Jini in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) [Paperback]

Scott Oaks (Author), Henry Wong (Author)

Book Description

Series: In a Nutshell (O'Reilly) | Publication Date: March 8, 2000

Jini is a simple set of Java Classes and services that allows devices (e.g., printers) and services (e.g., printing) to access each other seamlessly, adapt to a continually changing environment, and share code and configurations transparently. Jini has the potential to radically alter our use of computer networks, since it allows and encourages totally new types of services and new uses of existing networks.

Jini in a Nutshell is a quick reference guide to developing services and clients using Jini. It covers everything an experienced Java programmer needs to know to implement Jini, including tutorial chapters to get you up to speed quickly and reference chapters that analyze and explain every Java package related to Jini. Over the course of the book the authors develop a complete example program--with samples of both server and client applications.

Topics covered include:

• Setting up the Jini programming environment
• RMI
• Basic and advanced Jini programming
• Jini services, including JavaSpaces
• Jini utilities
• Security

Jini in a Nutshell covers the Jini 1.0 specification and requires the Java 2 Platform.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written for the experienced developer who wants to understand what's next in Java programming, Jini in a Nutshell is an concise and excellent source of information on the latest Jini specification from Sun. Part tutorial and part reference, it's a great way to get a handle on the potential of Jini.

In the near future, Jini devices will be able to attach to networks anywhere, while looking up and "leasing" services (like printing). This standard promises a new era of more flexible network connectivity. This book shows you how to help make this happen. First it delivers an effective tutorial to basic and advanced topics in Jini programming, with plenty of short examples of actual client and server code that shows off RMI, discovery and leasing services, remote events, JavaSpaces, and other necessary features of this powerful--and complicated--new set of APIs from Sun.

The focus on the practical side of development is a strength here. The authors give plenty of hands-on tips, such as installing and running the Jini Starter Kit (JSK). More than most APIs, successful programming with Jini requires knowing the rules of what needs to be done with each class or interface. The authors provide step-by-step guidelines--as well as sample code--for each area of the API. This text concludes with over 100 pages of valuable reference material on every Jini utility, class, and method.

In all, with a mix of well-chosen programming tutorials and compact reference material, Jini in a Nutshell proves that a book doesn't have to be long to be comprehensive. This title will be a useful asset for the Java programmer who wants to learn Jini quickly and thoroughly. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Overview of Jini and discoverable network services; Jini communities; programming tutorial; sample code; installing and configuring the Jini Starter Kit (JSK); JSK utilities (reggie, mahalo, outrigger, fiddler, mercury, and norm); Remote Method Invocation (RMI); object serialization; activation; Jini Lookup Services; lookup and discovery support classes; attributes; leasing; landlords and lease policies; distributed remote events; service administration; Jini support classes; collections; thread utilities; reliable logs; transactions; the two-phase commit protocol; nestable transactions; JavaSpaces; read, write, and take operations; helper services; the Lease Renewal Service; the Event Mailbox Service; Java 2 security basics; Jini class and API reference.

About the Author

Scott Oaks is a Java Technologist at Sun Microsystems, where he has worked since 1987. While at Sun, he has specialized in many disparate technologies, from the SunOS kernel to network programming and RPCs. Since 1995, hes focused primarily on Java and bringing Java technology to end-users. Scott also authored OReillys Java Security, Java Threads and Jini in a Nutshell titles.

