5 comments about The Java(TM) Tutorial: A Short Course on the Basics (3rd Edition) (The Java Series).

1. Well written, easy to follow. A real "page-turner".

   (I can't wait for the movie version...)




2. Before you buy this book, go to your local bookstore and read the second chapter. If it makes sense to you, get on line and buy it from Amazon. If, on the other hand, the chapter reads like a series of magical incantations pulled out of thin air, run the other way! There is absolutely nothing worse than reading a technical book where the authors keep on telling you "not to worry if you don't understand this for now because it will be covered in detail later." I am glad I bought the book used for half price!



3. For someone already familiar with C type programming this is probably an excellent book. It has lots of examples, great linked online resources, a pretty good index, and is one of the most error-free technical books I have read in 5 years of programming. However, this is NOT the book for those with no C (or maybe VB) type programming background.

   The authors jump right in using the Java language. While this makes it more interesting it leaves non-C programmers to wonder about the constructs. Examples area great IF they explain everything new that is introduced. For example, the following are used in the first part of the book:

   String[ ] args
   String args[ ]
   String[ ][ ]

   But it is not until nearly halfway through the book (end of Ch 4 of 10) that array constructs are discussed. And even then I don't recall any discussion of the difference between the first and second example above. Another example:

   Sleep((int)(Math.random() ...))

   What is this? Casting maybe? Casting is not even in the index so you just have to guess.

   This book needs 2 things to make it excellent: First, an appendix that clearly and thoroughly explains the constructs, syntax rules, and naming conventions - all in one place. For example, what do the curly braces signify, why are empty parens or empty curly braces or semi-colons used, when do you use String[ ] args vs String args[ ] - the works. Secondly, it needs more comments in the examples, including the reasoning involved (eg why variable was declared outside instead of inside method) and an explanation when anything new is used. Admittedly, experienced programmers will not want heavily commented examples, so making those available on line would be a good solution.




4. This book is at best a jumble of words with a few readable sentences, and at worst could be written in greek for all the good it does. Without a clear path, the book bounces around off different subjects, and all to often goes ahead of itself in the examples. NOTHING is more anoying then finding a piece of code that you've never seen, and isn't explained for another 4 chapters afterwords. Especially in the first few sections its not uncomon to find an 'ignore this line "..." you'll find out what its for later'. On the upside, it has very few typo's, which doesn't help much as the chapters are so confusing. The best part of this book would have to be its analogies, which are amazingly sensable, such as relating objects and classes to bicycles (One class, 'bicycle' objects of the class such as 'racing' or 'mountain'). In all, its a bit above average but there are much better choices out there for the same price



5. Alas, the hazards of bound books. Note that this was published in 2001. It covers JDK 1.3, also known as Java 2. The current revision is JDK 5 (which would be 1.5 if they kept the old naming conventions, I think).
   
   That said,it should be sufficient for a lot of folks - but likely frustrating if you have the latest releases of software, since all the detailed commands will have changed (along with some of the function calls...).
   
   Sun keeps up to date copies (downloadable) on line of all these tutorials, so I'd suggest going there first, although having two disparate copies on the go may be more trouble than it's worth, and you may end up ignoring the print version in favor of the on-line. Me, I'm keeping these for reference and have gone out and bought up to date books from other publishers.

1 comments about Bluetooth Application Programming with the Java APIs (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Networking).

1. My prior knowledge about Bluetooth can be described with one word-superficial. Therefore, I hail the authors for making a brave move. The book is not just an introduction to the Bluetooth Java APIs but also an introduction to the whole Bluetooth architecture and terminology. The fact that a lot of space is used to explain the underlying protocols specified in the Bluetooth specification can be both a godsend and a sleeping pill. For me, it was a godsend...

   The book starts with a brief overview to what Bluetooth is as a technology. Then, JABWT (Java API for Bluetooth Wireless Technology) and how is it positioned in the field of various J2ME technologies is explained to set the architectural vision into the reader's mind. This section of the book is a very pleasant read, giving out just the right amount of information.

