Professional Java Programming - Softcover

Spell, Brett

Softcover

ISBN 10: 186100382X ISBN 13: 9781861003829

Publisher: Apress, 2001

Synopsis

Java has developed into a robust, and dynamic general purpose programming language, which has proved itself to be adaptable, extensible and well suited to a range of development environments. This book is about improving your core Java programming skills and learning how to create professional Java applications.

Every Java developer, whatever their speciality, wants to expand their Java knowledge and expertise. Over the course of this book, you'll discover the particulars of working with the Java language and APIs to develop applications in many different contexts - as well as delving into more advanced topics such as XML data exchange, or the Swing graphical user interface. By the end of the book you'll be fully prepared to take advantage of the ease of development Java offers, and able to create powerful and sophisticated Java applications.

About this title

Review

After you've learned some basic Java, what comes next? Brett Spell's Professional Java Programming can bring your skills to a new level with this tutorial on an appealing range of advanced topics that will extend the reach of your applications. This topic-based text offers something for every intermediate-to-advanced Java developer.

By focusing on individual advanced topics, you can use this book to solve real-world problems while generally improving your understanding of Java. A valuable early section examines what methods you should implement for your Java classes. (By implementing these method, your classes can be as robust and flexible as those that are built into Java.) A section on multithreading shows you the right way to create threads that run reliably in the background.

If you use a Java IDE for designing user interfaces, you probably won't find much use for sections on event handling and layouts, which are covered here in considerable depth. (The reason is that today's Java tools automate this aspect of UI design.) However, two chapters on advanced Swing controls--the JTable and JTree components--are simply indispensable. (You learn how to perform custom rendering, as well as edit the contents of these controls. The controls are powerful, but in general it's hard to find any information on customizing them.)

If you want your Java application to mimic the functionality of traditional applications, you'll benefit from the chapters on adding cut and paste and drag-and-drop functionality, as well as printing. A group of chapters will extend the range of Java when working with data, whether through JDBC, standard streams, XML or sockets, CORBA, or Remote Method Invocation (RMI). (The author uses a chat server to illustrate basic distributed computing.) The book closes with some valuable tips on Java security, help systems, performance tuning, and internationalization.

All in all, Professional Java offers a mixed bag of tips and tricks for extending the range of your Java applications, whether on a single desktop or across the enterprise. Even if you don't read it cover to cover, this text offers plenty of invaluable tips and solutions that will benefit any working Java developer. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Java Virtual Machine (JVM) details
• Best practices for designing Java classes (recommended methods)
• Using Java threads effectively (including synchronization techniques and thread APIs)
• Java event handling (comprehensive guide to Java events)
• Layout managers (including custom layout managers)
• Advanced techniques for using Swing JTable and JTree (including customer rendering and editing)
• Advanced JFC desktop functionality (adding cut and paste and drag-and-drop support)
• Printing with Java 2
• Creating custom user interface components
• JDBC 2.0 database programming (including new 2.0 features, transactions, and connection pooling)
• Persisting data to I/O streams, files, and databases (including basic object relational mappings)
• XML basics in Java
• Guide to using JavaSoft's Java API for XML Parsing (JAXP)
• Transforming XML documents
• Basics of socket programming, CORBA, and Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
• The Java security model (understanding permissions and digital signatures)
• Profiling for improved Java performance, the HotSpot compiler, garbage collection, and creating Javadoc help and context-sensitive help with JavaHelp
• Internationalizaton support in Java
• Native code and the Java Native Interface (JNI)
• Reference for coding standards

From the Publisher

This book is for anyone who wants to know more about Java, whether you've just found your way onto the Java platform or you've been using the language for a while. For those with only a small amount of experience, this book provides a comprehensive guide to the finer points of how to get the most out of Java 2; for the more experienced reader, this book will help you to use the more advanced techniques you've come across.

Edition details

• Publisher: Apress
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 186100382X
• ISBN 13: 9781861003829
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1111