Rating: 
Summary: Cracks appear in Nutshell
Review: I've owned every edition of this book. As an instructor and occassional consultant I've found the ability to thumb quickly to details of the increasing numbers of classes invaluable. I've also found the introductory summaries useful as a refresher to parts of java I have not visited for a while, and in this edition they provide a quick overview of the new features of J2SE 1.4. This was never designed as a book for beginners, and to date has done what it does well.
Unfortunately two things have been changed with this new edition. Firstly, the ability to quickly thumb to the classes I want to know about has gone because the visible page-edge marks have GONE making the entire reference section one white blur of almost 600 pages. It now takes me roughly 5 times as long to locate a desired package. Secondly, the diagrams illustrating the class/interface hierachy for an entire package have gone. These were excellent overviews and are sorely missed. Finally, the book can no longer keep to it's 'NutShell' title weighing in at almost 1000 pages.
I will make a lot of use of this book as there is nothing I know of in paper form that contains all the information, but I believe the nutshell market has unfortunatley been cracked.
Rating: 
Summary: a very bad edition of the best java reference
Review: Java in a Nutshell has been the definitive Java reference since the earliest days of Java. I've personally worn out multiple copies of each of the prior editions. However, the fourth edition takes the series down a very bad path. Why?1 - The class references do not have the tab markers or any sort of page identifiers that let allow you to flip to the correct section. This makes the class reference (which is the most important section) all but useless. 2 - package overviews (namely the class hierarchies for each package) have gone. This was VERY valuable information for many sub packages. 3 - 900 pages is a pretty huge nutshell! This book needs to be seriously trimmed. O'Reilly already has a seperate reference for J2EE and Swing. There has to be a way to split this into 2 volumes because this is just far to big for a nutshell book. I am very disappointed in the fourth edition of Java in a Nutshell. I hope O'Reilly can put out a better 5th edition or a revised 4th edition because the reference as it stands now is not useful.
Rating:
Summary: Essential but flawed reference
Review: Java in a Nutshell is still a definitive reference, but it is seriously flawed by an inadequate index and the (apparently) accidental ommission of thumbtabs. The author, on page 272, suggests we "use the tabs on the outside edge of the book". There are no such tabs. Two stars. On the other hand, the book gains a star for its first 200+ pages, which serve as a concise and very accurate overview of Java.
Rating: 
Summary: Most up-to-date reference available for 1.4
Review: Java in a Nutshell, 4th Ed. If I was trapped in a desert cubicle and allowed only one Java book this would be it. I dig Sun's Javadocs that come with the SDKs, but Java in a Nutshell has proved invaluable to java developers. It is compact, easy to browse, and provides a very handy language/SDK guide. With each major release of J2SE. This
edition is no exception: - most up to date coverage of SDK & language changes:
- assertions
- cryptography
- XML processing
- new IO facilities - logging
- properties & preferences,
- collections changes A quick search of Amazon yielded only one other book that is up to date for J2SE 1.4, and it was not a reference for experienced programmers. This nutshell reference is ahead of the pack. However, there have been a few changes to this edition that aren't popular with me. I was a big fan of the quasi-UML class diagrams on the first page of each package. Especially for the IO and Util (collections) packages, it was a great way to see the architecture of an entire package. I could find out at a glance who implements a certain interface, or to find a common ancestor class. These diagrams are gone. Instead of having one diagram for all the elements (interfaces, classes, exceptions) in a single package, the authors present a class diagram for each individual class and place it with each class' entry. To somewhat make up for this, the author has provided expanded narrative at the beginning of each package, hitting the highlights and providing an almost javadoc style listing of the elements contained in the package. I understand this was probably done for practical reasons. Some of the packages have grown very large with one or more subpackages (java.util being the biggest offender here) and diagrams for some of the packages wouldn't fit on the smaller
pages of the Nutshell series. Irregardless, it a loss of key functionality for this edition. Lastly, the authors removed the singlemost important navigational tool of the previous editions: the thumb tabs on the margins of the pages indexed by package. These tabs made it very easy to quickly flip to the exact package you were looking for. In this edition you have to rely on the page footers for this information. Despite the small changes, this edition continues in the tradition of the Java in a Nutshell series: the most up to date java reference that is available on the market.
