Just Java 2 (5th Edition) [Paperback]

Peter Van Der Linden (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sun Microsystems Press | Publication Date: December 21, 2001

Peter van der Linden's best-selling Just Java has helped thousands of experienced programmers get off to a flying start with Java. Now, it's better than ever. Fully updated for Java 2 JDK 1.3, it's the only concise guide to both the core Java language and the fundamentals of Java server-side programming! Just Java, Fifth Edition organizes Java into five areas: the core language; key libraries such as I/O, networking, and collections; server-side Java; client-side Java; and enterprise Java. Peter van der Linden presents a "straight-to-the-point" introduction to Java object-oriented programming; then covers the crucial information developers need to build working code right away. The second half of the book covers key server-side libraries and programming techniques, including sockets, servlets, JSP, XML, Java database access with JDBC, JavaBeans, and security. The accompanying CD-ROM brings together an extraordinary collection of Java developers' resources: an open-source relational database, the Usenet Java Programmers FAQ and Glossary, a complete servlet system and database inquiry program, sample Java games, links to the Web's best Java resources, and all the book's code examples.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Peter van der Linden's newly revised Just Java 2, Fifth Edition adds a good deal of updated material and a lot more personality to an already capable tutorial aimed at the beginning Java developer, preferably with some previous programming experience.

While earlier editions of this title certainly delivered the goods, the new edition beefs up the author's personal touch. At the end of each chapter, van der Linden--a true Silicon Valley insider--shares numerous war stories drawn from computing, with topics ranging from scam computer companies and products to achievements in computer history (like the invention of the mouse and the source for HAL in Stanley Kubrick's 2001). Several sections rail against the attempt to suppress algorithms that subvert DVD protection schemes (including an "illegal" long prime number and even a T-shirt that contains the "illegal" C code).

The other standout feature of this volume is the excellent use of graphics and highlighted text to enhance its presentation. While most computer programming books today don't even provide syntax highlighting for code, this one goes much further, with appealing graphics and effective use of bold text to bring out essential points, as well as to make it easier to use as a reference for getting to essential APIs quickly.

Besides excellent production values (and something of the free-spirited "edge" of programmer culture), this book covers all the bases for client-side Java in considerable depth. A product of the author's extensive teaching and computing experience, van der Linden makes "big picture" topics clear, including object-oriented programming. His patient and clear tour of the details of Java syntax and basic language features is simply one of the best.

Coverage of leading-edge topics (including emerging APIs in the new J2SE 1.4 standard) including new I/O (or "NIO"), regular expressions, and XML in Java all bring this text up to date. While some revised editions don't change much, this title breaks the mold with an excellent mix of new material and a truly stellar delivery.

Whether for classroom or at-home study, the new Just Java 2 provides a nearly unbeatable blend of expertise and presentation style. This lively and technically authoritative guide to essential Java development can now lay claim to being one of the best available tutorials on the subject available today, bar none. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction and advantages of the Java platform (versions of Java and "future-proofing" software); tutorial to object-oriented programming (including constructors, per-instance, and per-class members); types of Java executables; Java language tutorial; keywords and data types, names, arrays, operators, inheritance and polymorphism, iteration and flow control, exceptions, assertions; Java interfaces explained; packages and visibility rules; the Java Character class in depth; threads and synchronization; mutual exclusion; garbage collection; quick introduction to design patterns; Java file I/O (including files, reading and writing text, and binary values); advanced I/O (including random file access); J2SE 1.4 new I/O (NIO) package (including memory-mapped files); big- and little-endian byte order explained; Java support for regular expressions; Java collections; utility classes (including math and calendar classes); introduction to servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSPs); Java networking (including sockets, e-mail, and a custom multithreaded HTTP server); Remote Method Invocation (RMI); Swing GUI event handling; applet basics; Swing component tutorial; layouts; JavaBeans for custom UI objects; Java security; tutorial for SQL and databases; JDBC basics; introduction to XML (including DOM and SAX support); and an appendix on AWT control programming.

From the Publisher

Best-selling author Peter van der Linden uses a straightforward, practical approach in this introduction to Java, combining clear, concise text with a wealth of interesting examples. The book's presentation of programming is challenging, exciting and enjoyable, integrating coverage of the latest issues and advances with discussions of more traditional topics. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education; 5 edition (December 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130320722
• ISBN-13: 978-0130320728
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,176,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great For Intermediate Level But Not For Beginners, February 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Just Java 2 (5th Edition) (Paperback)

OK, for starters I am not a professional programmer. I do know the rudiments of a few programming languages (VB, C++, Java, Tcl, Linux Shell Script, JavaScript, etc.) and enjoy writing automated test scripts at work. I also like the process of learning new languages and writing short programs with them in my spare time.

"Just Java 2" is a great read and one of my favorite programming books (and I have stacks of them, some good, some bad, many so-so).

However, if you are completely new to programming "Just Java 2" is (probably) not the book for you. Instead, get a beginner level book (or two) on learning Java and programming basics and work your way through them.

Then, when you know the basics, sit down with "Just Java 2" in a bookstore and re-read Peter Van Der Linden's explanations of a few of the subjects that your beginner-level Java programming books tried to teach you ...especially subjects that you "kind of know" but wish you understood better. Chances are that this book's short yet lucid explanations will periodically set off little light bulbs of sudden understanding over your head and bring new clarity to your grasp of the Java language. It did for me.

