This is the single best book I have seen or read about Java to date. Bloch, who has been involved in the development of the latest versions of the Java language and specification, does not teach how to write Java code; he teaches how to write GOOD Java code.

This is a MUST READ for anyone who plans to write more than a little bit of Java code. But not only that, it is fairly easy to read and rather interesting.

I had a few second thoughts after writing the review above, so I thought I'd better add More...

import java.util.Scanner;
public class JavaApplication54 {

/**
* @param args the command line arguments
*/
public static void main(String[] args) {
// TODO code application logic here
Scanner in= new Scanner (System.in);
System.out.println("enter your name");
String a=in.next();
System.out.println("enter math marks in quiz 1");
int b=in.nextInt();
System.out.println("enter your math quiz marks in quiz 2");
int c=in.nextInt();
System.out.println("enter your math test mark in test 1");
int d=in.nex More...

This is a unique and very worthwhile work for experienced Java developers who want to take their Java skills to the next level. It assumes that the reader is fully comfortable programming in Java, and gives a collection of tips on how to exploit certain language features, how to avoid various pitfalls, and so forth. The book makes frequent reference to design patterns, but it is not a design patterns book. It is also distinct from a “software engineering” book, but rather concentrates on aspects More...

If most programmers consider Core Java to be the best book for beginners, they should think about “Effective Java” as the best book for intermediate and more advanced Java programmers.
After this book my awareness about how good Java code should look like improved a lot. I learnt a lot of interesting and useful approaches to developing code in different situations. And, in spite of being heavily packed of knowledge, I can not say that reading this book was difficult. It was a nice lecture althoug More...

Although it is a bit outdated, 90% of the book contains great advise for any Java programmer. If you have not read this then you do not know how to program Java.
-m

Points out loads of really important pitfalls that you really should know if you want to write quality code. In a style that's informative and enjoyable.

Score: 3.5/5

Effective Java: even the title is concise and to-the-point, like the rest of the book's writing. This is not a book for beginners, but rather a book on general software design concepts, particularly with respect to Java itself. The book is organized into a few dozen "items", most of which follow this format:
1) "Here's a suggestion. You should probably follow it."
2) "Here's an example of following it, here's an example of why not following it is bad, and here's an example of when you More...

This book impressed me with the amount of practical use-cases of Java subtleties and intricacies -- for example, the proper implementation of "equals" method in classes.

The author not only shows us some common misconceptions about the "low level" Java mechanics (not the native level, but the basics of the language and the Java API), but also gives us many examples from his rich carreer.

It is my opinion that understanding the basics of Java (it turns out many of us don't) is the key to avoiding m More...

If you program Java, you must read this book. You won't learn any new syntax, language feature, library, or framework, but you will be a much better programmer as a result of reading this book. Its the best anything on Java I have read. I don't agree with 100% of the material in this book, but Joshua Bloch has a strong, clear opinions and he argues them well. This book is so good, I think you should read it even if you aren't a Java programmer but program C#, C++, or something else along those l More...

As Java evolves and there are more ways to do things, it's getting more important to learn which idioms to use to benefit from library and language features. Effective Java is a well written book that will help new programmers learn how the right way to solve problems, and provide experienced programmers with a refresher course so that they can break out of bad habits, and make use of new library and language features. Read or skim the book from start to finish to get a sense of what's there, an More...

I came to love this book already after I have had read the first edition of it. I didn't know much about it before that. I had just heard that it is good but I was just knocked and my first impression was that I should have read this book already a lot earlier! I read the first edition two times to catch as much as possible from it. I am not sure if I have read the second edition two or three times now to repeat it and update myself when it have been a while since my last reading. Anyone that ca More...

Effective Java is THE BOOK you want to read first when you start writing Java code professionally (for a living).

In the style of Scott Meyer's C++ books, Joshua Bloch - the head behind several modern Java libraries - presents the essential tricks of the trade and best practises when it comes to Java programming. This is essential when you want to write highly maintainable, efficient modern Java code.

The second edition puts a lot of emphasis on all the new language features that came with Java 5 More...

