Java Unleashed [Paperback]

Michael Morrison (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Unleashed | Publication Date: April 1996

This is a comprehensive look at the new Java language and Java browsers from Sun Microsystems. Amongst other topics it covers what Java is, how it integrates with the Web, its significance and the kinds of applications possible.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's big, it contains a fair amount of extraneous material, and some of its contents are out of date, but many parts of Java Unleashed are clear, informative, and useful to the programmer who wants to add Java to his or her tool kit. If you're willing to do some sifting--and particularly if you have some C or C++ experience--this book will satisfy you.

Starting with the usual "Hello, World" application, the authors explain the fundamentals of the Java language--universal stuff that won't change much as different versions of the language come out. They cover variables, operators, control structures, classes, packages, and the rest of the stuff you need to understand in order to make things happen. Later chapters take on more complicated subjects, like threads, exceptions, applets, and the special considerations involved in programming for a networked environment.

Pleasantly, the authors chose to include a section on JavaScript, a much simpler language that programmers can use to write interfaces for Java applets. Unfortunately, there's no coverage of LiveConnect, which is the scheme by which JavaScript and Java communicate.

Java Unleashed suffers from the usual faults of huge, multiauthor books, including disparities among the authors' writing styles and some short chapters on huge subjects (like VRML). Further, this book centers on Java 1.0, which isn't awful--browsers support Java 1.0 with stability--but it's hardly cutting-edge. A companion CD-ROM boasts Sun's JDK 1.0 and Symantec's Visual Café Lite, as well as some plug-ins and editing tools. --David Wall

Product Details

• Paperback: 971 pages
• Publisher: Sams; Bk&CD-Rom edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575210495
• ISBN-13: 978-1575210490
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,151,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of computer technology books and interactive web-based courses. In addition to his primary profession as a writer and freelance nerd for hire, Michael is the creative lead at Stalefish Labs (http://www.stalefishlabs.com), an entertainment company he co-founded with his wife, Masheed. The first commercial debut for Stalefish Labs is a traditional social/trivia game called Tall Tales: The Game of Legends and Creative One-Upmanship. When not glued to his computer, playing hockey, skateboarding, or watching movies with his wife, Michael enjoys hanging out by his koi pond while he daydreams about new Web creations. You can visit Michael on the Web and discuss this book at http://www.michaelmorrison.com/.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 1.1 in the title - 1.0.2 in the book :-(, November 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Java Unleashed (Paperback)

I hope the book in question is the second edition and not the first. And the book itself, as a 1.0 book, can't be compared to Core Java's first edition - this one is much worse. Why?

Well, even the chapters on OOP have serious problems. Let's take a look at an example: when introducing the 'Hello, world' program, the authors say the following: '...static means that the method is the same for all instances of the class..'. And they do NOT tell us additional information. No beginner will understand this and will NEVER be informed to look at this problem as the infamous chicken-egg problem.

Only one chapter is worth mentioning: the chapter on threads. It beats even Core Java's chapter on threads - it just rules. Fortunately, as I've read, later editions contain the same chapter so reading them instead of this edition will explain everything about threads.

One of the worst chapters is the one about exceptions. Even Naughton's very old The Java Programing Language is better in this respect... It doesn't even tell the user how the exception class inheritance and the order of catch blocks influence the ability to catch specialized exceptions...

To summarize: do NOT buy this book b/c it only discusses 1.02 (the 60 pages on 1.1's new features (RMI etc...; no word is said about the new event model and Reader/Writer streams) have nothing worth mentioning; AWT and I/O is still 1.0.2).

I'm an official course leader of Sun Microsystems Hungary.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars WRONG VERSION -- BUY JAVA 1.1 UNLEASHED, April 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Tualatin, OR.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Java Unleashed (Paperback)

I wasted my money on this one. It says "Java 1.1" on the cover, however it doesn't really cover any of the 1.1 features at all. Foolish me, I really wanted "Java 1.1 Unleased". Don't fall for the same trap. If I bought this a year ago, I would have been happy with it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars AWFUL! AWFUL! AWFUL! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!, March 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Java Unleashed (Paperback)

I have read over 10 Java books, and this is just miserable. It might be fine for teenagers looking to make scrolling tickers, but no serious programmer could possibly derive anything useful from it.

Any O'Reilly or SunSoft books would be much better.

Written by a zillion authors, the editors did not take the time to integrate the different chapters. Rambling, unfocused, and miserable. Do not buy.