More Java Pitfalls: 50 New Time-Saving Solutions and Workarounds [Paperback]

Michael C. Daconta (Author), Kevin T. Smith (Author), Donald Avondolio (Author), W. Clay Richardson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471237515 | ISBN-13: 978-0471237518 | Publication Date: February 3, 2003 | Edition: 1

• Building on the success of Java Pitfalls (0-471-36174-7), this book provides more specific programming solutions to fifty difficult Java programming problems
• Shows experienced programmers how to identify and avoid weaknesses in Java and related J2EE technologies that can cause programs to go haywire
• Explores advanced topics including networking, XML and Java programming, and the Java Virtual Machine

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An ideal guide to solving pitfalls in the Java language and related J2EE^TM technologies, written by programmers for programmers!

With the release of J2EE, Java has grown beyond a simple language to a full-blown development platform. Developers need to understand more than just the Java language–they also need to know about Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), JavaServer Pages (JSP), servlets, and other Java technologies.

Although it’s more powerful, Java isn’t perfect. Weaknesses in the language itself–as well as in J2EE and its related technologies–can cause programs to go haywire, and fixing them can waste a lot of precious time. Fortunately, developers can turn to More Java Pitfalls (a sequel to the popular original book, Java Pitfalls) to identify and avoid these traps.

More Java Pitfalls provides in-depth coverage of fifty completely new Java pitfalls, showing detailed code-level solutions. Used as a reference guide or training tutorial, this book:

• Covers the latest J2EE and JDK 1.4 specifications
• Extends coverage to related J2EE technologies, including EJBs, JSPs, and Servlets
• Covers new Java Web service APIs including JAXP, JAXR, and JAXM
• Addresses new pitfalls in the areas of J2ME, GUI programming, new input/output (NIO), and utilities

The companion Web site for this book contains sample pitfalls, source code, errata, and links to additional resources.

About the Author

MICHAEL C. DACONTA is Director of Web and Technology Services for McDonald Bradley, Inc., where he develops advanced Java systems. He is the author of numerous programming books on C, C++, Java, and XML.
KEVIN T. SMITH is a Principal Software Architect at McDonald Bradley, Inc., where he develops Java-based Internet security solutions.
DONALD AVONDOLIO is a Senior Architect/Developer at McDonald Bradley, Inc.
W. CLAY RICHARDSON is a Senior Architect/Developer at McDonald Bradley, Inc., where he currently serves as a development team lead.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471237515
• ISBN-13: 978-0471237518
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,474,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good resource, very relevant to problem solving, May 12, 2003

By 

Sushim Ahmad (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: More Java Pitfalls: 50 New Time-Saving Solutions and Workarounds (Paperback)

This book is full of valuable information, and something that I believe I can use for my team of Java developers on our projects. I have enjoyed this entire book, but here are my comments on a few of my favorite "articles" from this book.

#1 - When Runtime.exec() won't. An excellent 13 page discussion of how things can go wrong with the famous Runtime.exec(). There are so many ways to mess up when running OS processes from Java, and this article discusses most of them, and more importantly, the right way to go about using Runtime.exec().

#5 - Avoid Granularity Pitfalls in java.util.logging. This is a well-written discussion of the java.util.logging API, and helps programmers avoid using it in the wrong way. This is a good tutorial, but I really like the pictures that show the relationship between the logger and the handler - it is much easier for people to understand that way.

#15 - Avoiding singleton pitfalls - This is a great discussion of how multiple "singletons" can happen in your VM, if you don't set them up the right way... My company has seen this happen a lot, but I have seen few discussions on it before this book.

#24 - JSP design errors. This is something that I don't believe many other books talk about, and is very valuable. A lot of the JSPs that I have seen out there look bad, and this shows how they should be developed. The examples are good, and this is short and to the point and conveys the points well.

#41 - The problem with multiple concurrent ResultSets. This shows an example of having 2 ResultSet objects open at the same time in an iteration, and showing the results in Sybase, Oracle, MySQL, Access, and SQLServer. It shows how, depending on the implementation of the driver & database, different behavior can be seen, and shows how to fix it. This is an excellent article - most examples I have seen before do not take the time to show behavior from multiple databases.

These are only a few of the articles from this book. I like the book because it is full of self-contained articles that discuss aspects of the Java programming language that are tricky - or are often misunderstood and misused. I also like it because it covers performance, design, and in many cases, gives metrics. Some of the APIs discussed in the book I have not used yet (j2me, jaxrpc, jaxr), but probably will in the future. This is an extremely relevant resources.

I can't say enough good things about this book. I give this an excellent rating, and recommend it highly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Top Shelf Java Resource, April 21, 2003

By 

A M Voketaitis Jr (Leesburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: More Java Pitfalls: 50 New Time-Saving Solutions and Workarounds (Paperback)

After reading this book, I am certain that it will serve as a tremendous resource to both the programmer and architect alike. Each pitfall gives the developer practical advise through the use of concise and effective examples. The architect receives accurate and honest tradeoffs and evaluations of all viable options to be considered, along with a valid recommendation and rationale. This book should serve as a "top shelf" reference for all developers who take seriously the business of crafting quality Java-based software solutions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Everything but the title, April 17, 2003

By 

Rashu Savaram (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: More Java Pitfalls: 50 New Time-Saving Solutions and Workarounds (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book, and I have already used it to fix problems. I highly recommend it. Like the source code, like the examples, and like the solutions.