Queries on Java 7 Beginner book.

[Deepak Lal]

Hi Jeff,
Welcome to Java Ranch.
I had the below questions.

1>Since you are saying its a Java 7 beginner book.i went to your site and saw a lot of java stuff being incorporated in the book.Is this book covering all the New Features of Java 7 as defined by Oracle?

2> I visited your website and you are referring to download the source code for Appendixes A and B are bundled with the book's associated code file at the Apress website (http://www.apress.com/9781430239093).
i downloaded the source code under source code section and when i tried to open it through winzip,i got a error message "Invalid Zip File",Please ensure its a valid zip file
"!E:\Java 7 related stuff\9781430239093.zip: The archive is either in unknown format or damaged"].Please fix this error.

3>All the best for your Java 7 book

Last but not the least,i hope to win a copy of this book.

[Joanne Neal]

Deepak Lal wrote:I visited your website and you are referring to download the source code for Appendixes A and B are bundled with the book's associated code file at the Apress website (http://www.apress.com/9781430239093).
i downloaded the source code under source code section and when i tried to open it through winzip,i got a error message "Invalid Zip File",Please ensure its a valid zip file
"!E:\Java 7 related stuff\9781430239093.zip: The archive is either in unknown format or damaged"].Please fix this error.

It downloaded and opened okay for me. Maybe you should try downloading it again.

[Deepak Lal]

Hi Jeff,
Could please reply to my queries 1,2,3.

Please note the message which im getting is End-of-central-directory signature not found. Either this file is not a Zip file, or it constitutes one disk of a multi-part Zip file. for downloading the zip file under downloads section of Apress website (http://www.apress.com/9781430239093). if you were to be open it,then why not you email me at [email protected]
i am not able to extract the zip file

Regards,
Deepak Lal

[Joanne Neal]

Deepak Lal wrote:Hi Jeff,
Could please reply to my queries 1,2,3.

PatienceIsAVirtue. You only asked your question half an hour ago. I'm sure Jeff will get round to it when he has time.

[Jeffrey Friesen]

Hi Deepak,

Here are my answers to your questions:

1) This book doesn't cover all new features of Java 7. For example, it doesn't include NIO.2 (or even NIO). However, it covers Java 7 language features and some APIs (e.g., JXLayer).

2) I just tried downloading the zip file from http://www.apress.com/9781430239093 and had no problems. I recommend that you try again -- you might have had a network glitch.

I appreciate your kind words. Good luck with the draw.

All the best.

Jeff

[Lou Cabron]

Hi Jeff! I wanted to ask how you first became interested in Java. (It's always fun to hear stories about aspiring young programmers and their first forays with a new language -- and it's a nice way to get some perspective on how far we've come now that we're up to Java 7.)

[Jeffrey Friesen]

Hi Lou,

I first learned about Java in early 1995. I was working at an investment firm and programming in C and Visual Basic. A friend introduced me to Java and I started to tinker with Java 1.0. I didn't get serious with Java until 1998 and have been involved with this technology ever since.

I've also worked with JavaFX since the preview SDK was released in summer 2007. I'm looking forward to the upcoming Java 8 release later this year with JavaFX being officially included.

All the best.

Jeff

[Shiv Swaminathan]

Hi Jeff

Nice to see your long time relation in Java.
I too was initial a VB and C person, but once I started with Java, Its world to me with endless possibilities.

I'm also happy to see how Java is keeping up and collaborating well with all new frameworks and concepts out there.

In your perspective who do you think are the competitors for Java and what makes special about Java?
Where do vision as Java's future?

Thanks
Shiv

[Jeffrey Friesen]

Hi Shiv,

I see .NET and languages such as C# as a competitor from a Windows perspective. Possibly, HTML5 could be a competitor from a broad client-side perspective (but then we're talking about web apps versus native apps).

Once JDK 9 and modules arrive, and with ongoing work with lambdas and JavaFX, I believe that Java will have an even more exciting future. Down the road, I can see myself writing apps in Java/JavaFX and having them deployed to feature phones, Android smartphones, Windows phone, iOS devices (once JEP -- JNI with static libraries -- is available), and so on. It would be nice to write an app in Java (not Android Java but Java/JavaFX) and be able to deploy the same app to all of these devices. Although HTML5 is trying to do this with its own technology, HTML5 web apps are currently limited and don't always work consistently across browsers. In contrast, Java-based native apps could do well once the technology is streamlined to make this happen.

All the best.

Jeff

[Chrispie Smith]

Java 7 has some kewl features. I only know some of the new features. Like the case that can use Strings. Java should've done that a while ago

But like browsers for example... my old uncle who only does online banking will only upgrade if the banks say they don not support the current version anymore. If they don't then that drive to upgrade is non existent.

I work for a company that still has Java 1.4 code and even the majority of the code is in Java 1.5. Hardly any in 6.

