Component Development for the Java(TM) Platform (Paperback)

~ Stuart Dabbs Halloway (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Reveals both the potential and pitfalls of developing components using the Java platform. Delves into the component-oriented features of the Java platform, thoroughly discussing class loading, reflection, serialization, native interoperation, and code generation. Softcover.

From the Back Cover

Java™ is an object-oriented language, but it is also a component-oriented platform. Java's class-loading model and rich type information makes it possible to build flexible and reusable binary components. COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE JAVA™ PLATFORM reveals both the potential and pitfalls of developing components using the Java platform.

As a platform, Java defines the services needed to connect binary components at runtime safely and reliably. To truly take advantage of all that Java has to offer, you must consider not just development but also deployment, and not just objects but also components. COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE JAVA™ PLATFORM delves into the component-oriented features of the Java platform, thoroughly discussing class loading, reflection, serialization, native interoperation, and code generation.

KEY TOPICS INCLUDE HOW TO:

• Use and troubleshoot Class Loaders
• Build dynamic and generic services through reflection
• Control an object's serialized representation
• Load and use native code components
• Extend the Java class format to add custom services
• Automate development with code generation

This is a cutting-edge approach to Java programming: An emphasis on deployment can be the best way to take advantage of some of the most valuable, yet less heralded, aspects of Java technology.

0201753065B11212001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (December 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201753065
• ISBN-13: 978-0201753066
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,242,136 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent -must have book to be a Java guru/developer, January 28, 2002

By	B. K. Lau (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book for any intermediate to advanced Java developers who wishes to go beyond rudimentary Java techniques present in so many Java books on the market. This is the "THE" book that give such an excellent details about Java classloaders besides Bill Venners's "Inside Java 2 VM" book. I should know from writing a paper on classloaders and find that most books deal very "cursory" with the subject matter. I suspect that most authors probably have little knowledge or experience about classloaders. Since Classloaders is so fundamental to locating and loading bytecode by the JVM at runtime and it's important for key technologies like RMI, hot EJB delpoyment, security of mobile network code and most importantly server side programming, this book is indispensable. The other thing I find useful with this book is object serialization and bytecode generation which is important for dynamic proxies.

Any Advanced Java developers must be conversant with classloaders,class search rules,serialization, bytecodes, JNI and more.

This is the book to get to go beyond rudimentary Java development and deployment.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the Best Programming Book (incl Monson-Haeful's), July 29, 2002

By	"brooklyn_books" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book for my department (well, my company bought it - I ordered it ;) ) to help us with the deployment problems we'd been having. These were normal issues, of making sure all files are in the right place, that environment variables were set correctly, etc. We always solved them, but it usually took a whole day to install something and make sure it was all working correctly. Enter Mr. Halloway's book.

While most Java books tell you how to write "this" or make an algorithm to do "that", Mr. Halloway's book tells you how to take almost no extra time and make those programs garaunteed to work in any installation environment. It's more than just changing your mindset, the book gives you very clear examples of how to make your application easily deployed and dynamic. For example, in chapter 2 you learn how to easily create an application that can continue running and update its classes to your new version.

The best section in the book, I think, is the section on ClassLoaders - which I garauntee will be your best friend after reading this book. Before reading the book, I almost never dealt with the ClassLoader. Now I use it all the time to:
1. Create dynamically updated classes
2. Manage security features not built in
3. Allow for easy deployment without needing knowledge
of the file system structure

Perhaps most valuable of all is Mr. Halloway himself. ..., he has been more than willing to help me understand any parts of his book that were confusing to me. To me, that was the most valuable return on my purchase.

Other resources to check out after reading this book:

1. AVALON FRAMEWORK
This is from Apache.org and it's a good framework for
easy configuration which continues in the same vein as this
book. http://jakarta.apache.org/avalon/

2. Stuart Halloway's Ideas for a Configuration API
...
Definitely worth checking out, it will give you some great
ideas.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique book, April 22, 2002

By	"chichang_kung" (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This book is invaluable to EJB container developers, and to Java architects who pay attention to various issues of software deployment. For example, what are the alternatives of object serialization when a class was not designed with serialization in mind? The book provides some hints.

The level of details that the author provides is admirable. The author not only introduces the ideal models, but also faithfully presents the reality of using these models.

I certainly lookforward to the second edition of the book.