   Next, the authors continue by tackling each main acronym one at a time using a recurring pattern: introduce technology, introduce API, illustrate with snippets of sample code. This section covers approximately half of the length of the book and can be labeled "the meat". Some portions, such as the chapters about service records, are slightly too detailed for my liking (as someone new to the whole Bluetooth scene), but mostly, the content is straightforward and easy to grasp.

   After having discussed all the big things in Bluetooth for Java, two sample applications are introduced. The full source code for examples throughout the middle chapters has been included as appendices for the reader's comfort. Also, the Bluetooth APIs have been included as appendices, which I personally would've left out but also don't mind having it there. Finally, the book contains one chapter that seems somewhat displaced, providing guidance for implementing/porting the JABWT on a device.

   As a closing remark, I feel that this book is a wonderful piece of work and well worth reading for developers new to Bluetooth technology and the related Java APIs. Its approach suited me perfectly.

No comments about Maximizing Web Dynpro for Java.

5 comments about Java 2 Weekend Crash Course (With CD-ROM).

1. Disclaimer: I'm an expert Perl programmer with 5 years of work experience, plus a little over a decade of additional recreational programming between middle school and college graduation in C++, assembly, Pascal, and a few dozen dead & forgotten languages. So when I decided it was time to learn Java, I wasn't interested in yet another book aimed at beginners who need to have the difference between a method and a property explained to them. I wanted a book that I could casually dig through over the course of a few days and emerge with enough basic knowledge about Java to be able to do something useful with it and have enough of a foundation to be able intelligently search for answers to my new questions on the internet & elsewhere.

   It did a decent job. Within a couple of hours, I was at the point where I could head back to the bookstore to buy Hall's "Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages" and go forward from there.

   My biggest gripe about the book is its inadequate coverage of Strings. Specifically, little "gotchas" about Java Strings that will PARTICULARLY trip up Perl programmers... like the fact that a String being "null" is not the same thing as a String being "" and the need to explicitly test for both cases most of the time. Admittedly the book had to gloss over a lot in a small number of pages, but strings are just one of those fundamental things that need to be properly covered...

   I'm glad I bought it; it served its purpose. If you're an experienced programmer, the book is a good starting point and bridge between knowing nothing about the language's details and knowing enough to make good use of reference-oriented documentation.

   But if you're NOT an experienced programmer, god help you... because the book definitely won't. If you already understand fundamental concepts like integers, operators, if/then, for/next, classes, methods, properties, compiling, inheritance, etc., you'll appreciate the fact that the authors don't drone about them for 400 pages. But make no mistake... this book is intended to teach experienced programmers who have already mastered one or more object-oriented programming languages enough to feel like they can more forward after a "weekend"... and maybe BS convincingly about their java programming experience at a job interview a few days later. It's not going to teach somebody who thinks creating a HTML web page constitutes "programming" how to write useful Java apps in a weekend, a week, or any length of time.




2. Title says it all. The number of factual errors, typographical errors, incomplete statements, and misleading statements are amazing. Consider on page 267 where it states "If 0 is negative, or 1 is negative..." Far more dangerous than this obvious error are the ones that you don't recognize until you read the correct information elsewhere. Stay away from this book!



3. I used this to help me prepare for and pass the Sun exam. This is a good text for practicing many aspects of Java quickly. I found it to be a useful supplement to my library.



4. Save your money. It's a shallow tutorial with no significant depth. Makes me wonder if these two authors actually even know Java.



5. The first 10 chapters or so were helpful but by chapter 14 this thing was coming completely off the rails! Did anyone actually edit this thing?

   The book starts off with good examples. Then the authors get lazy and write things like 'Look at this source code on the CDROM, we're too lazy to discuss it here'.

   Thos shortcuts are annoying but when the text relied upon code on the CDROM for reference but the code is not even there, that's really shoody work (which makes me wonder if any editor every saw this *thing*). Compared to most technical books at twice (or more) of it's price.. maybe I got what I paid for.

   I decided to try to provide some helpful feedback to the authors so they could fix this stuff in a second edtion.. but alas BOTH of the e-mails listed in the text as contacts bounced.