Rating: 
Summary: hard to know who book is geared to
Review: Nothing makes the importance of understanding exactly what you are looking for as obvious as the travail of picking the right technical book from the usual host on a particular subject. And no subject seems to underscore this more than that of the Java language. I can limp along adequately in Java, after several corporate efforts to get it drilled into my skull, but I'm past the age where perfect recall is anything else but wishful thinking. And Java, which is more an architecture than it is a language, puts high demand on knowledge retention abilities. Thus, I recently found myself searching for a language/object/method reference that is useful when reading and writing code, but does not require two briefcases to carry around. In those circumstances anything that says 'nutshell' is going to get my attention. Since I wasn't looking for long, flowing dissertations on syntax or object use, this book seemed exactly what I wanted. And it is, for the most part. There are about 300 pages of tiny print on Java, its syntax, environment, and tools. Then comes 600 pages of reference on objects and methods, organized (somewhat) by package. In general, if you can find it, and you already have a clue of why you should look for it, the book does just what I wanted. The flaw, however, is in the finding. Indexing and organization is best described as adequate. But browsing is a literal impossibility. Under no circumstances should you buy this book if you are looking for a learning tool. It is at its best when you need to be reminded about something, not when you are looking for a way to actually do something. I didn't expect to find anything on J2EE in the book, and sure enough, there isn't. But I found the lack of information on the AWT and Swing irritating. I admit that it says right on the back cover (in tiny print) that I need 'Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell' if those are also of interest. Of course they are if you are writing an application that needs more than a command line interface. Left up to me I would have sacrificed some of the more obscure information for 50 or so pages on the AWT. Or even put up with a book with 100 extra pages. As it is I still need ten pounds of paperbacks to feel like I have sufficient reference material. Still, the book of professionally done, brooks no nonsense, and does precisely what it says it does. Which is a small miracle in today's technology business. I certain bear a certain amount of responsibility for not getting something that is precisely what I wanted, but I use this every day, and generally, I get exactly what I need.
Rating:
Summary: Be Careful What You Wish For...
Review: Nothing makes the importance of understanding exactly what you are looking for as obvious as the travail of picking the right technical book from the usual host on a particular subject. And no subject seems to underscore this more than that of the Java language. I can limp along adequately in Java, after several corporate efforts to get it drilled into my skull, but I'm past the age where perfect recall is anything else but wishful thinking. And Java, which is more an architecture than it is a language, puts high demand on knowledge retention abilities. Thus, I recently found myself searching for a language/object/method reference that is useful when reading and writing code, but does not require two briefcases to carry around. In those circumstances anything that says 'nutshell' is going to get my attention. Since I wasn't looking for long, flowing dissertations on syntax or object use, this book seemed exactly what I wanted. And it is, for the most part. There are about 300 pages of tiny print on Java, its syntax, environment, and tools. Then comes 600 pages of reference on objects and methods, organized (somewhat) by package. In general, if you can find it, and you already have a clue of why you should look for it, the book does just what I wanted. The flaw, however, is in the finding. Indexing and organization is best described as adequate. But browsing is a literal impossibility. Under no circumstances should you buy this book if you are looking for a learning tool. It is at its best when you need to be reminded about something, not when you are looking for a way to actually do something. I didn't expect to find anything on J2EE in the book, and sure enough, there isn't. But I found the lack of information on the AWT and Swing irritating. I admit that it says right on the back cover (in tiny print) that I need 'Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell' if those are also of interest. Of course they are if you are writing an application that needs more than a command line interface. Left up to me I would have sacrificed some of the more obscure information for 50 or so pages on the AWT. Or even put up with a book with 100 extra pages. As it is I still need ten pounds of paperbacks to feel like I have sufficient reference material. Still, the book of professionally done, brooks no nonsense, and does precisely what it says it does. Which is a small miracle in today's technology business. I certain bear a certain amount of responsibility for not getting something that is precisely what I wanted, but I use this every day, and generally, I get exactly what I need.
Rating:
Summary: Ruined a great reference
Review: The java in a nutshell series was the most often used book in my arsenal off reference books. That was until now. Many of the most useful features of the previous three editions have been removed. First the "tabs" printed on the edge of the book which would help you quickly find a package are now gone... so now I have to flip through MANY pages just tho find tha package I want... From there I now have to find the class I am looking for, but the are not necessarily listed alphabetically anymore either. For example java.util.prefs.Preferences is on page 710, and java.util.Set on 677... ordered by package, leaving you with more to page through. Not exactly intuitive. And the package heirarchy diagrams are gone now as well. Its a reference book, but certinaly not a "quick" reference. I highly reccomend buying the third edition, but stay away from this one, at least untill they put the tabs back!
Rating:
Summary: hard to know who book is geared to
Review: The textbook chapters appear geared to someone with no programming experience but who may have designed some web pages?
