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Hardcore Java: Secrets of the Java Masters 1st Edition

4.0 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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Java has quickly become one of the most important languages in programming, particularly for professional and enterprise-level projects. From its infancy as a language primarily used for web applets to its maturity through servlets, Enterprise JavaBeans, and database access, Java has become a complex and robust tool for today's developer. Hardcore Java takes this language and breaks it apart, piece by piece, revealing the important secrets and tricks that will take you from a junior-level programmer to a seasoned and expert developer. You'll fly through the fundamentals and quickly find yourself learning about advanced memory management techniques, optimization and bytecode-level enhancements, and the techniques required to build lightning-fast GUIs. Throughout the book, you'll also master the art of writing and maintaining bulletproof and error-proof code, all while grasping the intricacies of the Java language. Hardcore Java covers:
  • Use of the final keyword to optimize and protect your Java classes.
  • Complete and thorough coverage of all types of nested classes, including how to optimize anonymous and inner classes.
  • Detailed discussion of immutable objects, including unique tips on when to use them (and when not to).
  • Elimination of bugs through exception-handling management.
  • In-depth studies of constants, including their impact on the Java memory model.
  • The most thorough discussion of reflection in print, moving far beyond other books' "Hello World" coverage.
  • Construction and use of dynamic proxies, in both Java Standard and Enterprise editions.
  • Expansive coverage of weak references, including usage patterns and their role in garbage collection and memory management.
Hardcore Java is an invaluable addition to every programmer's library, and even the most advanced developers will find themselves moving beyond their own conceptions into truly advanced applications of the language. Thousands of lines of code, heavily commented and easily runnable, illustrate each concept in the book.

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Amazon.com Review

Just as software development is an iterative process in which an application is never truly "done," the education of a developer should continue for years. You can use Hardcore Java as a guide to the transition from novice Java programmer to journeyman, or as a map to parts of the language you haven't explored (or explored adequately) in your development work to date. Because of those design goals, this book is something of a catch-all, covering about a dozen general topics ranging from exception-handling to nested classes (and interfaces!) and the reflection API. The coverage clearly derives from the author's "lessons learned" notes, and they're rich with information. If nothing in this book surprises you, you're probably very experienced with Java.

In addition to this book's tutorial function, Hardcore Java puts forth and defends a number of opinions about the design and style of Java software. One example: After explaining how bit fields work--bit fields aren't widely used in Java programming, and their advantages may be interesting to some programmers--Robert Simmons points out that they're inherently limited in their ability to contain data, and that this can cause problems. This is the kind of design tradeoff that more advanced Java programmers have to consider, and Simmons does the Java community a service by showing programmers how to think critically about the capabilities of their language. --David Wall

Topics covered: Advanced Java topics, including final constants, collections, exception handling, and nested classes. There's a useful bit about getting customers to help you design the data models they need, and very extensive coverage of reflection.

About the Author

Robert Simmons, Jr. started programming when floppy disks were really floppy and 64 kilobytes of RAM was considered state of the art. From his early days of programming BASIC and Logo on an Apple IIe, he advanced through Pascal and C to arrive in the object oriented realm of C++. When Java first came out, he knew that the infant language would become a serious player amongst corporations; Robert learned Java and began using it as his primary language for programming in 1997. Although Robert is American, he lives and works as a Senior Software Architect in Germany.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ O'Reilly Media
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 20, 2004
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0596005687
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0596005689
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.28 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.85 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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4 out of 5 stars
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Customers find the book readable, with one mentioning it's a weekend read. They consider it good value for money.

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4 customers mention "Readability"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read, with one mentioning it's a weekend read and another noting its cool writing style.

"...from c++ with some limited Java experience and this book is quite readable for me.(I'm only up to page 42, but understanding everything..) His code..." Read more

"...The author has a cool writing sytle and he really thinks he is a Java Guru. I am not saying that he is not...." Read more

"...It's easily a weekend read as well." Read more

"...On the up side, the book read fairly well. If you don't know Java and are fairly new to programming you might find the book helpful...." Read more

3 customers mention "Value for money"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth their time and money.