   I'm not impressed with this book at all beyond the challenge to find and fix the bugs in thier examples. From this I'm learning some interesting things but that's not what I want out of a book. I can't see this being a *good* book for either novice or programmers those with decades in the trenches coding (such as myself). It's quite possible I could have read some websites on Java and come up with a better book than this....

5 comments about More Servlets and JavaServer Pages.

1. It's a very useful book for Servlet,JSP starters with hands-on instructions to go about it. It's written in a nice, CONCISE manner covering many topics.



2. I searched at a great many titles including a couple of duds before I finally settled on Marty Hall's book. Perhaps it was the "More" part that made me wonder if I would be missing something....like this was part two.

   As it turns out, that could not have been further from the truth and IMHO, although the titles is correct, it is a bit of a misnomer due to that misperception.

   This really is the book you've been looking for if you want to learn JSP/Servlet programming, particularly with Tomcat (or ServletExec). Marty takes you through a full tour of JSP in case you are a beginner as I was, but he also ensures he tells you about many features of the spec/language to a level of completeness that far exceeds many other titles I looked at. He also explains how to get up and running with several servers (but especially with Tomcat) in a way that REALLY gets you up and running...almost every book had a Tomcat section, but this one really does describe usability approaches for your workflow. That, alone, is worth the price of the book, not to mention the many great other things you will learn along the way.

   Furthermore, Marty is very approachable. I have e-mailed him on several occasions...one turned out to be an issue I misunderstood and another turned out to be an apparent change to the Tomcat default specs. But he typically responded to me within a matter of hours and got me up and running again on those few occasions where I became "stuck" (sure, I could have skipped the spot, but then I wouldn't UNDERSTAND it...he made sure I did understand it and replied with the WHY in each case).

   You may still be wondering about that "more" part...on his website for the book, he makes the full older book available as a PDF...on occasion, he refers to it in the newer book for areas that can optionally go into further detail. This avoids repeatedness, but also gives you access to yet another excellent resource even if it is only partially out-of-date.

   More Servlets, by contrast, is up-to-date as of the latest specifications (2.3/1.2) that have officially been released. Furthermore, he takes great care in pointing out items that are specific to the latest specification...he also points out items that are specific to certain browsers in those applicable instances.

   This is definitely a book that teaches you JSP/Servlets, but it also teaches you approaches, workflow, and much much more.

   There is a prerequisite that you need to know Java, and I readily agree with that statement...you do need to know Java (and for that, I strongly recommend HeadFirst Java by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates!!), but given even basic Java knowledge, you can be off and running with this book and I can tell you it is very difficult to put down once you've picked it up.

   Ross Goldberg




3. I've been using the Marty Hall's saga (Core Web Programming, Core Servlets, More Servlets), for almost three years now, and I can recommend him as one of the best technical authors.

   His treatment of Servlets and JSP is great, and I can only wait for his Struts book!

   His examples are clear, concise and useful. Not the typical "Hello World", but real oriented-to-learning examples.




4. This book was a big help for me in passing IBM's exams that deal with the J2EE. Good breadth and depth in many of the categories on the exam and Marty puts things in a clear manner so you pick up the concepts quickly. Very well laid out.

   I'd also mention this book is way more than just servlets/jsp's, it also has a ton of stuff on really understanding the deployment of J2EE webapps and how to really get the most out of your web.xml. It also has good coverage of j2ee security and JSTL. Hope this helps others decide.




5. The book covers a lot of ground. I like the fact the the author starts with servlets rather than with JSP pages. This gives the reader a basis for anything else covered in the field of JSPs. Every single thing is supported by an example, which is very nice.
   I would like however to warn JSP and Servlet newbies: the book assumes you know how to set up a servlet engine (Tomcat, Jboss, etc). The reason I say that is not because the book does not cover this topic, but because it is very obscure in the book. For example the author tells you that the way you access servlets is by typing you application directory + /servlets/ + the name of the servlet. He, for some reason, assumes that tomcat makes that url pattern the default for accesing servlets. It is not true. Tomcat leaves it up to you to decide hot to access your servlets. So you have to go and modify your web.xml file, which is not covered in the those set up sesctions of the book.
   If you know how to set things up yourself, this book is invaluable.

