2 comments about Java Phrasebook (Developer's Library).

1. This is a very odd approach for a Java reference book. The idea is that, if you are in a foreign country and cannot speak the language, "phrasebooks" for that language, showing you how to say common phrases without having to study the language in detail, are very helpful. That is true. However, those people who find such phrasebooks useful tend to board a plane and go home in a few weeks, with no real further use for the language. The problem is, how many times is that true in programming? Either you need to know the entire programming language, or you don't. This book is an attempt to use the same phrasebook approach for Java. In the beginning, it does a pretty good job of stating basic things you need to know such as setting up your environment, compiling from the command line, etc. that are usually not clearly stated in books that teach you the full-blown language. However, don't expect it to teach you the language. It might make a good reference for showing novices certain basics and maybe even experienced programmers might find it useful for a few useful "recipes" and tricks, but I found The Java Cookbook much more helpful and comprehensive in its coverage. The book's biggest weakness is it skips over the specific issue of object-orientation in Java. The following is the table of contents:
   
   Chapter 1. The Basics
   Compiling a Java Program; Running a Java Program;
   Setting the Classpath;
   
   Chapter 2. Interacting with the Environment
   Getting Environment Variables; Setting and Getting System Properties; Parsing Command-Line Arguments;
   
   Chapter 3. Manipulating Strings
   Comparing Strings; Searching For and Retrieving Substrings;Processing a String One Character at a Time; Reversing a String by Character;Reversing a String by Word; Making a String All Uppercase or All Lowercase; Trimming Spaces from the Beginning or End of a String; Parsing a Comma-Separated String;
   
   Chapter 4. Working with Data Structures
   Resizing an Array ;Iterating Over a Collection; Creating a Mapped Collection; Sorting a Collection; Finding an Object in a Collection; Converting a Collection to an Array;
   
   Chapter 5. Dates and Times
   Finding Today's Date; Converting Between Date and Calendar Objects; Printing Date/Time in a Given Format; Parsing Strings into Dates; Adding to or Subtracting from a Date or Calendar; Calculating the Difference Between Two Dates; Comparing Dates; Finding the Day of Week/Month/Year or Week Number; Calculating Elapsed Time;
   
   Chapter 6. Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions
   Regular Expressions in Java; Finding Matching Text Using a Regular Expression; Replacing Matched Text; Finding All Occurrences of a Pattern; Printing Lines Containing a Pattern; Matching Newlines in Text;
   
   Chapter 7. Numbers
   Checking Whether a String Is a Valid Number; Comparing Floating Point Numbers; Rounding Floating Point Numbers; Formatting Numbers; Formatting Currencies; Converting an Integer to Binary, Octal, and Hexadecimal;
   Generating Random Numbers; Calculating Trigonometric Functions; Calculating a Logarithm;
   
   Chapter 8. Input and Output
   Reading Text from Standard Input; Writing to Standard Output; Formatting Output; Opening a File by Name; Reading a File into a Byte Array; Reading Binary Data; Seeking in a File; Reading a JAR or Zip Archive; Creating a Zip Archive;
   
   Chapter 9. Working with Directories and Files
   Creating a File; Renaming a File or Directory; Deleting a File or Directory; Changing File Attributes; Getting the Size of a File; Determining if a File or Directory Exists; Moving a File or Directory; Getting an Absolute Filename Path from a Relative Filename Path; Determining if a Filename Path is a File or Directory; Listing a Directory; Creating a New Directory;
   
   Chapter 10. Network Clients
   Contacting a Server; Finding IP Addresses and Domain Names; Handling Network Errors; Reading Text; Writing Text; Reading Binary Data; Writing Binary Data; Reading Serialized Data; Writing Serialized Data; Reading a Web Page via HTTP;
   
   Chapter 11. Network Servers
   Creating a Server and Accepting a Request; Returning a Response; Returning an Object; Handling Multiple Clients; Serving HTTP Content;
   
   Chapter 12. Sending and Receiving Email
   Overview of JavaMail API; Sending Email Sending MIME Email; Reading Email
   
   Chapter 13. Database Access
   Connecting to a Database via JDBC; Sending a Query via JDBC; Using a Prepared Statement; Retrieving Results of a Query; Using a Stored Procedure;
   
