JDK 1.4 Tutorial

Great book for experienced Java programmers

The JDK 1.4 Tutorial is not the usual type of tutorial in that it is not written for beginning Java programmers rather it is directed toward experienced Java programmers that wish to enhance there skills with some of the latest improvements in Java. There are numerous topics that are not in the book such as XML, CORBA, Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) and others. The author makes the case of covering a few topics well. What is included is the New Input/Output API (chapters 1 and 2), Java2D (chapter 3), Java Web Start or JAWS (chapter 4), Logging (chapter 5), Assertion facility (chapter 6), Exceptions (chapter 7), Collections (chapter 8), Regular Expressions (chapter 9), Preferences API (chapter 10), and Java Secure Socket Extension or JSSE (chapter 11). The book has a very practical orientation. The stated purpose is to cover each topic in a manner that explains what it does, how to use it, when to use it, and where to use it. I might add that some of the ¿gotchas¿ are mentioned also. The author accomplishes his objective on every topic. There is a lot to like about this book. The code examples (downloadable from the publisher¿s site) are non-trivial (e.g. a drawing program for Java2D, a Multiplexing Chat Server for Logging, and the supporting classes). This allows the reader to see how the new feature can be applied. The supporting text not only explains what is going on in the code, but also why. The author does not assume that the reader understands the problem domain of the example. He in fact goes to some lengths to explain the context (e.g. regular expression, what they are and how they work in Perl or how the authentication model works). There are numerous guidelines to help in determining when to use a feature or how to use it. The only potentially negative comment that I might have is that he seems repetitious in some spots. This may be related to the structure of the book. Within each chapter, the subheading is further decomposed (e.g. Chapter 5 Logging; 5.1 Logging Overview; 5.1.1 Log message format). This structure allows someone to go a specific subtopic, if that is all they need. Information that is needed in more that one subtopic is repeated. The book cannot stand alone as a reference, but in conjunction with other material, it can be a great resource. There is something for virtually every Java developer in the book. The chapters on Logging, Assertions, Exceptions (StackTraceElements), and Regular Expressions should be in every Java programmer¿s toolbox. This is the author¿s first book, but it should not be his last.