Java Language Reference (Nutshell Handbook)

Rating:
Summary: This one get's used daily.
Review: I'm a little surprised by the other reviews. I have found over the last year this to be an authorative source for the Java Language Specification. I go to other books when I want to know about the various Java packages but this is the one I got to when I want to know about the Java langauge semantics and syntax.

Rating:
Summary: This one get's used daily.
Review: I'm a little surprised by the other reviews. I have found over the last year this to be an authorative source for the Java Language Specification. I go to other books when I want to know about the various Java packages but this is the one I got to when I want to know about the Java langauge semantics and syntax.

Rating:
Summary: Shy on the details
Review: There are several places in the language description (for example, the rules on static method overriding and inner classes) where this book is either vague, misleading, or occasionally flat-out wrong. "Java Language Reference" might provide a nice introduction to the language's syntax, but it does not make a good Java language reference.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy it
Review: This is the worst book on programming I've ever bought. Even though the author does tell the reader that this book isn't intended as a "teach yourself"-book one expects a book on programming to be somehow divided into well defined areas, each showing a part of the whole idea. This book switches from reference style to programming-by-example style all mixed up with a couple of bad flow charts. I regret buying it and advise others from doing it.