The COBS Review - Books on <cite>Java</cite>

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The COBS Review - Books on Java

Nicole Crémel IT/User Supoort

This is the first of a series of articles where we intend to make a brief assessment on the books offered at the CERN COBS Service (COmputing Books Selling Service). This time we have selected our offerings on Java.

Note that the list of books proposed may evolve in time according to the needs (e.g. new editions, new software or product versions, etc.) and to user feedback. Concerning Java, the book stock has recently been modified to conform to the new standard version JDK 1.1 and all the books related to the previous version (JDK 1.0) have been suppressed.

At the date of publication of this CNL (March 1998), the list of books proposed in the category WWW.Java is:

Java in a Nutshell (second edition) (by Flanagan) - [B]
Java in a Nutshell - Deluxe Edition - [B/A]
The Java Programming Language (2nd edition) (by Arnold,Gosling) - [B]
Java Language Reference (2nd edition) (by Grand) - [B/A/R]
Teach yourself Java in 21 days (by Lemay,Perkins,Morrison) - [A/R]
Not Just JAVA (by Linden) - [B]
How to Program Java (2nd edition) (by Deitel) - [A/S]
JAVA 1.1 the Complete Reference (by Naughton,Schildt) - [A/R]
Java Class Libraries (2nd edition) (by Chan,Lee) - [A/R/S]
Java Beans Developer Resource (by Sridharan) - [A/S]
Developing JAVA Beans (by Englander) - [A/S]

[B] Beginners - [A] Advanced - [R] Reference Guide - [S] Specialized

1. Java in a Nutshell

2nd Edition.
(~600 pages / Good overview for recent Java programmers)
A quick reference with practical real-world examples and compact reference information. This book is very popular and is probably a good (and cheap) one to start with. It contains an advanced introduction to Java for C and C++ programmers, and describes the syntax of the Java language and all the classes in the Java 1.1 API (with the exception of the still-evolving Enterprise APIs.). This second edition covers Version 1.1 of the Java Development Kit (JDK).

2. Java in a Nutshell - Deluxe Edition

(~600 pages + CD-ROM / Complete library of documentation)
The "Deluxe Edition" of Java in a Nutshell brings together on CD-ROM five volumes for Java developers and programmers, linking related information across books:

Java in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition (included both on the CD-ROM and in a companion desktop edition).
Exploring Java, 2nd Edition (covers Java basics, giving a clear and systematic overview of the language).
Java Language Reference, 2nd Edition (see later).
Fundamental Classes Reference (complete reference documentation on the core Java 1.1 classes that comprise the java.lang, java.io, ava.net, java.util, java.text, java.math, java.lang.reflect, and java.util.zip packages).
Java AWT Reference (complete reference documentation on the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT), a large collection of classes for building graphical user interfaces in Java).
These last 3 volumes provide a definitive set of documentation on the Java language and the Java 1.1 core API.

This special edition constitutes a complete library for anyone doing serious programming with Java 1.1.

3. The Java Programming Language

(~430 pages / Good overview for recent Java programmers)
Part of "The Java Series" books from Addison-Wesley.
Good overview of the Java programming language regarding most aspects: strategies and techniques, syntax and constructs, and the most important packages.

4. Java Language Reference, 2nd Edition

(~500 pages / Syntax and Language Reference - included in "Java in a Nutshell - Deluxe Edition")
This book describes all the language features and helps to understand the subtle nuances of Java, from the definition of data types to the syntax of expressions and control structures. It covers the new language features that have been added in Java 1.1, such as inner classes, class literals, and instance initializers.

5. Teach yourself Java in 21 days

Professional Reference Edition.
(~1250 pages + CD-ROM / Very complete documentation for Java programmers).
One of the "bibles" for Java programming covering most of the Java topics, from the fundamental concepts of Java and object-oriented programming, to advanced Java concepts and techniques in network programming, security, native methods, and data modelling. It contains a 250-page reference section detailing the Java APIs and has been completely revised and updated to cover Java 1.1. Advanced Java topics such as development tools, the Java extension APIs, and Java beans are also included.

6. Not Just JAVA

(~300 pages / For everybody - e.g. project managers - who need to understand why Java and other Internet technologies are exploding in the software industry).
From the SUNSOFT Press JAVA Series.
Simple explanation of what is happening with Java, Internet (regarding networks) and the World Wide Web, and description of the main basic concepts and features.

7. How to Program Java (2nd edition)

(~1050 pages / Oriented towards writing applets for the Web)
A step-by-step tour of the Java programming language, more oriented towards applet programming for the Web, with lots of examples. It is designed to explain the "nuts and bolts" of the Java language, so you can make the most of your Web pages, turning them into dynamic, multimedia presentations.

8. JAVA 1.1 the Complete Reference

(~1000 pages / For middle- and well-advanced Java programmers of applets and stand-alone applications).
A complete reference of the Java programming language, including a comprehensive and precise description of the language and class libraries, and a complete coverage of the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT), a large collection of classes for building graphical user interfaces in Java. It contains practical examples on all of the language aspects, as well as expert techniques for improving performance.

9. Java Class Libraries

(~1700 pages / Version 1.1.2 class libraries reference for both novice and experienced programmers.)
Part of "The Java Series" books from Addison-Wesley.
Reference to the Java 1.1.2 version class libraries:

java.applet, java.awt - java.awt.datatransfer, 
java.awt.event, java.awt.image, java.awt.peer -, java.beans

. with a class index by alphabetical order.

10. Java Beans Developer Resource

(~350 pages + CD-ROM / For advanced Java Programmers who want to use Java Beans technology).
This books takes a hands-on approach to teaching the basics and advanced concepts of Java Beans technology with easy to understand examples and code fragments. The book is given with a CD-ROM which includes, apart from the major source code in the book (tested on Windows 95/NT and Solaris), the Java Developer's Kit 1.1.1, containing all the Beans classes and objects to build Java Beans applications (tested on Win32 and Solaris), and the Beans Developer's Kit (BDK).

11. Developing JAVA Beans

(~310 pages / For advanced Java Programmers who want to use Java Beans technology).
This is a complete introduction to Java's component architecture or Java Beans. The book discusses event adapters, serialization, introspection, property editors, and customizers, and shows how to use Beans within ActiveX controls.

JavaScript and Web programming

We shall note in this article that, for many users, there is some confusion between Java and JavaScript, which are two distinct products, even though they share some functionalities (i.e. programming for the Web) and have a similar syntax. Let us mention the existence of two books in the UCO catalogue in the categories WWW.HTML and WWW.Other related to that subject:

Using HTML 3.2 JAVA and CGI (Ladd,O'Donnell): expert coverage of advanced Web publishing technology, including HTML, Java, CGI, VBScript, JavaScript and more.
JavaScript (Flanagan): The Definitive Guide (2nd edition). This is a reference guide for JavaScript, and the only one presently sold at the UCO.