"...in java for less than a year or two I'm sure this book is worth your time." Read more

"...For it's price, it's not bad, it seems relatively cheap compared to many books on the subject. It's easily a weekend read as well." Read more

"Good book, however Java 5 features chapter needs to be extended, especially about generics, PECS pattern. Waiting for new edition!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2004
    The author makes the point in the preface that this book is intended for an intermediate to advanced audience. I'm coming from c++ with some limited Java experience and this book is quite readable for me.(I'm only up to page 42, but understanding everything..) His code examples are well done. I think the value of this book is in all the little gotchas you might otherwise have to learn about at the debug stage.
    Funny how many of the subtle issues from c++ show up in java, only manifesting themselves somewhat differently. This book has stuff from jdk 1.4 like assert and shows how to take advantage of it. Simmons exhibits techniques that make for more elegant, less redundant code. If you've been programming in java for less than a year or two I'm sure this book is worth your time.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2004
    I purchased a copy of this book a couple of months ago and was fortunate to obtain a more recent printing than the earlier reviewers probably had. There were still some errors and typos of various levels of severity, but quite a few fewer than the earlier printings. This, together with the O'Reilly errata page for the book and a small bit of work on my part involving the use of scissors and a glue stick, gave me a book which has become very useful to me at work. Hopefully, even more recent printings will be even better.

    These annoyances aside, I am very happy with the book and what I was able to learn from it.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2021
    best refund.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2004
    This book is not for intermediate to advanced Java programmers. It is for novices to intermediate programmers. The first "hardcore" thing the author declares is:
    public static void someMethod(Vector source) {
    Vector target = source;
    target.add("Swing");
    }
    He states that someone could think that source vector is being copied to the target vector, so that the source vector is not being modified. If you thought about this method as something more or less challenging, so by this book.
    All the chapter about the final keyword is just very, very boring. "Use final to avoid typos!" Ok. Thanks a lot!
    Every developer, like every reader, is different, so maybe you will like this book. The author has a cool writing sytle and he really thinks he is a Java Guru. I am not saying that he is not. He probably is an awesome Java professional. But in my opinion, using the keyword final to avoid typos is not an indication of a hardcore developer.
    Maybe the chapters about Reflection, Proxies and References have something really interesting and advanced, but I hate to skip pages in a book.
    The first 4 chapters could be easily summarized in 4 paragraphs. There is nothing challenging or advanced there.
    Favor interfaces over implementations. Never use HashMap mymap = new HashMap(). Instead use Map mymap = new HashMap().
    If you don't know why the above is a good practice, so by this book. Otherwise read something more challenging like Game Developing in Java and learn how to build a scalable game server framework with Java NIO. (read my comments about this book)
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2004
    The title "Hardcore Java" is definitely overkill. A better one may be "Stuff a new Java developer might not know yet".
    This book is full is little nuggets of "oh, good idea" and "oh, I never knew that". But don't expect to be a guru after reading it by any means. Lean towards 'Effective Java Programming Language Guide' for a thorough, advanced discussion of the Java language.
    For it's price, it's not bad, it seems relatively cheap compared to many books on the subject. It's easily a weekend read as well.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2010
    If you are serious about developing a mindset to becoming a better programmer, this is a very good book. To profit from it one has to actively engage with the ideas and material presented. No cookbook here.

    It is truly unfortunate that so many reviews are so disparaging; it may be the reviewers were looking for a cookbook approach, and that of course is not what this book is about.

