's where this book shines.

Each chapter starts off with an "In Brief" section. This is the "technical" explanation of the subject being covered, like classes or socket programming. After a high level explanation of the chapter subject, the coverage then shifts to an "Immediate Solutions" section. This is where you get the most bang for the buck. You'll find a problem listed, such as resolving a hostname or opening a server socket. A couple of paragraphs will explain what needs to be done, and that is followed by a code example that solves that problem. By reading the chapter and seeing how they solve a number of issues, you should come away with one or more ideas on how to code your own solutions.

If you don't have a solid background in Java, you will probably want to get a tutorial-style book before you buy this volume. It's billed as a "concise program solver", and as a result it doesn't attempt to teach the language to someone who is unfamiliar with it to start with. If you are beyond the basics, then this book will quickly pay for itself after a couple of solutions.

Conclusion
This is a perfect book if you are familiar with Java but occasionally need to look up a command to see how it works along with a code example. It bridges the gap between academic and practical knowledge of the language.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good format! Simple (to adapt) code, helped me get going, October 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Java 2 Core Language Little Black Book (Paperback)

A good programming book doesn't overdo it. It doesn't necessarily give you entire batches of production ready code. What it does is give you core routines you can drop into your code to accomplish the task you're trying to do, especially if you're in the beginning to intermediate range. Then it's you're job to assemble the parts into a production whole. This book does that well. The code is very understandable and drops in nicely. Trottier also shows you some optimization techniques as well.

This Core name for this book really summarizes it. This is core 101 and everday Java. If you know a little Java this is a good book to get comprehensive with it. If you're advance there might be a few areas it covers you haven't gotten to yet.

For me I just wanted to be able to create some simple applets that took data off the Internet and from a database and did some special calculations and presentations with it. This book was helpful in getting that going. I knew little Java before that but did know some C, a lot of PHP and SQL.

I used the Core Language as a supplement to the Java Reference docs I downloaded from Sun and it helped a lot. It's sometimes hard to use the reference style of stuff until you've got some working code up. That's what makes this book useful, it got me going enough so that I could start experimenting outside of the core language using the free reference stuff on the Internet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Little Black Book, December 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Java 2 Core Language Little Black Book (Paperback)

I have purchased this book a few weeks ago and think its great. Brief explanations and to the point. I am just learning Java and I can quickly find help when I need it. It makes a great desktop reference.