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Books and reviews The page features book reviews by IBM's Beth Tibbitts -- "Beth's Bookshelf" -- as well as other Java book listings and resources.

Beginning Java
Ivor Horton
WROX Press, June 1997
ISBN 1861000278; 1038 pages; $39.95 US
Covers Java 1.1, although the title doesn't indicate this. Looks chock-full of good information; looks very complete. Covers the AWT comparatively late in the book (half way through), Looks like a good language instructional book. Covers JDBC, RMI too.

The Comprehensive Guide to the JDBC SQL API
Daniel I. Joshi
Ventana, February 1997
ISBN 1-56592-241-7; 600 pages; $44.95 US
Half the book is a Java introduction (as opposed to database information). Includes an introductory chapter on SQL too. Uses Microsoft SQL Server as its example database engine.

Core Java
Advanced Rating: 5 Gary Cornell and Cay S. Horstmann
Sun Microsystems Press Books
ISBN 0-13-596891-7; 766 pages; $44.95 US
My all-time favorite. 2nd Edition includes a CD-ROM. Minimal hype, for serious programmers, good stuff.... Good distinction between applications and applets. (Applets are not covered until halfway through the book.) CDROM includes HTML files of all the Java API help. Assumes there are no GUI builders, etc. available for Java, which has changed a bit now, though. Some good basic Win95 tips. Includes tips for the Visual Basic programmer (which I am not) as well as the C++ programmer (which I am, er, was.). Good "practical" OOP intro, design, conventions and tips. Threads covered very late in book. Good socket intro in networking chapter. All in all, a very good practical book, like it says for the "serious programmer." See also the Web site for the book for errata, etc. This book has the best description of Properties and their practical use that I've seen. 2nd edition includes new chapters on JDBC, RMI, Object Serialization, native methods, and a "future of Java" section. Core Java 1.1 Volume 1: Fundamentals is available from Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference (ISBN 0-13-766957-7, 600 pages, $39.95, includes CD-ROM).

Essential Java Fast: Writing Object-Oriented Software for the Internet in Java
J. R. Cowell
Springer
ISBN 3-540-76052-0; 186 pages; $24.96 US
A brief, compact book. Looks like it covers JDK 1.0.2 Makes a great reference and is a great book for C++ programmers who have experience with other Event driven programming models (MFC, XWindows, etc.). The book had a few errors and typos, but nothing that I found confusing. Looks like it may have been put together a bit too fast.

Exploring Java
Pat Niemeyer and Josh Peck
O'Reilly
ISBN 1-56592-271-9; 632 pages; $32.95 US
First edition was reportedly not good for someone without C/C++ knowledge.

Fundamental Classes Reference
Mark Grand and Jonathan Knudsen
O'Reilly, May 1997
ISBN 1-56592-241-7; 1114 pages; $44.95 US
1st Edition.

Industrial Strength Java
Luke Cassady-Dorion, et al.
New Riders
ISBN 1-56205-634-4; 842 pages; $55.00 US
Includes CD, "advanced java concepts". For "serious Java programmers." I'd be wary of books from New Riders which tend to be published quite early, getting the info out there, but which often contain typos, errors, and frustrating lack of editing. However I have a few of them because they were the first ones of their topics available!

Inside Java
Karanjit S. Siyan and James L. Weaver
New Riders, March 1997
ISBN 1-56205-664-6; 912 pages; $55.00 US
New Riders has a reputation (in my book) of throwing books out too fast, but beating everyone else to the punch and getting the first ones out. This one is the first one out that truly covers 1.1 AWT event model and the new APIs in 1.1 such as Java Beans, Java Web Server, JDBC, RMI, Object Serialization etc. I've read (as of 4/6/97) several chapters and it actually looks pretty accurate. I bought this one at JavaOne because it was the only complete book that covered JDK 1.1 that I could find. Interestingly, it doesn't include "1.1" in its title like many others do, but it does cover it, while those with it in their title do not! It's not perfect however, and when other real 1.1 books come out I will probably prefer others. On things like the AWT, it tends to concentrate on the newer stuff and send you to Sun's web pages for the existing information. I would not recommend it for someone who did not have experience with Java 1.0.; instead I'd wait for a more complete book. It also suffers from the syndrome of only describing the AWT in the context of applets (as opposed to applications too), but it isn't as bad as others in this respect. It has an annoying habit of formatting lists of function prototypes to look like code, which can be misleading if you are not paying attention.

Intelligent Java Applications
Mark Watson
Morgan Kaufmann Publishers
ISBN 1-55860-420-0; 400 pages, $44.95 US
Looked interesting to me; "Java meets Artificial Intelligence"--how to program many AI things in Java.