5 comments about Java Design: Building Better Apps and Applets (2nd Edition).

1. There are hundreds of books out there which deal with all of the low-level Java stuff, some of them excellent. I would like to echo the point made by some other reviewers that there is a shortage of books which deal with some of the higher level topics such as application design.

   I've been working as a Java programmer for about 8 months and I've worked my way through countless introductory books (Beginning Java 2, Horton; Just Java, van der Linden; Thinking in Java, Eckel - that type of thing). These books are great, and I now feel they've taught me most of what I need to know at that level, but I'm finding it hard to make the jump from knowing how to perform relatively small tasks using Java to designing large, complex applications. I know there is only one way to really do this - practice & experience - but I could do with a few books to help.

   I flipped through this book for about 10 minutes in the shop, and it seemed like it was just what I was looking for so I bought it. However, after reading it for a couple of hours I realised that it is in fact a bit rubbish. I was attracted by the chapters about design using interfaces, and there are certainly plenty of UML class diagrams featuring interfaces, but the accompanying text is so brief and so badly written that it is impossible to work out what points the authors are trying to put across.

   Furthermore, there are plenty of mistakes in the text and in the diagrams which in my opinion is just criminal - these concepts are extremely tricky to understand, and if you feel like you've grasped something and then you check out the next diagram and it's contradicted then you assume you must be missing something when you are in fact correct.

   I agree with other reviewers that this book employs cheap tactics: lots of whitespace, repetition, unneccessary diagrams.
   If I hadn't broken the seal on the CD sleeve before I realised this book was poor, I would have taken it back. £36.50 for a 300 page book too.

   what a swizz....




2. I just finished reading this book, and still can't describe "in 25 words" what it is about.
   I am not sure whether I am not ready for it, or the authors present their material in such a way, but I was put to sleep after about 20 minutes of reading. So I had to read in short sessions, and it took me a while to finish this book. And even though I realize that it does contain some sound design principles and some good ideas, I can't say that I have picked up anything that I am going to use in my coding practice.
   It's a bit unusual to me, but it feels like the writing style precluded me from picking up the useful information contained in the book.
   I think, I'll give this book another try some time later.



3. This book was a significant stepping stone in my development in OO thinking.

   This book immerses you in the thought process of OO. If you feel that you haven't quite clicked with OO design, and pattern books are leaving you puzzled, then read this - give it a month - then read it again.

   The you'll then probably think many of the GoF patterns quite obvious, and wonder what all the fuss was about. For example the Bridge pattern, and the Factory patterns are just implementing plugability concepts of Ch 3.




4. I read this book a few years ago and I remember it to be
   a pretty decent book on design. It doesnt claim to teach you
   how to do UML or Java. There are other books specifically for
   that. Highly recommended if you want to learn about good design.
   Books like these are *rare*. I am not sure what the reviewers who
   gave this a low score were looking for in this book.



5. To program effectively in Java, one should know the difference between Interface, Class, abstract Class, composition, inheritance, and polymorphisms.
   Most CS Java textbook lacks in explaining the differences.
   If you are a Java programmer, ask yourself the following fundamental questions:
   1. what is the difference between Java Interface and abstract class?
   2. when to use abstract class?
   3. when to use Interface?
   4. when to use composition over inheritance?
   5. how to check when indeed you need inheritance over composition?
   
   If you cannot answer all in clear way, you are missing very important things in OO design and Java's support of OO.
   
   This book is not for mere programmers or beginners. This book is essential for experienced programmers who understand OO and value object oriented design. This book explains those fundamental concepts in very clear and easy way to follow.

5 comments about Party of One: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of the Independent Voter.

1. Considering the subject matter, Dan Weintraub was able to capture my attention long enough to get through the book. I liked Arnold more as a paid actor saving the world than a paid politician using the State of California to perfect the art of "bait and switch". Where or where are public servants who serve the public or has public servant become an oxymoron. Kudos to Weintraub for his research and coherent presentation of a plate of "green eggs and ham" dressed up as a thought out road map to move California forward.



