Monday, April 21, 2003		Book Review

IN computer, languages are used to develop programs. Many languages have been developed since the evolution of computers. One of them is Java, a high-level programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It was originally called OAK, which was unsuccessful, so in 1995 Sun changed the name to Java. Java is a general purpose programming language with a number of features that make the language well suited for use on the World Wide Web (WWW).

Java is an object-oriented language similar to C++. It was simplified to eliminate language features the main cause for common programming errors. Java code can run on most computers because Java interpreters and runtime environments, known as Java Virtual Machines, exist for most operating systems, including Unix, Windows, and Macintosh OS.

The book under review has been so written that even if you have no programming experience, and still want to learn how to write program in Java, this book can explain how to do so. The fundamentals of programming are discussed in the book.

The book has been written in easy to understand language. The style of writing is that you will feel compelled to attend the classroom session. Each chapter includes examples, important note, and tips. At the end of each chapter the summary is given to let you know what you have learnt in that chapter. To improve Java skills with real world hands on programming project the author has taken the example of Students Grade Calculation Project throughout the book.

In the first few chapters, the systematic approach to design an application is discussed using Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and an introduction to Java environment, use of data in Java is provided. How to use variables, their types and operations to manipulate data in those variables and basic programming fundamentals (like selection structures, loops, and arrays) have been dealt extensively. These structures and loops help in making the users’ program easier and powerful.

Next few chapters cover features, which includes object-oriented programming techniques like inheritance, method overloading, and interfaces. The concept of program modularity and the benefits of creating methods in Java programs and creating instantiable classes is discussed. Different ways to protect data in the objects from accidental or wilful manipulation are provided. The details about common errors that can occur when programs run are given, including compiler errors, runtime errors, and logic errors, are discussed.

In Java the Graphical User Interface (GUI, pronounced as gooey) plays an important role. The GUI helps in displaying the program information using frames and panels called Windows, but it’s not necessarily a MS Windows program. Because Java program runs on a variety of different operating systems, when we run Java program on a Microsoft Windows PC, the program displays the look and feel of a MS Windows program. To provide GUI with intelligence Java event handling helps.

As mentioned earlier, this language is well suited for WWW. Java also provides support of networking i.e. Java and the Net. Unlike most other computer languages, Java provides built in support for multithreading programming. These topics are not discussed in the book.

The programming concepts in the book are discussed in an easy to learn way. The book has covered various topics beginning from the fundamentals of programming and object-oriented programming techniques like inheritance, method overloading. Those who want to learn how to write program using Java can take full advantage of this book.