I think this is a great intermediate level Java text and a clearly understandable introduction to more advanced subjects like the JDBC, Servlets and Java Beans.

As for other Java books, we all have our own learning styles and likes/dislikes but here's some of what I've found in my quest to teach myself Java.

1) I have personally found many of the O'Reilly books (on a range of subjects, not only Java) to be unsatisfyingly terse.

2) Ivor Horton's "Beginning Java 2" provides a lot of detail but in a long-winded, scattershot, myopic, stream-of-consciousness style that make it difficult to separate key kernels of knowledge from what amounts to background noise. In other words, the cloudy writing, apparent lack of coherent editing and poor formatting (e.g many unlabelled tables) tended to confuse me as much as educate me and turned attempts to later go back and locate and quickly reread key topics into long "Where's Waldo"-like wadings through "deep text".

3) Dietel & Dietel's "Java: How To Program" at the outset offers the Java novice clear and explicit line by line explanations of sample Java programs. However, about half way through the book that style really bogs way down in wordy detail and becomes tiresome as topics become more advanced. Still, it's not a bad book for an absolute beginner.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide to learning Java..., November 7, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just Java™ 2 (6th Edition) (Paperback)

When I was first learning Java, one of the most useful books I used was Just Java 2. The 6th edition of Just Java 2 by Peter van der Linden (Prentice-Hall) continues to be a quality resource.

Chapter List: What Can Java Do For Me?; Introducing Objects; Primitive Types, Wrappers, and Boxing; Statements and Comments; OOP Part 2 - Constructors and Visibility; Static, Final, and Enumerated Types; Names, Operators, and Accuracy; More OOP - Extending Classes; Arrays; Exceptions; Interfaces; Nested Classes; Doing Several Things at Once: Threads; Advanced Thread Topics; Explanation <Generics>; Collections; Simple Input Output; Advanced Input Output; Regular Expressions; GUI Basics and Event Handling; JFC and the Swing Package; Containers, Layouts, and SWT Loose Ends; Relational Databases and SQL; JDBC; Networking in Java; Servlets and JSP; XML and Java; Web Services at Google and Amazon; Downloading Java; Powers of Two Table; Codesets; Index

This 6th edition covers all the recent additions in Java from J2SE 5.0, so you can get this book knowing you'll have the most up-to-date information. The thing I appreciate most about this book is the tone and readability of what is one of the most complete tutorial style books on Java on the market. The tone is conversational, so you're not struggling through dry text. With dashes of humor and sidebars that cover interesting history and stories of IT significance, the book comes close to being one of the few learning guides that could almost be read cover to cover as an interesting read regardless of whether you work the examples or not. The servlet and JSP chapter at the end, along with the XML chapter, is more high-level than the rest of the book. You could buy entire volumes that deal specifically with those concepts. So if that's the main reason you're buying the book, you could do better. Of course, if you bought the book for the last two chapters only, I'd question why you did so in the first place... :-)

This is an excellent book that spans the gap between hard-core tutorial and pure entertainment. I can't imagine too many people who wouldn't enjoy and benefit from this text if they want to learn Java.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book with breadth, but not for complete newbies, December 7, 2002

By 

Digital Puer "digital_puer" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Java 2 (5th Edition) (Paperback)

This is the third edition of Just Java that I've bought (this review is on the 5th ed), and I've found that the author has always been able to introduce new topics to me in a clear and humourous manner. This book isn't for complete newbies though; it seems targeted for those who already have programming experience and just want to get into Java. Myself, I had already had a university education in comp sci (with C and C++) when I picked up his 2nd edition in 1997 and started learning Java. Since then, these books have taught me basic Java semantics, RMI, AWT, applets, I/O, etc.

The best characteristic of this book is that it provides fantastic introductions to a wide range of topics; that is, it has great breadth but is otherwise lacking in depth on each topic. That's fine for me, and probably for most experienced programmers, because typically when learning a new topic, I just want a quick start (including what packages to use, how to get it working, and seeing initial results), and if I need a deeper understanding, I'll look online or buy a more focused book. This is how I've learned almost all my Java. Indeed, I recently bought the 5th edition to start learning about server-side technologies like JSP, servlets, and JDBC. It hasn't disappointed me.

One chapter I found outstanding is the one on I/O. The number of Java I/O classes is huge as all Java programmers know because the I/O library sacrifices ease-of-use for extreme generality. The author's explanation of when to use which classes is incredibly clear and is perhaps the best of any Java book I've read at giving you the big picture of the I/O library.

I really like this author's writing. His explanations are crystal clear. Example: his step-by-step explanation for setting up the Tomcat JSP/Servlet server was excellent (although some key points have been changed by the Tomcat folks since this book was published). This level of clarity probably comes from the fact that the author is a programmer himself, whereas most of the other intro Java books out there (especially those in the Core... series) are written by university professors or professional lecturers who try to keep everything extremely general. Such generality is not always helpful. In earlier books, the author seemed to intermingle his dry humour throughout the book, but thankfully he seems to have placed such humour only in isolated areas, such as the anecdotes at the end of each chapter.