2. Recently, Daniel Weintraub argued that correctional officers should not receive raises. He also suggested that officers should make LESS, since there are so many applicants for the job. His logic is not only twisted, but also a reflection of the "scrooge mentality" afflicting many bosses.
   
   In Weintraub's world, men and women would be paid the least amount possible, and unions would be banned. This means that the teacher's union would not be allowed to ask for better wages, and that the Hollywood writers (without their union) should be paid as little as possible. Because, after all, there are thousands waiting in the wings to be teachers and writers, which, by Weintraub's logic, means writers and teachers are paid too much! This flies in the face of the obvious: labor creates value (John Locke).
   
   Also, in America, if a job is dangerous, requires skills, or involves education or training, we pay more for that career-- which is why NFL players, despite "only having a high school education", are paid more than Bee writers! Why don't we don't hear Weintraub and his cronies attacking the 49ers? After all, football players make way more money than correctional officers.
   
   The fact is, officers are required to attend hundreds of hours of training (they attend an arduous academy) both on and off the job. They are educated (many have BA's and MA's) and their job is dangerous (if you don't believe this, ask the family of Manny Gonzalez, an officer recently murdered by an inmate). Officers work long hours, and yes, get paid overtime for those long hours-- would Weintraub expect them to work for free? And officers do a thankless job that neither Daniel nor his cohorts would be willing to do, for any amount of money.
   
   As for the officers' union: membership in a union is a legal right, guaranteed by U.S. law. An officer can choose to not join the union (membership is voluntary), but he still receives union protection. Officers organized a union, because prior to the union, in 1970, a "prison guard" only earned $600/ month. At that time, guards had no training, no education, no protective equipment, no baton, and no alarm (just a whistle)-- They had just their wits to protect them. Before the union, a guard's retirement (if he lived that long) was $240/ month. So, that is where officers came from, and they don't want to go back.
   
   Also, folks join unions for protection-- to receive decent pay and decent benefits-- which is why McClatchy and all the other newspapers destroyed the newspaper unions, over 30 years ago. Newspapers hate unions, because unions give the workers rights-- the right to speak out against abuse, the right to pick one's job assignment, the right to expose corrupt bosses, and the right to sue for better work conditions. The union, in spite of Weintraub's complaints, is less influential than the rich business lobbies, and certainly less powerful than the writer's union (assuming Daniel is a member; certainly not possible).
   
   Contrary to Daniel Weintraub, Officer's salaries are not a major cost to the state: 41% of California's budget goes to schools and 25.3% to Health and Human Services (welfare). Corrections is only 7.3% of the budget; officers salaries actually account for less than 3% of the total state budget. With gas rising to $4/gallon, and inflation at over 5%, no pay raise means pay cut-- for a job which is dangerous, dirty and difficult.
   
   There is a certain irony about Daniel, a wealthy man, lecturing working stiffs about making too much money. Perhaps Weintraub could take a pay cut from his cushy six-figure editorial job? Because, as Weintraub argues, a job which has more applicants than openings is paying too much. And many new journalism grads want Daniel's job! But then, ignoring or manipulating the facts is common for reporters and editorial writers at the Bee. When you have an agenda, then fair and balanced reporting goes out the window.
   
   
   In ending this letter, I realize I have wasted my time: the Sacramento Bee (Daniel's boss) will never print this letter, or give equal time to dissenting viewpoints. Or, if I am "lucky", the editors will pretend to be "fair" by allowing me a hundred words or so to respond, thus crippling my comments, and making my letter impotent. After all, as all working folks know, only rich men who own newspapers have freedom of speech. The rest of us go online and read blogs.
   
   
   #####



3. This is a terrific book. It takes a very complicated and important subject -- how California is governed -- and explains it in a way that is clear, accurate and fun to read. The book is particularly valuable for explaining a much misunderstood and timely subject: Schwarzenegger's health care plan, which passed the Assembly but failed to get out a committee in the state Senate. Although this book is important and should show up on a few college syllabi, it doesn't feel like homework. Some of the writing is more than clear -- it's beautiful.



