Java 2D Graphics (Paperback)

~ Jonathan B Knudsen (Author), Jonathan Knudsen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Java 2D Graphics is a remarkably accessible guide to graphics programming using Sun's new Java 2D API. Besides the basic navigation of the API, this title delivers plenty of useful advanced material for extending Java 2D's capabilities.

After a simple introductory example, the book focuses on the graphics architecture of Java 2D and its rendering pipeline. Support classes in Java 2D receive ample coverage as well, with sections outlining topics like storing points, shapes, and paths. For basic graphics output, the book demonstrates the simple--which can be found in the process of drawing common shapes like lines, ellipses, and rectangles--as well as the complex seen in modifying graphics output through translating, rescaling, rotating, or shearing.

Text output in Java 2D receives its due as well, since the book acknowledges Java 2D's advanced font capabilities that allow it to handle right-to-left languages such as Arabic. Further sections delve into Java 2D color models (including support for the CIEXYZ and sRGB color standards). Concerning the display of images, the book covers the built-in support for image filtering in Java 2D, which allows programmers to build toggles and fades into their code that alter brightness, contrast, blurring, and sharpening.

For advanced readers, Java 2D Graphics presents techniques like double buffering and matrix operations for custom image effects. Another expert section on the internal storage classes for image data will be useful for those who want to write image decoders. (A sample PNG decoder shows off the basics here.) Final sections look at printing, animation, and performance issues.

In all, Java 2D Graphics provides a fine introduction to the latest in 2-D graphics programming from Sun, in a title that will be useful to both beginning and advanced Java developers. --Richard Dragan

Product Description

Featuring major improvements in Java's graphics, printing, and font rendering capabilities, the Java 2D API allows you to produce high-quality, professional images on a screen or printer. Java 2D Graphics describes the 2D API from top to bottom, demonstrating how to set line styles and pattern fills as well as more advanced techniques of image processing and font handling. You'll see how to create and manipulate the three types of graphics objects: shapes, text, and images. Other topics include image data storage, color management, font glyphs, and printing. Java 2D Graphics assumes no prior knowledge of graphics. Chock full of detailed explanations and examples, this book provides beginning Java programmers with a solid foundation in 2D graphics and helps more advanced programmers create and use high-quality images in their applications.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 355 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (May 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565924843
• ISBN-13: 978-1565924840
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #647,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent straight-forward book on 2D Graphics, August 7, 1999

By A Customer

This is an excellent book on Java's 2D Graphics classes. It's both straight-forward and complete, and the author discusses topics with unique clarity. The author gives some background on graphics theory but always ties it to actual Java classes and the 2D Graphics framework. I kept saying things like, "Oh! That's what anti-aliasing means" and "Oh! That's what a 'raster' is." I highly recommend this book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A handy reference to the Java 2D API, June 21, 1999

By	Ollie Zimmermann ([e-mail]) (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews

This book picks up where Sun's documentation on the 2D API falls short. What it does well is describe the details of the API's classes and their methods, much like other OReilly books on Java. The book also has a few code examples, including some that demonstrate the use of Sun's JPEG classes that are not officially part of Java 2.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on the foundations of Java 2D, June 19, 2006

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

In computing, Java 2D is an API for drawing two-dimensional graphics using the Java programming language. Every Java 2D drawing operation can ultimately be treated as filling a shape using a paint and compositing the result onto the screen.

This book, although seven years old, is the best in print on learning the basics of Java 2D. Several other reviewers have said that the Java docs for the API from Sun are just as good, but I disagree. This book does a good job of taking a complex API and laying out what it takes to produce graphics using it.

It starts out explaining the architecture of the Java 2D API, and includes a very long "Hello Java 2D" example showcasing what the API can do. The author admits at the time it is presented that it is likely the reader will not understand the code until the book has been read.

Next, the author introduces the drawing of shapes, and then adds painting, stroking, transforming, compositing, and clipping to the equation, one by one, while explaining the nuances of each feature being added. Next, the author goes into adding text to your figures and also explains how to do simple image processing with the Java 2D API, even explaining how to "roll your own" image transform operations.

The book concludes with a discussion of printing, animation, and measuring performance with Java 2D. The author includes a flexible framework for performing animations using Java 2D. There is example code throughout the book that can be downloaded from the publisher's website. If you are looking for a book of image processing tricks and recipes in Java, this is not the book that you want. In that case you might want to read Hardy's excellent but out-of-print work, "Java 2D API Graphics", after you read this book. However, if you want a good foundation in programming with the Java 2D API and understanding its architecture, this is a very good source. I highly recommend it.