Java NIO

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to NIO (and regular exprs??), lacks depth
Review: The book is useful to get started on nio, but you may overgrow it after a week:
it does not delve deeply into the matter. Particularly missing are:
- Mapped byte buffer uses
- Interactions between java & else using mapped files
- OS/platform idiosyncrasies (limits etc)
- Performance analysis

Finally, be aware that half of the book is devoted to regular expressions. The conflagration of nio and regexps is rather strange. I would rather have a shorter book with just a little more depth.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good overview but consider using a framework.
Review: This is a pretty good overview, particularly for those who have no previous experience with non-blocking IO. The author explains the concept of buffers very well, with useful diagrams illustrating the differences between position, limit, etc.

The material on selectors and readiness selection is also strong.

The problem is, there are idiosyncracies to NIO that make it difficult to use effectively for large-scale, high-performance applications without some in-depth knowledge.

If you're really looking to architect a substantial NIO server or client, read this book for the overview, but also be sure to take a look at the open source Netty framework by Trustin Lee, or Ember IO by Mike Spille to see good NIO implementations that you can use as a building block.

Rating:
Summary: High Performance Java I/O Information Not Found Elsewhere
Review: This is an excellent book providing information on the Java NIO and Java I/O in general that you can't find elsewhere. I know, I searched all over the web looking for information and more importantly examples on Java NIO and the best resource I found was this book. It answered all of my questions, gave me concrete examples, and showed how Java I/O fits into the larger model of operating system I/O. If you are developing I/O intensive applications you can't afford to be without this book. And if you aren't, read it anyway and you will improve the speed of your programs tenfold.

Rating:
Summary: A SOUND KNOWLEDGE-SHARING TOOL
Review: What Ron Hitchens did with this book is complete knowledge-sharing. "Java NIO" is just over three-hundred pages, yet, it is big enough to supply developers all the important tuition they need in order to improve their perfomances. This book clearly outlined the best ways of exploiting the I/O capabilities of the newly introduced Java 1.4 version.
It also analyzed the NIO APIs in the most comprehensive way. The interest which the contents of this book arouse makes it an important text for developers and enthusiasts alike. Very few complaints will ever go against it. The only one I have is that it may not be too friendly with beginners.