4. Schwarzenegger remains the tool of big business while pretending to be the "Peoples Governor". However, when
   you ask the question: Which people? The answer is those who contribute to his campaign, aka, big business.
   He has decimated benefits for workers injured in California and his staff illegally implemented the permanent
   disability rating schedule, like the V.A. did with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. However, a California Work-
   ers' Compensation Judge has refused to use the schedule and filed a case reporting how the Schwarzenegger administration is cheating injured workers by lying to the legislature. Most importantly, like G.W. Bush, he refuses to correct the problem and has twice vetoed bills passed by the legislature to fix the deceit. We are awaiting a decision on the Boughner case to correct the problem. Please don't be fooled by his act that he is not a typical Republican. He is, and always will be, a big business Republican.



5. "Party of One," by veteran California newspaper columnist Daniel Weintraub, details the amazing life of America's second most important chief executive, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
   
   Weintraub begins with a brief overview of Schwarzenegger's early life in a small town in Austria, as a bodybuilder who, "...left his native country as a young man to pursue his vision of the American Dream. He believed with the passion of the converted that anyone who worked hard and focused on his goals could make it in America. Not just make it - but make it big. Fame. Wealth. Adulation. A beautiful family."
   
   The author, befitting his profession as a political journalist, quickly fast forwards to 2003, the year of California's fateful recall of Gov. Gray Davis. During that election, Schwarzenegger promised to "tear up" the state's credit cards as California groaned under a huge deficit caused by a complete lack of spending restraint coupled with the tech bubble bursting that served to end a spike in capital gains tax earnings. It was this political promise that would serve as the central criticism in Weintraub's story; the greatest failing; the biggest lost opportunity. Weintraub writes, "Schwarzenegger's failure to deal with the long-term, structural problem in the budget - the fact that spending was programmed by law to grow faster than tax revenues - allowed state spending to rise from $78 billion when he took office to $102 billion as he ran for reelection three years later, an increase of more than 30 percent... By the time he was reelected in November 2006, the state was spending more per capita and more as a percentage of the economy than it ever had before... His goal of bringing the state's books back into the black - the defining issue in his first campaign for the governor's office - would continue to depend on little more than a gamble, a hope that the economy would perform better than his own experts expected. It might have been a good formula for political success. But as fiscal policy, it would never get the job done." Schwarzenegger's fiscal failings became increasingly obvious in 2008 as California's deficit came back with a vengeance at $17 billion.
   
   Weintraub adequately retells the phases of Schwarzenegger's public career, his first foray into politics with his after school program initiative, his initial year in office, his failed "year of reform," his retooling by coming out with a proposal to massively borrow to build infrastructure, and his push to capture the environmental issue. All of this is set into the context of examining how Schwarzenegger, while nominally a Republican, governs with no discernable set of principles - a "liberaltarian," as Brink Lindsey coined.
   
   Weintraub wraps up by breezing through Schwarzenegger's convincing reelection in 2006 and his efforts in 2007 to increase government involvement in healthcare, reform the prison system (something I had a supporting role in), and reform the political process.
   
   All in all, Weintraub tells the story of a remarkable man trying to govern a remarkable state, doing some things well, but failing in other, more basic tests of leadership. Weintraub leaves the impression that Schwarzenegger could have done more and could be doing more, but somehow is falling short of his initial high promise.
   
   Reviewer: Chuck DeVore is a California State Assemblyman, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard and the author of "China Attacks."

5 comments about Java 6 Platform Revealed.

1. I'm usually pleased with apress titles, and if asked to pick books on a subject "sight unseen" would go with them because of that. This book is an exception, and I'm going to return it. It's a completely trivial cover of the material and so shallow that it's no better than available online stuff. And to price this lightweight a book at $40 is ridiculous.



2. O'Reilly has a a "Developer's Notebook" series that I love. This book is very similar however, the writing style, examples, and editing is much cleaner. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a book that describes the new features and changes to the Java language version 6. The author writes in a why that I was able to read the book cover/cover without falling asleep.
   