Java AWT Reference
John Zukowski
O'Reilly, April 1997
ISBN 1-56592-240-9; 1074 pages; $39.95 US
1st Edition.

The Java Class Libraries: An Annotated Reference
Patrick Chan and Rosanna Lee
Addison Wesley (The Java Series)
ISBN 0-201-63458-9; 1660 pages; $59.99 US
It's a hardcover book, very comprehensive, for all the APIs, and it even has examples. (The index alone is 143 pages long!) It does not cover the Java language, just the APIs. One of the two best Java API reference books. The Java Developer's Reference is the other. I say, don't buy the API books, buy this: cheaper, and with examples! Java 1.1 version coming (2 volumes) soon.

Java 1.1 Developer's Handbook
Philip Heller, et al.
Sybex, Inc.
ISBN 0-7821-1919-0; 1048 pages; $56.99 US
The authors are Sun Java Trainers. Larger print, hardback book. 1172 pages. Covers Portability issues. Covers the 1.1 AWT changes as a separate chapter. Sort of a hybrid of JDK 1.1 and 1.0. Seems like the 1.1 was rushed in at the last minute. However, it looks very readable. Has Chapters on Java Beans, RMI, JDC, etc. Looks quite thorough. Over a third of the book is just method prototypes and reference, without alot of explanation. That you can get more easily from the API html files from Sun's web site!

Java Developer's Reference
Mike Cohn, et al.
Sams.net Publishing
ISBN 1-57521-129-7; 1258 pages; $59.99 US
"Advanced/Expert Level" book for serious Java Programmers. A big fat hardback green book, in three parts: 1. Java Development System, 2. Using Java Packages, and 3. Package, class and Interface Reference. Good MVC/Observer/Observable GUI discussion. That did it. I bought it. The best description of javadoc html formatting, I've found. However not as good in the description of setting up javadoc.

One of the two best Java reference books. The Java Class Libraries: An Annotated Reference is the other. Actually, in some ways, this is better because it includes language and tools as well as APIs, but the API reference is not as complete. Best description of the Java security model. A friend borrowed many of my Java books, and this is the only one he hasn't brought back yet; so that should say something! Pretty good section on using Java native methods.

Java Examples in a Nutshell
David Flanagan
O'Reilly, September 1997
ISBN 1-56592-371-5; 400 pages; $19.95 US
(Need Review)

Java for Business: Using Java to Win Customers, Cut Costs, and Drive Growth
Thomas Anderson
Van Nostrand Reinhold
ISBN 0-442-02517-3; $24.95 US
(Need text)

Java in a Nutshell - A Desktop Quick Reference for Java Programmers
David Flanagan
O'Reilly
ISBN 1-56592-183-6, 438 pages, $19.95 US
The 2nd Edition, covering JDK 1.1 is now available (ISBN 1-56592-262-X, 628 pages, $19.95) and also the Deluxe Edition, which includes a CD-ROM of the five-book Java Reference Library (ISBN 1-56592-304-9, 628 pages, $69.95). The 1st Edition is very good if you already know C++ or are heavy into OO already. Good reference, but doesn't contain alot of descriptions of the classes and methods, and now other books surpass it in reference quality. However it does include lots of cross-references that other books do not. It's still a "best buy" and convenient for stashing with your laptop, or carting around. In its own words, it "contains an accelerated introduction to Java for C and C++ programmers who want to learn the language fast." I especially like the "defined-in" references in the back ("What class was that method defined in?") A must-have in my opinion. Basic, but not prolific, javadoc info included.

2nd edition gets mixed reviews. Still probably a good deal but not as good as the first (but then again 1.1 is so big they had to make some tradeoffs in fitting things into 2nd edition). Now I'd consider it more of a reference book because alot of the good examples that were easy to learn from have been omitted for space considerations (to quote the author, so that it wouldn't turn into "Java in a packing crate."). The Deluxe Edition includes five books on CD-ROM plus the Nutshell book in hardcopy. The CD is great and I will probably stop carrying books when I travel now! The five books on the CD include a combined index and search mechanism, and they are all 2nd Edition and/or cover 1.1):

Java Language Reference
Mark Grand
O'Reilly, July 1997
ISBN 1-56592-326-X; 492 pages; $32.95 US
2nd Edition.

Java 1.1 No Experience Required
Steven Holzner
Sybex
ISBN 0-7821-2083-0; $34.99 US
Applications mentioned very late in the book (not a good sign for me). Includes CD. Covers the base language only. No RMI/JDBC/JNI APIs etc.

