Learning Java

Patrick Niemeyer (pat@pat.net) became involved with Oak (Java's predecessor) while working at Southwestern Bell Technology Resources. He is currently an independent consultant and author in the areas of networking and distributed applications. Most recently, Pat developed components for the client/server migration at Edward Jones & Co. and communications software for Strata-Group, Inc. Pat is the author of BeanShell, an embeddable Java scripting language, and various other free goodies available on the Internet. He currently lives in the Central West End area of St. Louis with some cats and other creatures. Jonathan B. Knudsen (jonathan@oreilly.com) is an editor for O?Reilly & Associates, a job that allows him to exercise the right and left sides of his brain but little of his body. In 1977, when Jonathan was knee-high to a grasshopper, he began his computer career by programming in BASIC on a TRS-80. In 1993, he graduated cum laude from Princeton with a degree in mechanical engineering. Jonathan is still unsure what mechanical engineers do for a living. He is author of Java Cryptography, Java 2D Graphics, and The Unofficial Guide to LEGO(TM) MINDSTORMS(R) Robots. He writes a monthly online column called "Bite-Size Java" and has authored articles about LEGO robotics for the O?Reilly Network. Jonathan lives in New Jersey with his wife and technical advisor, Kristen, his children, Daphne, Luke, and Andrew, and two black and white cats. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the piano and bicycling.

Preface. 1. Yet Another Language? Enter Java A Virtual Machine Java Compared with Other Languages Safety of Design Safety of Implementation Application and User-Level Security Java and the World Wide Web Java as a General Application Language A Java Road Map. 2. A First Application HelloJava1 HelloJava2: The Sequel HelloJava3: The Button Strikes! HelloJava4: Netscape's Revenge. 3. Tools of the Trade The Java Interpreter Policy Files The Class Path The Java Compiler Java Archive (JAR) Files. 4. The Java Language Text Encoding Comments Types Statements and Expressions Exceptions Arrays. 5. Objects in Java Classes Methods Object Creation Object Destruction. 6. Relationships Among Classes Subclassing and Inheritance Interfaces Packages and Compilation Units Visibility of Variables and Methods Arrays and the Class Hierarchy Inner Classes. 7. Working with Objects and Classes The Object Class The Class Class Reflection. 8. Threads Introducing Threads Threads in Applets Synchronization Scheduling and Priority Thread Groups. 9. Basic Utility Classes Strings Math Utilities Dates Timers Collections Properties The Security Manager Internationalization. 10. Input/Output Facilities Streams Files Serialization Data Compression. 11. Network Programming with Sockets and RMI Sockets Datagram Sockets Simple Serialized Object Protocols Remote Method Invocation (RMI). 12. Programming for the Web Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) The URL Class Web Browsers and Handlers Talking to CGI Programs and Servlets Implementing Servlets 13. Swing Components Containers Events Event Summary Multithreading in Swing. 14. Using Swing Components Buttons and Labels Checkboxes and Radio Buttons Lists and Combo Boxes Borders Menus The PopupMenu Class The JScrollPane Class The JSplitPane Class The JTabbedPane Class Scrollbars and Sliders Dialogs 15. More Swing Components Text Components Trees Tables Desktops Pluggable Look-and-Feel Creating Custom Components. 16. Layout Managers FlowLayout GridLayout BorderLayout BoxLayout CardLayout GridBagLayout Nonstandard Layout Managers Absolute Positioning. 17. Drawing with the 2D API The Big Picture The Rendering Pipeline A Quick Tour of Java 2D Filling Shapes Stroking Shape Outlines Using Fonts Displaying Images Using Drawing Techniques Printing. 18. Working with Images and Other Media Implementing an ImageObserver Using a MediaTracker Producing Image Data Filtering Image Data Working with Audio Working with Movies. 19. Java Beans What's a Bean? Building Beans Hand-Coding with Beans Putting Reflection to Work BeanContext and BeanContextServices The Java Activation Framework Enterprise JavaBeans. 20. Applets The JApplet Class The APPLET Tag Using the Java Plug-in Using Digital Signatures A. Content and Protocol Handlers B. BeanShell: Simple Java Scripting Glossary Index