Java: The Good Parts [Paperback]

As a professional C++ programmer, I found this a fascinating introduction to what features distinguish the Java environment, either because they are novel to the language or because the language supports them particularly well. The author clearly has a strong point of view, which he shares without being overbearing.

Unfortunately, the book contains several errors in the code examples. Some are significant enough that I noticed them even as a non-Java programmer. Several examples are obviously early versions of program code, or cases where the code was not updated to match edits to the text. That makes me worried that there are more subtle errors that I couldn't see. Not all mistakes are on this errata list, but it's a start: [...]

It's an interesting read and I thought it was worth the time and money.

I consider myself of middling competence in Java. I have only used the language for three or four years but that is on the back of many years of C etc. I am skilled enough to be a developer in a couple of Java-based, open source projects and it's my day to day workhorse. So when I purchased this book I wasn't looking for a basic text, but rather for something that might help sift wheat from chaff at the level of intermediate to advanced language usage. I don't think that's what I got.

In places the book has an essay style which I quite like. The author worked at Sun Labs during Java's inception and his anecdotes about this time are interesting and often enlightening. On the other hand, the chapters, each of which discusses one of the author's chosen good parts of the language, are a very mixed bag both in terms of the apparent level of the audience that they are aimed at, and the worth of the topics themselves. The author states that this is not a textbook, yet much of the text is very didactic, especially the chapters on exceptions and javadocs, both of which I found of little value. I was puzzled to find the Collections chapter, which is half way through the book, explaining at length the difference between a List and a Set. This is very much newbie material, yet earlier chapters assumed that the reader had at least conceptual knowledge of virtual machines and knew the difference between an interpreter and a compiler. Then there are odd gaps: for instance the chapter on garbage collection discusses how memory leaks can occur in Java programs, but makes no mention of WeakReference and related classes.

I wouldn't say that I regret buying the book - the author's style is generally easy to read and I have learned some interesting things about Java's birth and subsequent development, but this was mostly from the digressions in the text rather than the main thread. Another reviewer has pointed to errors in the code examples which I also noticed. Moreover, I think the text itself, both the choice of chapter topics, the confusion over the level of the reader, repetition within chapters and the obvious gaps, all point to a book that would have greatly benefited from another draft or two and some better editing.

I feel the need to put up a review here to help potential readers of this book. I was excited to see this book appear on the shelves and bought a copy early on at one of the big box bookstores. The reason: I was familiar with O-Reilly's similar book for JavaScript that they published a couple years ago, and was well aware of what to expect.

This book is not a Java textbook. The perfect audience for this book would be someone familiar with Java, who wants to "crank up" their Java coding to a higher level. There are many times in writing software in Java that a programmer can choose various ways to handle a particular situation. I have a lot of Java textbooks that I can consult with particular recommendations on a variety of design topics. The problem is that 1) they can quickly be out of date, and 2) they can contradict other Java texts and leave one wondering who is correct. At the very least, we can hope for an author of a Java text that clearly explains alternatives and then makes a recommendation. This is somewhat rare in Java texts, due to the complexity of the language. In fact, my favorite book on Java as a language is Core Java, by Horstmann and Cornell, which is comprised of two very large volumes and over 1800 pages:

Core Java(TM), Volume I--Fundamentals (8th Edition)
Core Java, Volume II--Advanced Features

This book, on the other hand, chooses to look at the most important features of Java that set it apart from other object-oriented languages. Each aspect gets its own chapter and a surprisingly deep coverage considering this book is a mere 175 pages or so in length.

If you are already somewhat familiar with Java and need a good book to motivate you a little and reinforce good practices, this is a great choice. The sections on exceptions and interfaces are superb for nearly any Java programmer to read, while the more advanced topics can serve as either reinforcement of good design principles, or as an introduction to those topics, for someone wanting to know more about how and why they are in Java in the first place.

The book is also written in an effective, friendly (and at times hilariously sarcastic) tone.