So a mix of not enough explanation and examples and too much explanation. I'll keep for the references which will be useful when I am basically familiar enough with the packages to know what I am looking for.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply the BEST
Review: This book is aimed at those who either already know Java or want to learn it in an efficient manner. Some learn best from a book where the author jokes around and has all the info spread out, and slowly brings you up to speed, covering a topic, and then going back to cover it later in greater detail. The reference section would be integrated into the text in the appropriate places. If that's what you are looking for, this book is NOT for you. For those with a previous programming background wanting a no-nonsense way to quickly learn how to program in Java, this book is EXCELLENT. There are no wasted words. The author gets down to the point and writes clearly. Each topic is covered in detail as it is presented. It is very possible to learn Java with this book and Java Examples in a Nutshell (I did it and I had no object oriented programming background, just assembly, C, and Basic). You'll also want Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell (for AWT and Swing classes and methods). There is a great index at the back. By its thickness and detail it is obvious that a lot of time was spent here. There is a separate index from the regular text index for listing the packages, classes, and methods. If you don't know what class a method belongs to, you can quickly find it here. I find the index section to be one of the best features of the book and quite useable. The second half of the book is the class reference. This information can be found online, but the benefits of having it in book form are many: I can write in the margins, I'm not constantly flipping back and forth between windows, I don't have to worry about the format changing, an frankly, the information is presented in a much more understandable way than the way Java decided to put it on their website. About the reference: You wont find anything about AWT or Swing, they are in Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell. Some reviewers have claimed there are no printed tabs in the 4th edition. This is false. There are gray/black tabs printed along the edges. My only gripe here is lack of printing on the book edge of what the tabs are, but I wrote that on the edge with a pen. At the beginning of each package a class hierarchy is presented. This is invaluable, especially for the java.io package (if you ever got lost with all the Reader and InputStream combinations this is a godsend.) In addition, the major classes will have a nice graphical chart so you can trace them back to Object. Each object has a full method list, with version numbers for those methods appearing after Java 1.0. It should be emphasized that this method list is presented in a very easy to read and visually clean format. Properties will have the default value printed. A summary of how to use most of the methods is presented before the method list. Usually this gives enough info to understand on its own, but some methods are not summarized. These summaries should be expanded in future editions to cover each method, and in greater detail. At the end of each object additional information is given about what other objects use the object, or return it. Also, there is no reason the class hierarchies can't be put at the top of every class. One thing missing from the reference section is example code for each class. However, I can't think of a way this can be added without turning the book into an encyclopedia set. It's already very thick as it is. I am very happy with this book. I recommend it to everyone I know as THE Java book to own. Don't take a Java class without it. I was the envy of my class, writing programs with ease. Others rewrote standard classes from scratch because they didn't know where to find them. 5 out of 5.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the BEST
Review: This book is aimed at those who either already know Java or want to learn it in an efficient manner. Some learn best from a book where the author jokes around and has all the info spread out, and slowly brings you up to speed, covering a topic, and then going back to cover it later in greater detail. The reference section would be integrated into the text in the appropriate places. If that's what you are looking for, this book is NOT for you. For those with a previous programming background wanting a no-nonsense way to quickly learn how to program in Java, this book is EXCELLENT. There are no wasted words. The author gets down to the point and writes clearly. Each topic is covered in detail as it is presented. It is very possible to learn Java with this book and Java Examples in a Nutshell (I did it and I had no object oriented programming background, just assembly, C, and Basic). You'll also want Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell (for AWT and Swing classes and methods). There is a great index at the back. By its thickness and detail it is obvious that a lot of time was spent here. There is a separate index from the regular text index for listing the packages, classes, and methods. If you don't know what class a method belongs to, you can quickly find it here. I find the index section to be one of the best features of the book and quite useable. The second half of the book is the class reference. This information can be found online, but the benefits of having it in book form are many: I can write in the margins, I'm not constantly flipping back and forth between windows, I don't have to worry about the format changing, an frankly, the information is presented in a much more understandable way than the way Java decided to put it on their website. About the reference: You wont find anything about AWT or Swing, they are in Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell. Some reviewers have claimed there are no printed tabs in the 4th edition. This is false. There are gray/black tabs printed along the edges. My only gripe here is lack of printing on the book edge of what the tabs are, but I wrote that on the edge with a pen. At the beginning of each package a class hierarchy is presented. This is invaluable, especially for the java.io package (if you ever got lost with all the Reader and InputStream combinations this is a godsend.) In addition, the major classes will have a nice graphical chart so you can trace them back to Object. Each object has a full method list, with version numbers for those methods appearing after Java 1.0. It should be emphasized that this method list is presented in a very easy to read and visually clean format. Properties will have the default value printed. A summary of how to use most of the methods is presented before the method list. Usually this gives enough info to understand on its own, but some methods are not summarized. These summaries should be expanded in future editions to cover each method, and in greater detail. At the end of each object additional information is given about what other objects use the object, or return it. Also, there is no reason the class hierarchies can't be put at the top of every class. One thing missing from the reference section is example code for each class. However, I can't think of a way this can be added without turning the book into an encyclopedia set. It's already very thick as it is. I am very happy with this book. I recommend it to everyone I know as THE Java book to own. Don't take a Java class without it. I was the envy of my class, writing programs with ease. Others rewrote standard classes from scratch because they didn't know where to find them. 5 out of 5.
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