Java Application Development on Linux

Java and Linux have come a long way since their respective introductions. Java is a serious contender as a platform for application development on the web, while Linux is widely regarded as an excellent platform for developing applications. For those who haven't kept current with Java development since the heady days of applet development, the myriad of Java technologies can look like a morass of car parts, musical genres, and acronyms. Java Application Development on Linux helps make sense of the current Java technologies and developments, while ensuring that the reader uses Open Source technologies as much as possible from start to finish. Part one of Java Application Development on Linux covers the Linux and Java foundations used in the rest of the book. Chapter one covers the fundamentals of UNIX and Linux by introducing Standard I/O, Pipes, Environment Variables, and rudimentary commands such as ls, find, chmod, tar, and man. Next, the authors introduce the venerable vi editor. The basic moves of vi are explained as well as regular expressions. (Lest other editor afficianados complain, other editors, as well as sed, are introduced, but not fully covered). Chapter 3 is a whirlwind tour of the fundamentals of Java and Object Oriented programming. This chapter is an admirable distillation of the concepts of Java, but by no means will it teach a rank beginner all of the points needed for full Java proficiency. Chapter 4 ties the first three chapters together by creating a simple Java program, compiling it, and reditecting input streams into the compiled program. The latter part of the chapter deals with incorporating environment variables into Java code using getProperties() and getproperty(), and with executing code via the Runtime class. Next, the book looks back at the Sun JDK, providing an overview of the Java Compiler, the Java Runtime, javadoc, JNI, and RMI, the Java Debugger (jdb), and jar. Chapter 6 is a quick look at the IBM Developer kit, and then it's on to chapters covering The GNU Java Compiler (gcj) and CVS. Chapter 9 picks up with Ant, and provides a look at why Ant was created and how to create buildfiles. Chapters 10 rounds out the first part of the book with an unfortunately dated look at Netbeans 3 and Eclipse 2 (both of which have recently released radically updated versions). Part two of Java Application Development on Linux is entitled "Developing Business Logic". Chapter 11 covers the not-so-fun portions of development: requirements gathering and prototyping. This chapter also introduces a budget analysis project used throughout the rest of the book. Chapter 12 covers Analysis and Design, while chapter 13 covers everybody's favorite part of development: testing! Chapter 13 discusses installing and using JUnit to create automated test cases. The last two chapters in part two cover using a databases and JDBC together. Part three dips into Graphical interfaces, and gives equal time for both Swing and SWT. Both toolkits are

Yes, another Java book. And this time it is specifically about developing applications on Java to run on Linux. What, Java is supposedly write once - run many so that it will work on just about any platform. OK, when you are developing something it often turns out that you do something specific that makes it rather tied to a particular platform. And if you are starting out on the development of a business application today, you're likely to at least think about doing it on Linux. So this book concentrates on combining Linux with Java. That way it can talk about the wide range of libraries, tools, GUIs, and other developmental assistance that really begins to tie the operating system together with the programming language. Probably some of the purists out there will complain, but this is a good place to start thinking about the application you need to write.

Java was developed to be a cross-platform language. "Write Once, Run Anywhere" is the slogan, and an admirable ideal to attempt to reach. So when I first saw the title of the book Java Application Development on Linux, I expected to find descriptions of some idiosyncrasies in the Linux environment that affected the "Run Anywhere" part of the equation. What I got was a lot more. The authors, Carl Albing and Michael Schwarz, chose to create a book that is a complete guide to writing commercial-quality Java programs. They focused on how to use the tools of Linux to assist in the creation of Java programs. The book is broken up into five major parts: Getting Started, Developing Business Logic, Developing Graphical User Interfaces, Developing Web Interfaces, and Developing Enterprise Scale Software. Each chapter is self-contained, and the reader can choose what they read without losing track. Each chapter starts with a summary of what you'll learn, and concludes with a "What You Still Don't Know" section. Part I provides a 10-chapter overview of Linux, Java, the SDK's (Software Development Kits) from Sun and IBM, version control via CVS, and IDEs. The first two chapters cover a sampling of command-line Linux, plus the Vi editor to create your programs. Chapter 3 gives you a overview of the Java language, and Chapter 4 covers how the program can deal with the context in which it's running. The next two chapters cover Sun's SDK and IBM's development kit (briefly). Chapter 7 describes how to use the GNU Compiler for Java (gcj) to create native-code programs. Larger programs definitely need some form of source control, so the widely available Concurrent Versioning System (CVS) is clearly described out. For building and deploying the numerous files of a larger project, Ant provides value beyond what the make facility can offer. Finally, Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are covered. The focus is on NetBeans, but SunONE Studio Community Edition and Eclipse are also covered. If the book stopped after Part I, you would still have a valuable addition to your bookshelf. However, Part II continues with a five-chapter discussion on how to get requirements, documentation, and buy-in; how to analyze the program and discover the objects to be created; automated testing with JUnit; storing data in databases using Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL; and using the Java Database Connector (JDBC) to access them. Most users want some form of a graphical user interface (GUI) to access the program and their data. Part III describe how to create a GUI using Swing and the Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT). By far the most popular way to access programs is via a browser. Part IV describes Java Servlets and JSP (JavaServer Pages), and also talks about two Java-based web application servers (JBoss and Geronimo). Finally, Part V covers Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) in what the authors describe as "an almost criminally brief introduction". While it is definitely an overview,

Hi. This book covers many aspects of Java development under Linux without losing the reader in the details. To achieve that, the authors gave many references throughout the book in order to direct the reader to more in depth coverage of the subject. My only disappointment is not to find the hyperlink to the book's web site in introduction. Moreover, the site (www.javalinuxbook.com) does not contain much information to complement the book. For example, it would be great to find the list of all the hyperlinks given in reference in the book. This book is not intended for beginners but initiates in OOP and Linux. An excellent book of reference, well written, strongly recommended for those whishing to begin Java development under Linux and don't know where to start!

Of course! Java and Linux make a great combination, and it's high time we had a practical guidebook for the full lifecycle. I could have poured through thousands of homebrewed man pages, but Albing and Schwarz distill all that into a readable, high-quality book. Well worth the investment.