Java Threads
Scott Oaks and Henry Wong
O'Reilly, January 1997
ISBN 1-56592-216-6; 268 pages; $29.95 US
Covers Java 1.1. It is an excellent introduction to the subject for someone with little experience managing threads. It assumes you are a Java programmer who is comfortable with I/O and are at least minimally "network aware," in the sense that you don't really need to be told what a socket is for (although the authors do remind you). The first 100 pages of the book defines the problems threaded code creates, illustrates how Java provides facilities for coping with these problems, and fleshes out two fairly realistic examples (a TCP/IP server class and an asynchronous I/O class) that illustrate all the various ideas. The initial discussion of Java's facilities is beautifully developed, step by step, so that a novice should have no trouble understanding what the problems are and how they are being solved. As for the examples, the discussion is very carefully restricted to the threading issues, and is as clear as a human being can make them. I'm not sure I would use either example in real code, but only because of issues unrelated to the issues the authors are trying to explain. The next 100 pages go into detail about more advanced techniques--eg implementing scheduling policies.

Laura LeMay's Java 1.1 Interactive Course
Laura Lemay, et al.
Waite Group Press, February 1997
ISBN 1-57169-083-2; 1192 pages; $49.99 US
I don't know where this book gets its title, but it does not cover Java 1.1! It does include JDK 1.1 on its CDROM, however. I like most of Laura Lemay's books but it looks like she should have waited on this one until JDK 1.1 could really be described. A big book, very dense, with small print, and looks very good, but it's not 1.1! One chapter hints at 1.1 changes but does not go into much detail. The book attempts to integrate some material with a Web-based educational site (which is the "interactive" part).

Mastering Java
Laurence Vanhelsuwe, et al.
Sybex, Inc.
ISBN 0-7821-2079-9; 1048 pages; $49.99 US
The 2nd Edition of this book, covering Java 1.1, looks good. It includes new AWT Event model as well as chapters on Java OS, Serialization and RMI, Java Servlets, JavaBeans, JDBC, and JECF (Java Electronic Commerce Framework).

Maximum Java 1.1
Glenn Vanderburg, et al.
Sams.net
ISBN 1-57521-290-0; 892 pages, $49.99 US
Says it contains "Advanced Java programming techniques." Includes the new AWT delegation event model, Java beans, Internationalization, Reflection, database and JDBC, RMI, interface with legacy C++ libraries.

Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days
Laura Lemay and Charles Perkins
Sams.net Publishing
ISBN 157-521-030-4; $39.99 US
Still one of the easiest books to read, for the widest variety of audiences. There are several flavors of this book, for different Java platforms, but they are basically the same. The 2nd Edition contains a lot of information on both JDK 1.0.2 and JDK 1.1, comparing each. The Professional Edition is a large hardcover book that adds 7 more days; it includes some subjects beyond the scope of the original book, and also has an API reference guide. I liked the original book alot and spent alot of time with it. More "meat" than any of the other early books I had found, including the best GUI/AWT stuff that was out at that time. Good writing style, easy to read without too much rambling. Good for experienced OO programmers as well as those who have some basic programming knowledge but no OO/C++ skills. Experienced programmers can skim the first few chapters. I have read mixed reviews on the 2nd Edition, including reports of many typos. I have only used it for reference, not read it from front to back, and it looks good so far.

Teach Yourself Java 1.1 Programming in 24 Hours
Rogers Cadenhead
Sams.net, Inc.
ISBN 1-57521-270-6; 384 pages; $24.99 US
Very basic, but does (lightly) cover AWT 1.1 event model. No other chapters on 1.1 APIs. Looks like a good novice programmer introduction to Java 1.1, but you'll need another book after you get started to cover more of the APIs and other issues. A good first book for now in that it's the only truly introductory one to cover the AWT 1.1 event model.

The reviews in this section reflect the uncensored opinions of our reviewer, Beth Tibbitts, and do not represent the opinions of IBM or -- however hard we try -- the editors of this site. IBM shall have no liability or responsiblity for the content of these reviews.

Java Sampler
Sample six complete chapters from O'Reilly's Java in a Nutshell, Deluxe Edition. Java 1.1 topics include: JavaBeans, threads, security, understanding the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT), and image processing.
JavaBeans(TM) for Dummies
Find out what happens when Java joins with the latest revolution in software design, component-based programming. IBM software consultant, author, and Internet technology guru Emily A. Vander Veer explains in plain English what JavaBeans is, what it can do for you, and how you can develop Web applications by using beans you create yourself or get from others.
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