    If you are prepared to learn, this book has a lot to teach.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2017
    Good book, however Java 5 features chapter needs to be extended, especially about generics, PECS pattern. Waiting for new edition!
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2004
    This book should be required reading for anyone who calls themselves a Java programmer. The idea behind the book is to re-introduce engineers to the entire flavor of the Java language.
    Chapter one shows basic language elements like short-circuited if statements. Chapter two covers using the final keyword. Chapter six is an excellent introduction to using inner classes. This is one of the best chapters in the book.
    Chapter eight is a very interesting combination of a theoretical discussion on data modeling and a hardcore technical discussion on object modeling. The chapter ends with a brief bit about JDO.
    Chapter nine is a short but nice coverage of reflection. Chapter eleven is a great, and I mean great, introduction to weak and strong references.
    The book finishes with an introduction to Tiget (JDK 1.5), mainly in the area of generics. It's a solid introduction, but it's short.
    This is a great book. It's a must read for Java programmers.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Manish Kumar
    5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it...
    Reviewed in India on September 12, 2014
    Amazing collection of real world programming solutions, explained lucidly with good examples. A juicy read for intermediate to advanced level java developers.
  • Suse
    5.0 out of 5 stars O'Reilly - gewohnt sehr gut.
    Reviewed in Germany on April 14, 2012
    Ich habe mir dieses Buch für mein Studium geholt, da ich mit Java vorher eher selten was zu tun hatte, aber bereits Basiskenntnisse habe. Hardcore Java ist eher etwas für Fortgeschrittene Programmierer, die sich bereits etwas mit der Java Syntax beschäfigt haben. Auch sollte man sich vor kauf des Buches Informieren, ob es die Inhalte hat, die man erwartet.
    Trotz englischer Sprache leicht verständlich, übersichtlich und konkret.
    Mein nächster Kauf wird sicherlich wieder ein O'Reilly Buch sein.
    Report
  • Gabriel
    4.0 out of 5 stars Gutes Buch für Menschen die Java bereits können
    Reviewed in Germany on November 8, 2020
    Wie schon im Titel erwähnt, das Buch ist für Developer bzw. Programmierer, die die Sprache bereits beherrschen. Ich fand aber der Style in dem das Buch geschrieben wurde ganz gut. Empfehle ich falls Sie Java-Kenntnisse haben.
  • hertzsprung
    4.0 out of 5 stars Some excellent material, but not all is 'hardcore'
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2005
    This book presents some of the more arcane things you can do with Java, including esoteric uses of nested classes; this was a real eye-opener for me. While such things may not be particularly useful, other chapters present ways of programming defensively, using the final keyword and exception mechanisms (to be honest, I don't consider these topics to be particularly `hardcore').
    Some chapters, including design modelling, seemed out of place in this book, and I certainly wouldn't consider these to be advanced topics.
    However, overall this book has made me rethink how I write Java, and I recommend it to anyone that thinks they know the language.
  • Brunswick
    3.0 out of 5 stars Nicht schlecht, aber verdient ein kleines Update
    Reviewed in Germany on February 24, 2013
    Nachdem ich diverse Einführungsbücher gewälzt habe, bin ich über den Titel gestolpert. Und muß sagen, er ließt sich recht gut. Es werden diverse Sachen erklärt, die in Einführungsbüchern einfach fehlen. Es wird unter anderem das Schlüsselwort "final" ausführlich erklärt, was für Probleme auftreten können bei finalen Objekten die das Interface Serialize implementieren: es gibt auf einmal 2 finale identische Objekte zur gleichen Zeit in der JVM :-) wenn man nicht aufpasst. Das Kapitel über Datenmodelierung habe ich einfach übersprungen. Ich habe selber jahrelange Erfahrung in Softwareentwicklung und brauche niemanden der mir das auch noch neben bei erklärt. Java Reflections war wieder nett aber irgendwie habe ich da irgendwo den Faden verloren. Proxies war auch so ein Thema, da gibt es auch Titel die das besser erklären. Corba? Benutzt das jemand heute noch? Dann wird es wieder interessant mit der Reference Konzept und den Memory-Leaks in Java. Dabei geht es nicht um Pointer sondern um Komponeneten die sich gegenseitigt referenzieren und beim beenden nicht freigeben. Und dann noch ein Kapitel über JDK 1.5. Also insgesamt ein gutes Buch aber nach heutigen Stand braucht es ein kleines Update und so 2 bis 3 Kapitel sind in anderen Büchern besser aufgehoben. Deshalb leider 3 Punkte. Sonst hätte ich gerne 4 bis 5 Punkte gegeben.