This book is a companion volume to Java in a Nutshell, Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell, and Java Enterprise in a Nutshell. While those books are quick references at heart, they each include accelerated tutorials on various Java topics. Java Examples in a Nutshell picks up where those books leave off, serving up a suite of example programs for novice Java programmers and experts alike. This book doesn't hold readers' hands or supply detailed explanations of Java syntax or method calls; it simply delivers well-commented working examples for exploring the wide range of what's possible with Java. Each chapter concludes with programming exercises that suggest avenues for building further knowledge.

Java Examples in a Nutshell contains the following:

• Examples that demonstrate basic Java functionality and the essential Java API's, including I/O, threads, networking, security, reflection, serialization, and security.
• Programs that use the graphical user interface and graphics features of Java, highlighting the Swing, Java 2D, printing, data transfer, JavaBeans, and applet APIs.
• Examples that illustrate key enterprise APIs in Java, including remote method invocation (RMI), database connectivity (JDBC), servlets, JavaServer Pages (JSP), and XML.
• An example index that lets users look up a programming concept or Java class and find any examples in the book that demonstrate that concept or use that class.

Many programming titles rely on code excerpts to illustrate key programming concepts. This book reverses that approach by emphasizing the code itself, enhancing it with introductory material and explanations. While some short examples illustrate simple algorithms (such as random-number generation and sorting), many of the examples are substantial: for example, how to create a multithreaded Web server, a proxy server, and even a simple Web browser (by using built-in Swing classes for a user interface). These longer examples occupy several pages; generally, they're well-commented models of coding clarity.

This second edition adds extensive support for the Java 2 JDK 1.3 standard. Later sections provide sample code on most recent developments in enterprise APIs, including Swing, JDBC, and XML. This text concludes with one of the best short tutorials that you're likely to find anywhere on JSP and servlet programming, including excellent detail on deploying JSP-based Web applications.

Although it's designed to be a companion title to Java in a Nutshell and other O'Reilly Java offerings, there's little doubt that this book stands on its own quite well. And, given the short exercises at the end of every chapter that help you expand your command of Java features and APIs, this is a worthy and up-to-date resource for all levels of Java programmers. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

Library of Java 2 code samples A "Hello world" example Mathematical calculations and algorithms (the Fibonacci Series, factorials, prime-number generation, sorting, exception handling) Basic class design (classes for graphics, random numbers, and a linked list) Java file I/O (including opening, reading, and writing files) Filtering file streams Java threads and multitasking techniques Java networking classes (URLs and connections, sending e-mail) Sample code for custom Web servers and proxy servers Security and cryptography Basic internationalization The Java reflection APIs

Object serialization Swing user-interface design Code for a simple Web browser, based on Swing Tutorial for AWT and Java 2-D graphics Printing techniques Cutting and pasting data in Java JavaBeans (custom components, bean property editors, customizers) Applet basics (including JDK 1.0 event handling and JAR files) Remote Method Invocation (RMI) Sample code for a Multiuser Domain (MUD) server Database and JDBC programming Servlet and JavaServer Pages (JSPs) tutorial XML and Java (including JAXP, SAX 1 and 2, and JDOM)