   Chapter 14. Using XML
   Parsing XML with SAX; Parsing XML with DOM; Using a DTD to Verify an XML Document; Creating an XML Document with DOM; Transforming XML with XSLT;
   
   Chapter 15. Using Threads;
   Starting a Thread; Stopping a Thread;Waiting For a Thread to Complete; Synchronizing Threads; Pausing a Thread; Listing All Threads;
   
   Chapter 16. Dynamic Programming Through Reflection
   Getting a Class Object; Getting a Class Name; Discovering Class Modifiers; Finding Superclasses; Determining the Interfaces Implemented by a Class; Discovering Class Fields;Discovering Class Constructors; Discovering Method Information; Getting Field Values; Setting Field Values; Invoking Methods; Loading and Instantiating a Class Dynamically;
   
   Chapter 17. Packaging and Documenting Classes
   Creating a Package; Documenting Classes with JavaDoc; Archiving Classes with Jar; Running a Program from a JAR File;



2. Java Phrasebook is a beautiful, well written book containing 100's of phrases which will help the reader to accomplish common tasks in Java. This book is for intermediate Java developers as well as developers who are new to Java.
   The author assumes you have previous knowledge of Java and you are ready to program in Java; don't worry he has included references to various web sites (mostly Sun) throughout the book for additional information you might need.
   
   The book covers JDK 5.0 and is not a Java language tutorial or introduction or even a reference to the Java language.
   
   Personally, I found this book very easy to read, and carry; it fits in my purse. I do agree with what the author suggests; if your goal is to get a deeper understanding of a specific technology, this is not the book you are looking for.
   On the other hand, this book should be very helpful for those who need to brush up some phrases before an Interview or even to those who teach Java courses.
   I had seen foreign language phrase books earlier, this was the first technical phrasebook I read, and if you are indeed looking for one, I highly recommend this for Java.

5 comments about Beginning Java 2.

1. This book is very thorough in it's coverage. It doesn't delve into the "why" as much as the Head First Java book does, but it certainly tackles the how-to very well (at great lengths sometimes). It's also a different style than the Head First series of books. It has more of a traditional feel about it. Beginners that want to approach Java from every angle might do well to opt for both Head First Java and this book.



2. I had the previous version of this book and lost it so I bought the new version because I really liked the one I had. Unfortunately my experience has been a little different with this version. It contains a lot of great information however I think it may have too much in it for most beginners and novices. It is also a very thick book and takes up a lot of space when carrying around.
   The information is great in the book but it isn't something you'll be able to hold in with the first read.



3. This book is a great reference to Java language and how to program it. It also has an overly complicated/not well explained example in using ModelViewController pattern to program a shape drawing program. I also agree with other reviewers who complain he uses mathematical examples too much. Hint - if you hated geometry, buy a different book. But, if you have a sold HIgh School math / graphics background, I strongly recommend this book to learn a lot about java. It still is not comprehensive, but it's a great serious first book to learn java from.



4. I bought this book few years back to update myself on Java Knowledge. This book is very good, simple and details all the basics that is expected by any new java programmer. Those who know java can also use this to refresh their knowledge. This is a good buy.



5. This is a great book if your great with Maths, and like bland talk. I still think its an alright book, however I prefer working examples that I could take note off to use when I start my own proper projects. The ending chapter examples are not worded too well. At times I had to view Ivors solution to just understand what I had to do (and the solutions mind you, use things which you havent seen and dont get explained till much later on).
   
   The worst chapters for me so far are the File Read/Write chapters. They are really bland and there were a good 20pages with no coding just dribble talk about Bytes, Streams and how they work, these could have been done in 4-5pages, if this was so not only would it have uncomplicated things, it would have just made sense (for me I felt I went from one page and 2pages later ended back at the same spot). Now Im not the person who can exactly concentrate reading (reading isnt my thing) without doing some sort of exercise. And he seems to go over the same things (I will probably have to go back over a tutorial for File Read/Write).
   
   Now just because "Beginning" is slapped on the title, this is no way a beginners book, unless of course you consider the first 4-5 chapters the beginners part, which mind you they dont go full into OO and he says that you may need another he actually does quite a good job, and even though the examples cant do much with they are actually quite well thought out, the rest on the other hand require you not only to try and understand how he has worded things (maybe my brain is dead by this time after some bland talk), majority of the examples arent interesting either.
   