   I learned a lot about he new version, what libraries to look for changes, and how major the changes are.
   
   My plan is to look for other titles by John Zukowski.



3. This great, little overview of a handful of the Java 6 features is a quick, easy read with some concrete examples. Definitely written for the mid-to-advanced audience out there, this should provide you with some core concepts and information about what's included in Mustang without going into painful detail.
   
   What makes this Apress fall short of a 5 is the author's pick-and-choose nature of "in-depth" coverage. You can tell which topics the author likes to cover and which ones he just doesn't get into. It shows his core strengths and competencies, but it would have been nice to possibly have a co-author to cover some of the things he skimmed over and also some additional material.
   
   Worth $40? I'm not sure. But I am happy that I got it. Being able to step away from the computer to study a little was valuable, and this book was a wonderful addition to my reading material.



4. You'll love this book if you are already a pro up through the current Java release and don't want to - once again - wade through Gary Cornell's excellent but complete treatise on the Java language just to figure out what is new to the language in Java 6. You'll hate this book if you want to learn Java for the first time, starting with Java 6, and decide to start with this book. Zukowski assumes you know the current state of all of the APIs he is talking about and just want to know what is new. He does an excellent job explaining what has changed and shores up his explanations with non-trivial examples. I highly recommend it to current Java programmers. If you are not already a Java programmer, wait for Horstmann and Cornell's "Core Java, Volume I-Fundamentals (8th Edition)" to be released in September and learn Java 6 and Java programming the right way and from scratch.



5. The title of this review pretty much says it all. Not a good book, though I suppose necessary at the time. I was really hoping for a follow up from O'Reilly to their excellent "Java 1.5 Tiger - A Developer's Notebook". As the man said "I just need the facts ..."

5 comments about Java Cryptography (Java Series).

1. There's no better first book on cryptography for a programmer to buy. You get a great deal of exposure to an important facet of network security through this little gem. It's friendly and to the point.

   The Java API is excellent--but the idea of cryptography is little odd to the everyday web or network application programmer. Having someone to kindly bridge the crypto-what-ja-ma-call-its to a world of how-do-i-wrap-it-around-my-web-or-mail-service is simply priceless. There's NO silly cryptomath (because only those cryptoexperts get the math anyway) but instead it's filled with no-nonsense coverage of how each and every common crypto engine and crypto-"protocol" takes your stream of data and converts them to cryptograms. If you always like to learn as MUCH as you could about a particular computational wonder tool before tackling a project without turning your brain to mush with research mathematics--you'll like this book.

   It's just one of those books I wished I read a lot earlier so I won't have an excuse to avoid APIs that exposes applied cryptography to network applications all these years. I highly recommend this book before you head on to the math of it.

   It's too bad the SSL/TLS API for Java never made it into this first edition (it did make it into O'Reilly's latest Java network programming book though).

   Any one know of a book just like this one but for another language like C or Perl? With a book like this you don't need to explain it all over again--but illustration and snippets of code showing how to use the various APIs in other languages would be useful. I think if the author is willing to dabble into all of these issues and give away his findings on a book website it will be just AWESOME! A second edition of said book with all of these issues covered would be just grand too :-)

   P.S. When I started learning Perl I first bought Mastering Regular Expression. Because I felt that with Perl--it really simplifies one's ability to play with streams of text. And what better way to learn the language (especially if you know some basics about it) than to learn what it is brilliant at right away?! That's how I felt about Java Cryptography. The way Java makes network programming not only easy.. but also fun to add in complexities like security and cryptography makes it a very enjoyable programming language to work with as a student or as a programmer. This is the sort of book you'll want to read ASAP once you get the basics of Java the language down! :-)




