This seventh edition of a Java classic is thoroughly revised to provide coverage of Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0, a significant update of Java. As the book’s preface states, it is targeted at “serious programmers who want to put Java to work on real projects.”

The book has 13 chapters, including: “An Introduction to Java,” “The Java Programming Environment,” “Fundamental Programming Structures in Java,” “Objects and Classes,” “Inheritance,” “Interfaces and Inner Classes,” “Graphics Programming,” “Event Handling,” “User Interface Components with Swing,” “Deploying Applets and Applications,” “Exceptions and Debugging,” “Streams and Files,” and “Generic Programming.” It also includes two short appendices: “Java Keywords” and “Retrofitting JDK 5.0 Code.”

Each chapter offers excellent coverage to its topic. The programmer who is not familiar with object-oriented programming will get a good introduction by reading the “Objects and Classes” chapter carefully, but there is plenty here for others. The “Graphics Programming,” “Event Handling,” and “User Interface Components with Swing” chapters are a solid introduction to graphical user interface (GUI) programming. The chapter on “Streams and Files” explains the “zoo” of streams well, and includes an account of Java regular expressions. The last chapter, “Generic Programming,” presents a good explanation of generics, the most significant new feature of J2SE 5.0, indicating clearly how they are like, and unlike, C++ templates.

This very well-written book is an example of excellent technical writing. The authors know their audience well. They do not try to cover everything in each topic, but have the knack of covering the essence, both for use and for understanding. Readers will appreciate the many well-placed notes. The examples are nontrivial, interesting, and are simplified but real code. The writing is easy to read, never boring, and always to the point. The authors convey not just the what and the how, but also the why, giving the reader a solid sense of why Java is like it is.

This book is especially suitable for experienced C++ programmers who want to learn Java, but knowledge of C++ is not essential. It would serve well as a Java textbook for students with a good background in C++, and also as a valuable reference. Even experienced Java programmers should consider this book for their bookshelves.