   Now if your thinking Im a beginner think again, I have been doing programming with PHP, Perl, C/C++ for over 4-5yrs so Im no new comer.
   
   If this is your first language, this isnt the book for you. If your not so great with Maths or havent done it in a while (like myself) this again isnt the book for you. If you have the concentration span of about 10mins before you feel like your going to go insane because your not coding this is defianetly not the book for you. If you can withstand it all you will enjoy this book and I have had some chapters which were pretty good. However I will be looking for another book as well as Tutorials to grasp the things which just got way over complicated (i.e. File Read/Write).

1 comments about Data Structures with Java.

1. 6 stars if possible. A top of the line book on Data Structures.
   
   Practical and well explained (very thorough) with excellent examples this book sits at my desk for a refresher on Algorithm Analysis (Big O-h Notation) and a exhaustive set of practical samples of code using Java Generics and the new Collections using Generics.
   
   If I had to buy one Data Strutures and Algorithms book (regardless of language - C++ or Java) then this book would be it. By the way, from the same authors, there is a C++ version of this book, but the type font of the book for the Java version is much bigger and easier on the eyes.
   
   Your frustrating end to finding a post Java 1.5 Data Structures Book which shows you how how to develop the data structures raw using your own classes in addition to how it compares to the Collections in java.util are really good.
   
   Points to remember regarding this book when seeking to compare against other books of this same subject are:
   
   No obtuse mathematical formulas to tangle with in this book, since this book is very practical and results oriented. A non-professional programmer can make whole use of this book and come away with a suitcase full of development skills and practical concepts of Data Structures. No tedious mathematics and formulas to deal with here. Simply easy to read, digest, and apply.
   
   Source code is provided (in its completeness) from the authors website.
   
   My recommedation is to know Ant and/or Maven to easily compile the source code under a structured build directory setup.

5 comments about Java Database Best Practices.

1. I have just seriously reading the chapters about EJB, JDBC, Servlet and JSP, I found that there are some tricks I have used but I have not stated the reason, this book provides some short and brief reasoning for each tips to clarify why I need to do and not to do. It is very handy to me, even I explained that to my associate consultants, I don't need a long conversation. I believe the author does not mean we need to follow the best practice but hope that developers/architect can outline a set of standard/practice for the development. It is the main reason for us to read. If you have your own standard, programmer A has his/her own style, then it is hard to trace and maintain the system.



2. I really like reading this book. This book discusses a lot of database concepts. The author talks about how to use the javax.sql libraries. I found the book easy to read. I found the snippets of code useful. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn advanced concepts on databases with JAVA.

   Michael




3. This book barely scratches the surface of the persistence domain.
   There is a review and brief comparison of different approaches but by no means an in-depth account for each.

   Still searching for that perfect book...




4. This book has the potential to become a "must have" book in a future edition. But the current edition has the feel of a book that was rushed to press without really being ready. Some of the best practices are not well explained or even explained at all. Occasionally, they are not worded carefully enough or even seem to contradict each other. The syntax errors (which are more common in the tutorial chapters) highlight this rushed feel.

   Overall, though, I think the book has useful content, and I learned some neat stuff from it. I'm hoping that another, more carefully written and reviewed edition gets published.




5. I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I really liked the discussion of persistence models using J2EE. It was a great tutorial on the various options a J2EE developer has when dealing with databases. On the other hand, I'm disappointed that there wasn't more lower level type discussions. I ended the book feeling as if the "best practice" in Java database development is to avoid direct database development altogether and let an application server deal with it for me.
   
   I develop standalone client/server type database applications more than anything else. I very rarely touch an application server. And unfortunately, only 2 or 3 chapters in this book were useful to me. Everything else was application server specific.
   
   If you're doing straight JDBC development, skip this book and go for a pure JDBC book, as you'll not really get anything new or useful here. If you develop web applications, this book is definitely right up your alley.

5 comments about Weaving a Website: Programming in HTML, Java Script, Perl and Java.