2. Are you concerned about someone outside your company intercepting a password between your applet and your server? Are you worried about someone inside your company using a packet sniffer to capture the credit card numbers of your customers? No? Well, perhaps you should be! As a first step towards closing your security holes you should pick up a copy of "Java Cryptography". This book is written for the experienced Java developer with no cryptography background who needs to build cryptography into their application. The book starts off with a brief description of secure systems and demonstrates a "Hello zoT1WY1NJA0=!" program. It then gives a fairly detailed description of cryptographic concepts and the Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA). Subsequent chapters discuss how to use the Java Cryptography Extension (JCE). Chapter 5 covers generating and managing symmetric and asymmetric keys with an explanation of the difference. Chapter 6 discusses authenticating users and messages. Signatures and certificates are covered. Chapter 7 covers encryption techniques using different types of ciphers. Chapter 8 covers signing applets. The last chapters include sample encrypted chat and e-mail programs. The end result is a book that provides excellent coverage of cryptography in Java. The only defect in the book is that it is three years old (Java 2 was in beta). Fortunately, the book was written recently enough to include the new utilities used in Java 2. Even though a new edition is desirable, "Java Cryptography" still stands alone as the best book available on this topic.



3. Do not waste your money or time. This is a very poor book and is very much out of date.



4. The reviewer who mentioned this book is out of date is absolutely correct. Worse than that, this book on cryptography is written by someone who doesn't actually understand cryptography very well. Lots of bad practices are recommended, and there are several examples in the book that are insecure as written.

   I would also give this book zero stars if it were possible.




5. Good introduction and explanation of cryptography, great for begineers, great view of Java. Specially chapters from 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9. The rest is sometimes poor, sometimes obsolete. It's a good job, but since 1998 a lot of things came to this area. Maybe a second edition will be a good idea. For provider architecture I prefer Scott Oaks' Java Security. I miss some explanation of cryptography. But the explanations included are very clear. I agree the average from the rest of the reviews and I think 3 stars is the deserved rate for this book.

5 comments about Programming and Problem Solving with Java.

1. Programming and Problem Solving with JAVA James M. Slack $62.95 at Amazon.com

   This book gives a good overview of Java Programming, then gets more specific in subsequent chapters. The writing style is clear and sticks to the point while giving good explanations of concepts. The code examples are extremely well thought out (giving the impression that the author knows what they are talking about) and even the simple examples are well-designed. I have found no complaint with this book. We are currently choosing textbooks for our CS-1 class and I have not seen a single book that can even compare to this. The organization of the book is well thought out, and the appendices are very useful as optional material. The author's explanations of his code examples and the subsequent explanations of alternate methods and the reasons why a programmer would choose one over another for a particular task are extremely useful. I would recommend this book to anyone learning Java or as a reference for understanding Java concepts.




2. I read this book after reading Beginning Java 2 by Ivor Horton and Slack's book is a poor comparison to Horton's. I'm sure that a person could probably learn Java by reading this book but why do it the hard way? Try Horton's book, you'll be impressed.



3. I purchased this book to use as a text for a beginning programming class and found the programming logic to be adequate, but overall I am not impressed with the way the author tries to teach Java in the text. I found his outline to learn and his methods of teaching the basics very poorly laid out. I feel it did not teach the basics of learning programming in any language, much less Java. What it did address, I don't feel it was presented in the proper order...he tried to teach you how to run before you even knew that you had feet. I would not recommend using this book to learn Java. This book was my initial exposure to programming and the only thing I learned for sure is that there has to be a better way to learn Java, or any other programming language, than the author presents in this book.



4. I teach programming and I have read many Java texts and I find this book to be among the easiest in terms of understanding and also complete in its coverage of the basics of programming. The book explains step-by-step the intricacies of the language and doesn't assume any background knowledge.

   It gives plenty of examples of Java applications as opposed to Deitel's book which invariably talks mostly about applets. I also like the titbits of additional knowledge found at the end of each section, which touches on basic concepts in computer science. The treatment on IO and GUI is also excellent.

   I also like the way that OOP are being taught by the use of the Turtle Class, specially written by the author. The Turtle Class is used to demonstrate how Classes are being extended by writing new methods and adding to it. A superb method of teaching, I must say.

   I would definitely recommend it as a text for a Computer Science degree course.




5. I took a year long course in school with this book and I am only 14 and I still found it easy to use and great to understand.