Java in a Nutshell
| Author | David Flanagan |
| Publisher | O'Reilly |
| ISBN | 156592262X |
| Experience Level | Medium-Expert |
Java in a Nutshell 2 Ed. is the sequel to the highly successful reference by David Flanagan. Java in a Nutshell offers a comprehensive look at the Java language, covering a wide range of topics from applets and the AWT (abstract windowing toolkit), to networking, security, and new JDK 1.1 related issues such as JavaBeans and serialization.
One of the strongest features of Java in a Nutshell is its section on the differences between C++ and Java. It describes differences in language syntax, how objects differ from C++ to Java, as well as basic data type differences such as strings and arrays. The section also covers changes in exception handling, and shows C++ features not present in Java such as typedef and enumerated types.
Java in a Nutshell provides plenty of examples, and gives a good description of how the code in each works. It also contains a complete API reference, which makes learning the basic classes a breeze. Without a doubt, Java in a Nutshell is a valuable reference to any Java programmer's bookshelf (though those unfamiliar with C++ may want to obtain an additional book which is aimed at a less experienced audience).