1. THis book is very very good
   im in college and the webdesign teacher suggested a different book and i took a gamble and got this book instead and i love it



2. I'm a former student of Dr. Anderson-Freed and I am currently a professional web developer. I have seen this book in two classes on web programming, the first time in a draft form and the second time in its current form. Having seen the errors and typos in the draft, and having pointed them out during class, I had hoped that the final print of the book would contain at least some of the corrections. Unfortunately, as another reviewer has pointed out, the book still contains numerous errors, typos, and just plain incorrect programming.

   I still own a copy of her book because I have penned in corrections to many of the errors in the book. It covers a little bit of everything, and the little bit of reference I need for Perl and Java are met by this book and web references. However, I also currently own and recommend the HTML 4 Bible and JavaScript Bible, both published by IDG Books. I would recommend the Bible series of computer books over Dr. Anderson-Freed's book to anyone who requires a web-related programming reference. The same goes for IWU students who are taking her classes: don't buy this book. While her book contains many examples (many of which she uses in class), a good portion of her examples have code that does not produce the desired results. You would be better off reading another text and recreating the examples on your own.




3. An absolutely amazing resource!! I took an html class, and this was the book that got me through it. The examples are interesting and clever. She's also very friendly if you ever try to e-mail her with questions.



4. This book isn't horrible. The guy above obviously is an ex-lover of the author and is none to happy. The book has excellent examples and walks through the basics of HTML, JavaScript, JAVA, and perl. After you have learned the languages it is awesome for using as a reference and refresher.



5. I used this text book in a class on HTML and Java Script. It was too riddled with errors to recommend as a good text book on programming. Previous classes have documented over a hundred errors in the text, and code samples; some minor, and some major. There are much better guides to programming than this book.
   You may save money buying just this one book , but I did not find it money well spent.

2 comments about Data Structures and Algorithms in Java.

1. I was looking for a latest edition of a book on data structures using Java. Lafore, Martin etc. are good texts but since collection API has introduced in jdk 1.2, those books seems to be obsolete. This book discusses new API and classes provided by java environment, so we need not to be bogged down by writing the unnecessary code. I feel this book is good for professionals in the industry as well as students of computer science. Algorithms are dealt with in detail with all the mathematical proofs involved, regarding efficiency and complexity. Various data structures are discussed with sufficient number of examples. Its a language specific book on data structures and algorithms, so if you are looking for a general book ar if you are working with any other language you will be dissappointed but surely a good book for java programming language.



2. I got another one of my text books online for cheap, which save me a lot of dinero!

5 comments about Java Management Extensions.

1. Java Management Extensions by Java expert J. Steven Perry is a superbly organized and written reference and instructional resource to managing Java applications with JMX. Individual chapters address standard, dynamic, model, and open MBeans, dynamic loading, the monitoring class and timer service, and much more. A practical study of JMX architecture as well as a thoroughly "user friendly" how-to guide for technical managers, Java Management Extensions is an exceptionally useful and straightforward manual.



2. This book covers the fundamentals of JMX but where I was disappointed was that it uses a pretty basic queue example and doesn't really get into J2EE applications and praticle uses. I was left wondering when to use it. If I had it to do over I'd choose another book with more praticle applications for JMX.



3. JMX is a Java framework for managing enterprise applications in a distributed environment. The book Java Management Extensions takes the reader from a high-level mountaintop description of what JMX is in the first chapter, aimed at architects and management, who might be investigating the new technology, to a trench-digging description of how to expose a class for management through instrumenting an MBean.

   Perry's initial description of the JMX architecture in the first chapter does a good job describing the parts of the JMX and how they interoperate. It is a very high-level view of JMX and many abstract ideas are presented. On a personal level, my experience with the JBoss application server gave me a concrete example to refer to during this JMX introduction, which helped. Here, the reader is presented with many UML diagrams to illustrate the architecture.

   The next four chapters cover the nuts and bolts of how to construct JMX services. To use the JMX framework, a developer must become familiar with an object called an MBean. In a nutshell, MBeans are Java classes that implement an MBean interface (A process known as instrumenting), allowing the MBeans to be loaded into an MBean server and managed. In these chapters, Perry talks about four types of Mbeans, Standard, Dynamic, Model, and Open MBeans. After introducing each type of MBean, Perry gives simple code examples of how to build each type of MBean.
   
