Dave's Java Resources
Last update: 199908.29

Important Note

The purpose of this page is to share with you Java related resources for which I can personally vouch. I am certain that there are many fine works that do not appear on this list. Direct comments to me, Dave Small, at dts@cise.ufl.edu.

Books

Just Java 2, 4th Edition

• Author: Peter van der Linden
• Pages: 776
• Published: 1999 by Prentice Hall
• Cover price: $44.99
• ISBN: 0-13-010534-1
• Comments: well organized and is both easy and fun to read. While its tone is tutorial, it is none the less useful as a reference book (I find that most books that are tutorial in nature make horrible references -- this one is one of the rare exceptions). It has a good overview of OO programming concepts and Java's APIs. It has an excellent layout (use of whitespace, fonts, images, etc.). Includes a CD with code examples, etc.

 

Java 2 for Professional Developers

Thinking in Java

• Author: Bruce Eckel
• Pages: 1098
• Published: 1998 by Prentice Hall
• Cover price: $39.95
• ISBN: 0-13-659723-8
• Comments: an excellent tutorial for the experienced programmer -- it is unique in its ability to clearly convey the philosophy behind OO programming in Java; however, those without a solid programming background will probably find it confusing. Good coverage of OO programming concepts, including some design patterns. Unfortunately, the book's layout is awful -- there is so much good information in this book, but it's all crammed together -- despite there being 1000+ pages! The full text of the book (and other goodies) is available online at http://www.BruceEckel.com.

A Little Java, A Few Patterns

• Author: Matthias Felleisen and Daniel P. Friedman
• Pages: 180
• Published: 1998 by The MIT Press
• Cover price: not listed (I think it's about $25)
• ISBN: 0-262-56115-8
• Comments: a quirky, entertaining "introduction" to Java and design patterns. This is a programmed learning book (i.e., each page has several questions on left side, and the answers on the right; the idea is that you answer a question, check your answer, think about what you just learned, and then move on to the next question). This book does not contain formal definitions; rather, it illustrates concepts so that you can gain an intuitive understanding. I'd only recommend this book to someone who already has some programming experience -- especially because some of the notation is a bit confusing at first.

Java 1.1: The Complete Reference, 2nd edition

• Author: Patrick Naughton, and Herbert Schildt
• Pages: 1028
• Published: 1997 by Osborne McGraw-Hill
• Cover price: $39.95
• ISBN: 0078824362
• Comments: I have the first edition, but if the second is anything like its predecessor, it'll be a pretty solid reference book with lots of code examples, coverage of all the libraries, and clear discussions of syntactic and semantic issues. Reasonable layout. Good index.

Periodicals

Java Report

• Published: SIGS Publications
• Cover price: $4.95/issue or $39/year
• Comments: My first impression was, "This is just fluff." But, it turns out that buried amongst the fluff are a couple technically interesting articles in each issue. A some sample articles are online at http://www.javareport.com/.

 

Java World

• Published: IDG
• Cover price: ???
• Comments: Excellent articles. Read it online at http://www.javaworld.com/. What's the catch? Cookies and irritatating animated advertisements.

Major Web Sites

These are the Java related web sites that I visit most frequently. There are many, many more in my bookmark file, which at some future time, I may organize and present here.

JavaSoft - Sun's Java Homepage

• Corporate Sponsor: Sun
• URL: http://www.javasoft.com/
• Comments: This is the source. Online documentation, tutorials, free software, etc. If you haven't already signed up for your free membership to the JDC (Java Developer Connection), do it now!

alphaWorks - Home of the latest technologies from IBM Research

• Corporate Sponsor: IBM
• URL: http://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com/
• Comments: If you are wanting interesting toys (that is a high complement, not a pejorative) to play with, look here. IBM has spent a lot of money on developing Java technologies. Lots of interesting information and free goodies are available on their web sites. You may also want to visit their Java Home (http://www.ibm.com/java/ ) which is billed as "The Ultimate Resource for Java Developers."

Gamelan - The Official Directory for Java

• Corporate Sponsor: Developer.com
• URL: http://www.gamelan.com/
• Comments: This is a great site for finding both free and commercial goodies. It has Sun's seal of approval.

Cafe au Lait - Java FAQs, News, and Resources

• Maintainer: Elliotte Rusty Harold
• URL: http://sunsite.unc.edu/javafaq/
• Comments: A frequently updated site with lots of breaking news and topical discussions.

Free Tools

There are a lot of good tools out there, but there are a few that you must have. And even better, they won't cost you a dime.

JDK (Java Development Kit)

• Publisher: Sun
• URL: http://www.javasoft.com/
• Comments: Get this first. Don't forget to download the "online" documentation too -- having a local copy is extremely handy.

Together/J, Whiteboard Edition

• Publisher: Object International
• URL: http://www.togetherj.com/
• Comments: A very slick UML modeling tool. Quickly converts Java code into UML diagrams, and vice-versa. The whiteboard edition is free (for now). Get it while you can.

Emacs JDE (Java Development Environment)

• Publisher: Paul Kinnucan
• URL: http://sunsite.auc.dk/jde/
• Comments: If you use emacs (in a windowed environment) for editing code, then you want this package. It adds class browsing, font-locking (using colors to help visually differentiate the syntactically distinct elements of the source code), etc.