The Java Developers Almanac 1999

I have about a half-dozen java books. I recently discovered this one, even though it's been on my shelf for awhile. Now, it's the only one I use.

The Java Developers ALMANAC 1999 is literally one the best "desk references" that I've every seen - period. Its "architecture" makes navigating the vast Java class library very easy. Clever use of bold text formatting and a terse set of symbols representing modifiers and OO concepts make this a very "dense" reference in a relatively small volume. The text is printed on a very high quality finished paper that enhances visiblity and page turning (a real plus when working under low-level task lighting at the computer display). Others have remarked about what this volume lacks but when you consider the explosion of Java this book would have to be reprinted on monthly basis to keep up. In summary, I've only been involved in learning Java for less than 3 months. This book has been my constant companion and I believe it has contributed significantly to my understanding of the JFC.

I'm a beginner to the java environment, but not to the programming scene, and this book has been extremely helpful. You need to first realize though that this is a reference manual, not something that you can read from cover to cover and learn java in 21 days. It's a great source of information for the classes within java, and I'd highly recommend this to anyone who has C/C++ experience who wants to make that leap to java.

I've been using the 1998 edition literally ALL the time and found it to be indispensible to any Java task. It becomes more so as you use it.The only problem I have is the actual physical aspect of the book. I preferred its old compact size and the paper texture but apart from that this is a great book that got greater.

Like everything else in the Addison Wesley "Java Series", this book is the best available of its type. This is the book I go to first when I have a question about a class or method. If I need more info, I pull out the appropriate volume of the Java Class Libraries, Second Edition. If I need still more info, I look in one of the Java Tutorial books. With the 1998 edition, I found myself usually going beyond step 1 in the above process. That edition just didn't have much of the info I needed, and it was presented rather poorly. That's all changed in the 1999 edition. This book is bigger, better laid out, and has very well-done Examplets to help jar your memory about a particular class or method.If you need to learn the basics of the Java language, you should still pass this one by. The Java Tutorial and Java Tutorial Continued are good teaching tools, while this is a pure reference work. But if you know enough about Java to get by but need something to help you remember the signature of a given method, then buy this book!