   Chapter 6 deals primarily with introducing the reader to the MBean server. Perry uses the reference implementation from Sun for the examples in his book. Real world MBean servers include names such as JBoss and WebLogic. The most exciting part of the book, I felt were chapters 7 and 9, where Perry talks about the JMX notification model and Monitoring classes. Firing events, filtering notifications, and creating monitors appear to be the real advantages to the JMX framework and are covered thoroughly in these chapters.

   Perry's no-nonsense writing style provides a succinct description of the architecture. At 312 pages, the book is the thinnest technical book on my bookshelf, making the read easier to manage.

   In summary, Java Management Extensions is a good book for developers who want to gain an understanding of what JMX is. Programmers new to JMX will probably find the first part of the book a good introduction to JMX and its architecture, while the last chapters focus more on how to put the framework to good use. Although Perry does not have a style of writing that entertained me, it was clear and to the point. He does cover his information thoroughly and appears to know the content well. JMX is a technology that I feel will be used heavily in the future, and for anyone who is intending to write a J2EE application that needs management or monitoring, JMX appears to be the answer.




4. It has been 4 years since this book came out. Despite the many high hopes in the computer industry in 2002, JMX has run out of conceptual steam. You can't tell that from the text. But since then, Service Oriented Architecture and Web Services have garnered far more mindshare.
   
   The text also does not indicate that JMX simply proved too hard in practice, as a useful management tool or console. If you read the book and try its recommendations, you are walking into a dead end. There will be very little interest by others in what you program.



5. If you're looking for an introduction to JMX, this book gives good coverage of the concepts and techniques behind instrumenting your applications. However, if you're looking for information on the latest and greatest in JMX, especially anything related to JMX remoting, then you should look somewhere else. This book was written in 2002, before J2SE 5.0, and a lot has happened to JMX since then. Starting with J2SE 5.0, JMX is a core part of the Java standard library and the JDK ships with a highly usable remote management application called jconsole.

5 comments about Java in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition.

1. I keep this book by my side and reference it at least twice a week. An integral part of my Java programmer's desktop library.



2. This isn't a textbook. It's a handbook, and gives good, clear descriptions of every corner of the Java language. Java isn't a big feature-sodden language, but has a few obscure corners. If you just can't remember the syntax for up-reference from an inner class, you'll find it fast and explained well.
   
   The API guide is fairly complete, but terse. Well, it has to be - the API keep growing. No one book could hold a complete description of everything. Sad to say, earlier editions had more complete API descriptions. The second, for example, had a very good introduction to reflection. As the Java API grew, however, the old descriptions had to shrink to make way for the new, and the reflection discussion was squeezed out. Still, it gives a good quick look at the API. This isn't as complete as the Javadoc API information, but is hugely more browseable. Use this to direct your query into the right area, then use Sun's Javadoc to get the details.
   
   If you have room for only one Java book, make it this one.
   
   -- wiredweird
   
   2007 PS to the 2004 review: Flanagan's new edition on Java 5 supercedes this version of the classic. The new version has all the strengths of earlier editions. It covers language basics and Java 5 extensions even better, except for some rough spots in generics. It covers the fast-growing standard library even worse. If coding Java pays your paycheck, then upgrade. If you work on legacy or casual code, the 3rd or 4th edition, plus easy access to javadoc, might still serve you well enough.



3. This book is way too terse to be useful. Modern Java development tools will help you use the correct class method signatures anyway. Buy the posters instead and give yourself a visual overview instead.



4. Java: In a Nutshell (4th ed.) is a decent reference manual for quick lookups. Be forewarned: it's very terse. This helps and hurts it; the Java language is pretty hefty itself, so concise reference is valuable, however sometimes I've found it to be a little bit on the lacking side when I really needed fast and easily understandable reference.
   
   Not a must-have, but definitely not a waste.



5. For those that find that Javadoc hard to read (like me) or aren't "always on" the internet, this is a great alternative. The first few chapters are particularly - short, sweet and to the point - a cross between Javadoc and a cookbook and is quite readable.

No comments about Programming Perl/TK.

No comments about JRuby Cookbook.