intro.htm

Thinking in Java, 2nd edition

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Note on the cover design</H2></FONT>
<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">The cover of <I>Thinking in Java</I> is
inspired by the American Arts &amp; Crafts Movement, which began near the turn
of the century and reached its zenith between 1900 and 1920. It began in England
as a reaction to both the machine production of the Industrial Revolution and
the highly ornamental style of the Victorian era. Arts &amp; Crafts emphasized
spare design, the forms of nature as seen in the art nouveau movement,
hand-crafting, and the importance of the individual craftsperson, and yet it did
not eschew the use of modern tools. There are many echoes with the situation we
have today: the turn of the century, the evolution from the raw beginnings of
the computer revolution to something more refined and meaningful to individual
persons, and the emphasis on software craftsmanship rather than just
manufacturing code. 
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">I see Java in this same way: as an
attempt to elevate the programmer away from an operating-system mechanic and
toward being a &#8220;software
craftsman.&#8221;
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Both the author and the book/cover
designer (who have been friends since childhood) find inspiration in this
movement, and both own furniture, lamps, and other pieces that are either
original or inspired by this period.

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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">The other theme in this cover suggests a
collection box that a naturalist might use to display the insect specimens that
he or she has preserved. These insects are objects, which are placed within the
box objects. The box objects are themselves placed within the &#8220;cover
object,&#8221; which illustrates the fundamental concept of aggregation in
object-oriented programming. Of course, a programmer cannot help but make the
association with &#8220;bugs,&#8221; and here the bugs have been captured and
presumably killed in a specimen jar, and finally confined within a small display
box, as if to imply Java&#8217;s ability to find, display, and subdue bugs
(which is truly one of its most powerful
attributes).
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Acknowledgements</H2></FONT>
<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">First, thanks to associates who have
worked with me to give seminars, provide consulting, and develop teaching
projects: Andrea Provaglio, Dave Bartlett (who also contributed significantly to
Chapter 15), Bill Venners, and Larry O&#8217;Brien. I appreciate your patience
as I continue to try to develop the best model for independent folks like us to
work together. Thanks to Rolf Andr&eacute; Klaedtke (Switzerland); Martin Vlcek,
Martin Byer, Vlada &amp; Pavel Lahoda, Martin the Bear, and Hanka (Prague); and
Marco Cantu (Italy) for hosting me on my first self-organized European seminar
tour.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Thanks to the Doyle Street Cohousing
Community for putting up with me for the two years that it took me to write the
first edition of this book (and for putting up with me at all). Thanks very much
to Kevin and Sonda Donovan for subletting their great place in gorgeous Crested
Butte, Colorado for the summer while I worked on the first edition of the book.
Also thanks to the friendly residents of Crested Butte and the Rocky Mountain
Biological Laboratory who make me feel so
welcome.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Thanks to Claudette Moore at Moore
Literary Agency for her tremendous patience and perseverance in getting me
exactly what I wanted.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">My first two books were published with
Jeff Pepper as editor at Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Jeff appeared at the right place
and the right time at Prentice-Hall and has cleared the path and made all the
right things happen to make this a very pleasant publishing experience. Thanks,
Jeff&#8212;it means a lot to
me.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">I&#8217;m especially indebted to Gen
Kiyooka and his company Digigami, who graciously provided my Web server for the
first several years of my presence on the Web. This was an invaluable learning
aid.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Thanks to Cay Horstmann (co-author of
<I>Core Java</I>, Prentice-Hall, 2000<I>)</I>, D&#8217;Arcy Smith (Symantec),
and Paul Tyma (co-author of <I>Java Primer Plus</I>, The Waite Group, 1996), for
helping me clarify concepts in the
language.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Thanks to people who have spoken in my
Java track at the Software Development Conference, and students in my seminars,
who ask the questions I need to hear in order to make the material more
clear.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Special thanks to Larry and Tina
O&#8217;Brien, who helped turn my seminar into the original <I>Hands-On Java
</I>CD ROM. (You can find out more at
<I>www.BruceEckel.com</I>.)
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Lots of people sent in corrections and I
am indebted to them all, but particular thanks go to (for the first edition):
Kevin Raulerson (found tons of great bugs), Bob Resendes (simply incredible),
John Pinto, Joe Dante, Joe Sharp (all three were fabulous), David Combs (many
grammar and clarification corrections), Dr. Robert Stephenson, John Cook,
Franklin Chen, Zev Griner, David Karr, Leander A. Stroschein, Steve Clark,
Charles A. Lee, Austin Maher, Dennis P. Roth, Roque Oliveira, Douglas Dunn,
Dejan Ristic, Neil Galarneau, David B. Malkovsky, Steve Wilkinson, and a host of
others. Prof. Ir. Marc Meurrens put in a great deal of effort to publicize and
make the electronic version of the first edition of the book available in
Europe.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">There have been a spate of smart
technical people in my life who have become friends and have also been both
influential and unusual in that they do yoga and practice other forms of
spiritual enhancement, which I find quite inspirational and instructional. They
are Kraig Brockschmidt, Gen Kiyooka, and Andrea Provaglio, (who helps in the
understanding of Java and programming in general in Italy, and now in the United
States as an associate of the MindView
team).
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">It&#8217;s not that much of a surprise to
me that understanding Delphi helped me understand Java, since there are many
concepts and language design decisions in common. My Delphi friends provided
assistance by helping me gain insight into that marvelous programming
environment. They are Marco Cantu (another Italian&#8212;perhaps being steeped
in Latin gives one aptitude for programming languages?), Neil Rubenking (who
used to do the yoga/vegetarian/Zen thing until he discovered computers), and of
course Zack Urlocker, a long-time pal whom I&#8217;ve traveled the world
with.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">My friend Richard Hale Shaw&#8217;s
insights and support have been very helpful (and Kim&#8217;s, too). Richard and
I spent many months giving seminars together and trying to work out the perfect
learning experience for the attendees. Thanks also to KoAnn Vikoren, Eric
Faurot, Marco Pardi, and the rest of the cast and crew at MFI. Thanks especially
to Tara Arrowood, who re-inspired me about the possibilities of
conferences.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">The book design, cover design, and cover
photo were created by my friend Daniel Will-Harris, noted author and designer
(<I>www.Will-Harris.com</I>), who used to play with rub-on letters in junior
high school while he awaited the invention of computers and desktop publishing,
and complained of me mumbling over my algebra problems. However, I produced the
camera-ready pages myself, so the typesetting errors are mine.
Microsoft<SUP>&reg;</SUP> Word 97 for Windows was used to write the book and to
create camera-ready pages in Adobe Acrobat; the book was created directly from
the Acrobat PDF files. (As a tribute to the electronic age, I happened to be
overseas both times the final version of the book was produced&#8212;the first
edition was sent from Capetown, South Africa and the second edition was posted
from Prague). The body typeface is <I>Georgia </I>and the headlines are in
<I>Verdana</I>. The cover typeface is <I>ITC Rennie
Mackintosh.</I>
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">Thanks to the vendors who created the
compilers: Borland, the Blackdown group (for Linux), and of course,
Sun.
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<DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><P><FONT FACE="Georgia">A special thanks to all my teachers and
all my students (who are my teachers as well). The most fun writing teacher was
Gabrielle Rico (author of <I>Writing the Natural Way</I>, Putnam, 1983).
I&#8217;ll always trea