Henry Wong is a tactical engineer at Sun Microsystems, where he has worked since 1989. Originally hired as a consultant to help customers with special device drivers, kernel modifications, and DOS interoperability products, Henry has also worked on Solaris ports, performance tuning projects, and multithreaded design and implementations for benchmarks and demos. Since early 1995, Henry has been involved in developing Java prototypes and supporting customers who are using Java. Prior to joining Sun, Henry earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union in 1987. He joined a small software company in 1986 working on SCSI device drivers, image and audio data compression, and graphics tools used for a medical information system. When not in front of a computer, Henry is an instrument rated private pilot, who also likes to dabble in archery, cooking, and traveling to different places with his wife, Nini.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (March 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565927591
• ISBN-13: 978-1565927599
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,731,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good mix of tutorial and reference, May 4, 2000

By 

Chris Adamson "invalidname" (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jini in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)

Written in the Nutshell style of one-half tutorial, one-half reference, this is arguably a better buy than "Core Jini" if only because the latter is an 800-page gorilla that you'll never finish. "Nutshell" is a little more practical -- its early chapter on configuring the Jini neccessities (rmid, reggie, mahalo, etc.) is stronger, especially if you prefer to work with command-lines than trivial GUI's, as I would imagine most server-side types would.

An early chapter on RMI seems like a throwaway, except it has some handy information somehow missed from the corresponding "Java Enterprise in a Nutshell", notably the trick about forcing your own serialVersionUID when you make a trivial change to a class and don't want to break existing installations.

I'm also impressed with the imagination in its introduction, showing how Jini could be set up to provide printing services to clients that know nothing of the devices on the network, don't have drivers, etc. While JavaSoft foolishly hypes internet toasters, this kind of hypothetical case study gets developers interested!

The second half of the book is the typical Nutshell compendium of classes and methods. Arguably, you already have this in the dev kit, but sometimes it's more convenient to just double check a book than to pop out your browser.

The book tries to accomodate the changes coming in Jini 1.1 (currently in alpha), and while we can't predict what Sun has up its sleeve, the most significant changes only involve moving some packages around -- nothing that can't be fixed by just changing your "import" statements and doing a re-compile. Thus, I don't think this book will be obsoleted by 1.1.

Important note: Jini is a fairly advanced topic. I think there's a basic assumption in this book that the reader is a strong Java programmer and has had at least some exposure to RMI, Beans (particularly the event model) and is willing to do something with a catch{} block other than System.exit(0). Arguably, that's an assumption not only of the authors, but of Jini itself.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it, and master the future, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Jini in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)

Jini in a Nutshell is quite good book both for java developers and those who are familiar with CORBA or COM. The essence of network is open, connectivity and co-operation. Jini helps to do so. It is platform independence, the same as its super class: Java, which make it unique compared with other similar technologies. It is not just a dream with Jini that we can plug Jini devices into network and use services at the remote end of the network freely, anytime and anywhere. This book explains how to reach this dream. At the beginning, plenty of examples are listed to demonstrating the usage of RMI, directory service, remote events¡­, clarifying the whole architecture and underlying mechanism of Jini. Then it comes to practice. Many sample codes are listed, as well as detailed explanation, which helps a programmer to master the idea behind those standardized classes and their interfaces, members, and methods. After I finish this book, I found I got the right way in how to build Jini applications and in finding more information about it. I always think this is what makes a books valuable and outstanding. The more I read the book on Jini, the more I believe Jini has its potential. For those who are eager to master the future, this book will be a good choice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The format doesn't really suit the topic, September 6, 2003

By 

Frank Carver - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jini in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)

You know what you are getting with the typical O'Reilly "Nutshell" book, and this one is no exception. It's about half tutorial/introduction and half API/service reference and (just about) small enough to carry around. Just the facts, Ma'am

This edition covers Jini 1.0 in detail, with a glance at some of the 1.1 features. Don't let that worry you, though - Jini 1.1 and 1.2 only add a few new classes, services and tools, and a full understanding of Jini 1.0 is still vital. The introductory text is concise, and doesn't offer much by way of insight or experience. The examples in the tutorial are minimal and don't quite give enough information on installing and running the full set of services, but they cover enough of the API to be useful in almost all cases.

If you need an API/service/tool reference for Jini 1.0, or a handy set of code snippets to solve your immediate head-scratchers, this is great. If you want to learn and understand Jini in depth or track the very latest API changes, you are better off with (for example) "Core Jini".