A book full of good ideas for the professional Java programmer. One of the advantages of owning this book is that it settles a lot of arguments. Not sure when to use checked exceptions or don't know what is the best practice for implementing singleton? no problem just open the book and read what Joshua Bloch thinks on the topic. Since Joshua wrote a great deal of the JDK, you can learn from the master.

Another good book from Joshua Bloch. Gives lots of tips on how one should write good and right code in Java. This is a precursor to Java Puzzlers which is more about how one can introduce subtle errors in Java unwittingly.
Although the book is based on JDK 1.4 (the edition that I read was the older edition the newer edition has been upgraded to include topics like generics) most of what has been mentioned is relevant even for JDK 1.7.
Most of these rules/best practices have found their way into st More...

I like everything about this book. The reason why it exists - not to teach the grammar of the language, but to discuss how community uses it best. Languages are beyond their syntax. This book helps to figure out that **beyond** and also prepares you to handle the language well. Prepares you not to/ less abuse it.

This isn't a book to read from cover-to-cover. As long as you're associated with Java, this book should be handy. MUST READ for Java folks.

If you have already done a few years of programming in an object oriented programming language like Java, this book might make you very uncomfortable. More than saying what to do, this book stresses on what not to do in Java and you'll thank for it in the long term.

The tips are organised into items each of few pages and can be read independently.

- If you make a living as a java developer, then I recommend you read this book. This book very clear about the dos and don'ts in java. However, this book usually look things from the perspective of creating library so it's hard to get their point for sure.
- I definitely need to read this book again and it's definitely a good reference book.

A must read for any Java programmer - this is probably the best book on Java programming I have ever read!

I have learnt a lot from this book and I'm sure there is a lot more to learn on a 2nd or even 3rd reading (or perhaps more likely referencing it as relevant topics pop up in future projects).

Definitely the best Java book I've ever read. Bloch has extremely important and useful tips for just about every aspect of Java programming. Following his tips will make your code more robust, secure, easy to maintenance, and overall more likely to fulfill it's purpose with less trouble.

Lots of helpful advice and considerations for programming in Java as well as programming in general. Programmers experienced in other OOP languages will probably find some of the advice rather obvious, but still, plenty of Java-specific ideas to justify the purchase price.

Must read for intermediate Java programmers. This book reviews some good practices and useful design patterns, and most importantly, warn you of all the dubious parts of the Java standards library that you would do well to avoid (ThreadGroup comes to mind).

Very, very useful. This is a book about best practices in Java, some of them I was already using, and I really recommend them. Others I didn't know of, and helped in code I'm currently working on.

Highly recommend it, if you want to write good Java code.

A must read for every java programmer. Issue with Java and Design patterns is, we learn how to use, and for get how not to use. This book is an excellent explanation for each recommendations. quite small book...no huge bible which you cant finish.

Easy to read for a programming book. Great information about the best way to use java. Also contains many sections detailing how changes in java affect how you should implement your code.

Excellent for Java developers keeping current on Java

Amazing book that I would recommend every Java developer have in his library. This book covers the best practices aspects of programming Java that are pretty hard to pick up without years and years of trial and error and seeing what works best.

After attending a very interesting presentation by its author at Devoxx 2008, I bought the book (even got an author dedicace) and really don't regret it. It's full of tips and patterns essential if you want to write state of the art code.

Java Programmer? Read it!

Good stuff on interfaces and singletons. Too much to absorb in one reading, really. Then try to convince your co-workers to actually use some of it. That is the really hard part!

This is NOT a book for beginners.

That said, I'm liking this book more and more as I cross over from beginner to intermediate Java. It doesn't tell you what you can do, but what you should do. That's a critical thing in learning a new language, especially one as complex as Java.

Essential reading for every Java developer. More advanced than a language intro, but suitable for both motivated beginners and experienced programmers. Re-read this every few years.

Liked the 1st Edition so much I paid for the updated and expanded 2nd Edition. My co-workers and I are known to quote from St. Bloch when arguing for better software design.