Core Java 2 , Volume 2: Advanced Features (4th Edition) Horstmann, Cay S. and Cornell, Gary

From Amazon Picking up where the authors' first volume on Java left off, Core Java 2, Volume 2 covers the more advanced features of the Java 2 platform that can add polish and power to your Java programs. The authors' accessible--yet thorough--coverage of essential Java APIs help make this book an attractive choice for any working Java developer. Several chapters here are especially useful for getting control of new and important Java 2 features. Sections on the new Java 2 collection classes and using advanced Swing classes (like tables and trees) are particularly good. (While many other books just list Swing APIs, this volume provides short examples and effective commentary, which will let you master these complex Swing controls.) When it comes to Java2D graphics, the authors do a nice job of comparing the old AWT to the new Java2D, including drawing basic shapes and doing text output. (These operations are surprisingly tricky in this new API). A section on the new JDBC 2 standard shows off new features like ResultSets and scrollable cursors to good effect. More advanced topics include multithreading, internationalization, and security. Throughout, this text introduces important concepts illustrated with comprehensible examples. The APIs for individual classes are listed too, making it possible to use this book as a reference, but it is the tutorial sections that stand out here. (The authors also aren't afraid to point out where Java 2 is lacking--for example, in its printing support.) Readers of the first volume will naturally want the second volume of Core Java 2 too. It's also a great choice for any Java developer with JDK 1.1 experience who wants a tour of new Java 2 features that are essential for serious corporate development. --Richard DraganTopics covered: Java 2 advanced APIs, multithreading and synchronization, Java 2 collections, networking, databases and JDBC 2 (cursors and result sets), RMI and remote objects, Swing user interface classes, printing, tables and trees, JavaBeans, security and deployment, internationalization issues, JNI and native methods. Product Description Demonstrates the advanced features of the most recent upgrade to the Java programming language From the Inside Flap To the readerThe book you have in your hands is the second volume of the fourth edition of Core Java. The first edition appeared in early 1996, the second in late 1996, and the third in 1997/1998. The first two editions appeared in a single volume, but the second edition was already 150 pages longer than the first, which was itself not a thin book. When we sat down to work on the third edition, it became clear that a one-volume treatment of all the features of the JavaTM platform that a serious programmer needs to know was no longer possible. Hence, we decided to break up the third edition into two volumes. In the fourth edition, we again organized the material into two volumes. However, we rearranged the materials, moving streams into volume 1 and collections into Volume 2.The first volume covers the essential features of the language; this volume covers the advanced topics that a programmer will need to know for professional software development. Thus, as with the first volume and the previous editions of this book, we still are targeting programmers who want to put Java technology to work on real projects. Please note: If you are an experienced developer who is comfortable with the new event model and advanced language features such as inner classes, you need not have read the first volume in order to benefit from this volume. (While we do refer to sections of the previous volume when appropriate and, of course, hope you will buy or have bought Volume 1, you can find the needed background material in any comprehensive introductory book about the Java platform.) Finally, when any book is being written, errors and inaccuracies are inevitable. We would very much like to hear about them. Of course, we woul