Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference
Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference by David Flanagan
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Number of Pages:
- 752
- ISBN:
- 1565924886
- Product Group:
- book
- Publisher:
- O'Reilly Media
- Publication Date:
- None
- BooksForGeeks.com ID:
- 1342
JFC is positioned between O'Reilly's Java In a Nutshell and JavaEnterprise titles. It's really two books in that the first seven chapters (to page 136) are entirely concerned with the graphics and graphical user interface APIs in Java 2. There are lots of examples, mainly using Swing, which augments AWT.
Although it covers a lot of ground quickly, Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell does a good job of discussing the differences from Java 1.0and 1.2. It also explains a lot of the real world usage issues which arise when constructing Java interfaces.
The majority of the book, however, is class references for the various Java 2 packages. Each chapter deals with one class, starting with an overview and heirarchy diagram. The references are arranged alphabetically by class and package, so you need to know the package the class is in to find it quickly.
This reviewer finds the layout and typography of O'Reilly's reference sections difficult to read with so much of the rather small text being embedded in dark grey. It doesn't photocopy well either. However, it does the job as a complete reference. --Steve Patient
Reviews for Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference
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The best reference book for Java(TM) ever(?).
Rated out of 5 stars, November 12nd, 2002
I program in Java for about four years now and I strongly believe that a reference book turns up to be really valuable quite often, especially when you program seriously.It won't be of great value if all you want to do with Java is something just very simple or quite simple (like most school assignments), but you will definitely need it if you want to go any further in experimenting with the capabilities of this programming language. In other words this normally shouldn't be your first book for Java but I consider it to be a must after a while.
This is the book you will know you need when you find yourself up late in front of your computer facing a reall problem. This book is the best reference book I ever owned and I recommend that anyone programming in Java should have this book in his library(actually I think you better have it constantly open on your desk).
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A must have reference
Rated out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2000
The only problem with this book is that the binding is not up to its perpetual use. If you code JFC then this book, along with "Java in a Nutshell" are the most important references. This book is not a study book, it has no "howto" value but when you have learned the principles this book is essential for any serious coding. -
All Java programmers should buy this book.
Rated out of 5 stars, April 12nd, 2000
Let's put it simply shall we? If you program java seriously, then you *must* buy this book. I've had mine open on my desk for the past week now, and I refer back to it every five minutes.Recently the size of the Java programming language got a lot bigger with the introduction of the Java Foundation Classes, and it's getting harder and harder to keep track and know about all the classes. This is where this book comes in. Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell covers all the JFC classes briefly, listing all the methods for all the objects one by one with a brief summery of all the most important methods and guidelines for how the class can be best utilised given at the start of each class. This method allows you to use the book as a quick reference helping you get right to the most important information quickly. JFC in a Nutshell also lists important details like what version of Java the classes and methods described were introduced in, indicates if methods are depricated, and states what the default values are for methods if there are any.
If you buy this book then I highly recommend also buying Java in a Nutshell Third Edition that covers the other half of the Java language in the same detail.