Hardcore Java: Secrets of the Java Masters

by Jr Robert Simmons

Overview

Java has quickly become one of the most important languages in programming, particularly for professional and enterprise-level projects. From its infancy as a language primarily used for web applets to its maturity through servlets, Enterprise JavaBeans, and database access, Java has become a complex and robust tool for today's developer.Hardcore Java takes this language and breaks it apart, piece by piece, revealing the important secrets and tricks that will take you from a junior-level programmer to a seasoned and expert developer. You'll fly through the fundamentals and quickly find yourself learning about advanced memory management techniques, optimization and bytecode-level enhancements, and the techniques required to build lightning-fast GUIs. Throughout the book, you'll also master the art of writing and maintaining bulletproof and error-proof code, all while grasping the intricacies of the Java language.Hardcore Java covers:

• Use of the final keyword to optimize and protect your Java classes.
• Complete and thorough coverage of all types of nested classes, including how to optimize anonymous and inner classes.
• Detailed discussion of immutable objects, including unique tips on when to use them (and when not to).
• Elimination of bugs through exception-handling management.
• In-depth studies of constants, including their impact on the Java memory model.
• The most thorough discussion of reflection in print, moving far beyond other books' "Hello World" coverage.
• Construction and use of dynamic proxies, in both Java Standard and Enterprise editions.
• Expansive coverage of weak references, including usage patterns and their role in garbage collection and memory management.

Hardcore Java is an invaluable addition to every programmer's library, and even the most advanced developers will find themselves moving beyond their own conceptions into truly advanced applications of the language. Thousands of lines of code, heavily commented and easily runnable, illustrate each concept in the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780596552442
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/11/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	348
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Robert Simmons, Jr. started programming when floppy disks were really floppy and 64 kilobytes of RAM was considered state of the art. From his early days of programming BASIC and Logo on an Apple IIe, he advanced through Pascal and C to arrive in the object oriented realm of C++. When Java first came out, he knew that the infant language would become a serious player amongst corporations; Robert learned
Java and began using it as his primary language for programming in
1997. Although Robert is American, he lives and works as a Senior
Software Architect in Germany.

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
1.	Java in Review	1
	Core Concepts	1
	Syntax Issues	6
	Access Issues	32
	Common Mistakes	38
2.	The Final Story	43
	Final Constants	43
	Final Variables	49
	Final Parameters	53
	Final Collections	56
	Instance-Scoped Variables	60
	Final Classes	63
	Final Methods	65
	Conditional Compilation	66
	Using final as a Coding Standard	73
3.	Immutable Types	74
	Fundamentals	74
	Immutable Problems	80
	Immutable or Not	83
4.	Collections	84
	Collection Concepts	84
	Implementations	88
	Choosing a Collection Type	102
	Iterating Collections	103
	Collection Gotchas	105
5.	Exceptional Code	112
	Two Types of Exceptions	112
	When to Use Exceptions	119
	Finally for Closure	122
	Exceptional Traps	124
6.	Nested Classes	131
	Inner Classes	131
	Limited-Scope Inner Classes	136
	Static Nested Classes	146
	Double Nested Classes	147
	Nested Classes in Interfaces?	149
	Nested Interfaces	149
	Nested Class Rules	150
7.	All About Constants	152
	Substitution Constants	152
	Bit Fields	159
	Option Constants	164
	Constant Objects	168
	Constant Encapsulation	179
8.	Data Modeling	183
	The Requirements Document	184
	Natural Language Modeling	186
	Aspects of Well-Designed Data Models	192
	Reusable Data Constraints	201
	Persistence	212
9.	Practical Reflection	217
	The Basics	218
	Reflection and Greater Reflection	222
	Applying Reflection to MutableObject	227
	Performance of Reflection	233
	Reflection + JUnit = Stable Code	235
10.	Proxies	240
	What Is a Proxy?	240
	Two Kinds of Proxies	246
	Proxy Gotchas	256
11.	References in Four Flavors	257
	The Problem	257
	Java Reference Concepts	260
	The Java Reference Classes	267
	Practical Applications	270
	A Weak Listener	275
	When to Use References	276
12.	Tiger: JDK 1.5	278
	New Language Features	278
	Generics	293
	Other Improvements in Tiger	315
	Index	317