Advanced Techniques for Java Developers: With CDROM

Advanced Techniques for Java Developers provides a good overivew of the newest Java technologies. Topics covered include JFC, Java Media, JavaBeans, EJB, RMI, JDBC, Servlets, Threads, Security, JNI, Network Computers and the Java OS. This breadth of topics gives the reader a good idea of where Java development is and what Java can do. The sections on JFC and 2-D/3-D media provided me with a needed update on the features of the Java 2 release. The also provides some good descriptions of the inner-workings of Java and the reasoning behind its design. This especially applies to the sections on Security and Threads.My main complaint about the book relates to the amount of "Preaching" and "Advertising" it does. At one point, the authors devote page after page to the advantages of OO programming and a Three Tiered Architecture. I think anyone reading an "Advanced Java" book would already see the advantages. Two chapters are devoted to promoting Network Computers and the subsequent description of the JavaOS. I found little value in these chapters.If you want to know what Java can do for you, then get this book. If you've already decided to use Java in you development and you need a detailed guide to a certain package (RMI, Servlets, Swing etc.) then this book won't meet all your needs.

There are thousands of books on Java and some are very good, for example ThinkinginJava, but this book is a cut above the rest in terms of how it explains the deep details of JVM and the Java design concepts, it also is amongst the first to discuss some very advanced java topics prior to any other. It is as if the javasoft developers wrote this book.

is the first advanced Java 2 book I have seen on the market. The book covers topics including JFC, Media, Networking, I/O, JavaBeans, Distributed Applicationns, RMI, JDBC, Servlets, EJB, Threading, Security, JNI, NC, and the JavaOS.This is an odd mix of topics. Some of the materials not really advanced like networking and I/O. Other topics are very technical in nature (e.g. threads). On the other hand, the book has some very non-technical topics like NC and the JavaOS. Overall though, most of the topics are handled well. The books actually excels in the less technical topics and is in some ways on par with "Not Just Java", an excellent non-technical analysis of Java. The technical topics are still covered pretty well though I saw a couple of technical errors. An example is "All of the Java libraries are thread safe." If it said "Almost all", I would have agreed. However, the collections API is not thread safe by default for performance reasons. From browsing Sun's bug database, it appears that parts of Swing are non-thread safe too. It definitely is a good book especially when discussing more Java market related issues such as the NC and the JavaOS.

I read this book before a series of job interviews, and by relating to my already existing knowledge of Java, I was able to discuss with confidence some of the emerging technologies in Java. Well I landed a great job and I have a better understanding of how all the pieces (EJB, Servlets, and RMI) fit together.

I think it's a very good book for any developers who want to have a general knowledge (with some little examples) about the new advanced technologies. I'd really like to have some other technical books as clear and full as this one...Thanks...