Graphic Java 2, Volume 1.2 : AWT (3rd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: This is a "must have" reference book.
Review: This is a "must have" reference book for any serious Java developer. The examples are clear and understandable. It works in concert with Geary's Swing Vol II.

Rating:
Summary: The BEST book available on the AWT
Review: Unfortunately, unlike other Java topics like language fundamentals, I/O, or programmer certification, there are very few books which cover the AWT adequitely. This book is the exception. What makes this book really special is that it presents all the basic information you need to know about what components are available and how to use them. But it also teaches you two more things on the way: (a) fundamental graphics operations such as rubberbanding, double buffering, and sprite animation which you will need to know for any programming language (b) how design patterns figure prominently in the AWT API (don't know what design patterns are? check out the BIBLE by the 'gang of four':Design Patterns : Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing) ) Here are some of the tidbits I found most helpful: *limitations associated with peers *overriding deprecated java 1.0 methods *prevent excessive flashing by overriding update *avoiding race conditions with modal dialogs *using font metrics and validate intelligently to force text to resize with components *using the built-in image filters in java.awt.image Some things with the AWT can drive you nuts because they don't work as advertised, and this book should include, but doesn't, a discussion of: *ScrollPane displays excessive flashing when scrollling images- even his example code- this is an AWT bug which should be mentioned *the toFront method does work reliably - another huge bug *using anonymous inner classes can make some of your windows unreachable by the GC and lead to memory leaks Anyway, I practically lived with this book for two months while working on a project and would have to say this is THE reference for the AWT.