The Java Programming Language

by Ken Arnold, James Gosling, David Holmes

Direct from the creators of the Java(tm) programming language, this Third Edition of The Java(tm) Programming Language is a valuable resource for both novice and advanced programmers. More than 100,000 developers who programmed with C, C++, Smalltalk, or other high-level languages have used this book to get a concise, intelligent, and deep understanding of the Java programming language. This book is what you need to understand the basic design goals of the language and the application of the language in real-world development. It provides unique insights into why and how the language was designed and intended to be used. The authors describe the latest version of the language, as defined in the Java(tm) Language Specification, Second Edition and implemented in version 1.3 of the Java 2 SDK, Standard Edition. This third edition has been structured to give more in-depth treatment of the newer language features, as well as informative examples on using some of the new APIs. New and/or revised in this more details on language features, including an expanded section on nested classes more comprehensive treatment of garbage collection and related programming issues coverage of new APIs, such as collections and internationalization Thoroughly revised from start to finish, this edition fully covers the features of the current release of the Java programming language and class libraries. The book serves as a tutorial introduction to the language and essential libraries as well as a reference. Experienced programmers will find this new edition to be a valuable reference, and will gain new insights into the subtleties of the language. Novice and intermediate programmers will benefit from the valuable examples and clear explanations of language and library features. Make sure you understand the contents of this book before you begin any serious development for the Java platform.

Genres: Programming, Reference, Computer Science, Technical, Technology, Nonfiction, Computers

595 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[yacoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent books for anyone who:
- would like to learn programming in Java;
- already knows a programming language, ideally object-oriented one;
- doesn't want to subscribe to the Church of Design Pattern.

There's AND not OR between above items :D Very straight to the point and descriptive way of explaining things, even if a bit on the verbose side. Good read.

[Frank Palardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read an earlier shorter version.

[Christophe Addinquy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il est tentant de comparer ce livre aux ouvrages équivalents sur le C et le C++, chacun étant un "best seller" de la littérature informatique, voir un monument pour ce qui est du Kernighan & Ritchie. Par son abord du type "tutorial", cet ouvrage se rapproche plus justement du K&R, et c'est tant mieux car l'aspect pédagogique y gagne, les auteurs justifiant les choix du langage sur le plan de la conception (bien qu'ils en profitent pour défendre l'utilisation des accesseurs de façon éhontée). Les différents aspects du langage sont illustrés de façon heureuse par des extraits de code. Sur le plan du contenu, on remarquera un traitement plutôt superficiel des exceptions (les exceptions chaînées ne sont même pas traitées), tandis que les streams sont plutôt trop largement détaillés, plutôt à la façon d'un manuel de référence.
De façon générale, on regrettera un manque de profondeur dans le traitement des différents aspects du langage, contrairement au "C++ Programming Language" de Bjarne Stroustrup. Par exemple la "wait set" n'est pas abordée dans le traitement de la classe Object. Ceci en fait probablement un excellent tutorial introductif au langage qu'un livre exhaustif sur celui-ci. Toutefois n'oublions pas qu'il existe le "JLS" pour cela. Egalement au chapitre des criques, un comportement trop "autarcique" des auteurs qui ne font même par référence au "Design Pattern" quand ils parlent du pattern "Observer", ou désignent le C et le C++ comme des "langages apparentés sans jamais les citer (!) et proposent des diagrammes de classes avec leur propre notation en ignorant complètement UML. Enfin, on se régalera des nombreuses et excellentes citations qui émaillent largement l'ouvrage, ainsi que des exemples Unicode qui nous donnent un aperçu de nombreux langages et de leur spécificité linguistiques, tels que le Russe, le Mandarin, le Tamoul, Le Croatien, le Géorgien et le Lituanien !

[Rakesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is to Java what K&R's 'The C Programming Language' is to C.

(+) An excellent starting point for learning Java, clear explanations of OO concepts.

(-) Lacks concrete examples and code snippets.

I would suggest to have Java Examples in a Nutshell by David Flanagan as a companion to this text.

[Karan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty crappy explanations for most of the topics.
Had to refer to other books for more detailed and clear explanations.

[Davoud Rafati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book from java creators,
Best for start to learning java