What is the drive for companies to upgrade to 1.7? If there is none I don't see us as a company using Java 7 anytime soon. Which is a disappointment to a developer :'(

[MeghnaN Shah]

Hi Jeff,

I too am a Java person not that old though but been with it since 2.5 years now. My question to you is how do I program my mind to think in lines of creating new
or upgrading something which is already good enough. I mean I use just JAVA which is given to me and make the program work.

Till now I only knew core java. But , now i have been given Web Service assignment and i was surprise so many API's already available and they have used java language to create it. How can I be a person who can write API's make sure it integrates with other systems and make available ?
How should I approach things in order to understand n fore see an upgrade of a language itself is possible ?

I hope I am clear with my query. Thanks

[Jeffrey Friesen]

Hi Chrispie and MeghnaN,

Chrispie: There is an old saying: "If something ain't broke, don't fix it." If a company is getting good use out of a previous version of Java, there is little need to upgrade (although that sucks for developers). The only considerations that I can see for obtaining a newer Java version are:

1) The new version fixes a security problem or other bug.
2) Oracle has "end-of-lifed" the Java version being used and this is a problem for the company using that version (e.g., there will be no more bug fixes).
3) A company wants to upgrade software using the current Java version and a newer Java version offers features (e.g., web services support) desirable for the upgrade.

There may be other considerations as well. You could make these points to your company management and see if they agree.

MeghnaN: I'm sorry but I don't understand your question. Are you wondering about how to write web service software using Java 7? Are you concerned that your software will not work with a future version of Java? Please clarify.

All the best.

Jeff

[MeghnaN Shah]

My Query is how can we think of upgrating a version which is already good. ?
Is it that we foresee the requirement and add to it. ??

Also , how can we make API. For ex : for web services there is so many API's available in java.

In short , my question is how can I be ahead of crowd and create an API instead of using. Do should i do to be like one , who offers solutions to developers instead of being a developer who consumes it.

Hope am clear. Thanks in advance and Congratulations for the book!!

[Deepak Lal]

Jeffrey Friesen wrote:Hi Deepak,

Here are my answers to your questions:

1) This book doesn't cover all new features of Java 7. For example, it doesn't include NIO.2 (or even NIO). However, it covers Java 7 language features and some APIs (e.g., JXLayer).

2) I just tried downloading the zip file from http://www.apress.com/9781430239093 and had no problems. I recommend that you try again -- you might have had a network glitch.

I appreciate your kind words. Good luck with the draw.

All the best.

Jeff

Hi Jeff, had a clarification,which are the Java 7 language features which i can find in this book.could you please list those features of Java 7.
Thanks for the zip file,its working now.

[Jeffrey Friesen]

Hi Deepak and MeghnaN,

Deepak: My book covers all of the new Java 7 language features (e.g., switch on string, try-with-resources, underscores in literals, binary literals, SafeVarargs) along with several new APIs (e.g., JXLayer, Objects, the new web services support). I don't cover NIO.2 because I don't cover NIO. I ran out of time and was required by my publisher to include a chapter on Android. If I could have had my way, Chapter 12 would have covered NIO (including NIO.2) and security (and possibly a few additional topics that didn't make it into the book, space permitting). I'm glad the zip file is working for you.

MeghnaN: You often upgrade to a new Java version to take advantage of new features (e.g., Java 7's web services support) or because your application had to include lots of code to work around a bug in the current Java version and the bug has been fixed in the new version (and so you can streamline your code by removing this no-longer-needed workaround code). Possibly, certain security issues have been fixed in the new Java version and you may take this into consideration.

Creating an API can be a challenging experience. There are many things to keep in mind, such as the perils of inheritance, when should interfaces be used and when should abstract classes be used, and so on. I touch on many of these topics throughout the book.

All the best.

Jeff

[Deepak Lal]

Jeff wrote : I don't cover NIO.2 because I don't cover NIO. I ran out of time and was required by my publisher to include a chapter on Android. If I could have had my way, Chapter 12 would have covered NIO (including NIO.2) and security (and possibly a few additional topics that didn't make it into the book, space permitting).

@Jeff,My Comments.since you are talking about java 7 features book,i think the book is INCOMPLETE without the coverage of NIO.2(NIO),if possible can you re-publish the book by having a chapter which includes NIO,NIO2,Security with respect to Java 7.
I feel these features are a must for any Java 7 book. hope you can understand from a learners point of view.i would not like to refer to some other book on NIO,NIO2 and security features related to Java 7 ,when one book compiled by you should suffice.

i would not like to refer to n number of books for java 7 features rather than finding them at one place.

Please provide your thoughts

Regards,
Deepak Lal

[Jeffrey Friesen]

Hi Deepak,

I agree with everything you've said. However, Apress will not republish this edition. For example, I've previously contacted Apress about fixing the few mistakes that I've discovered so that future printed copies are free of them, but Apress declined. (I've created an errata.pdf file that can be freely downloaded from my website at http://tutortutor.ca/cgi-bin/makepage.cgi?/books/bj7.)

If you download the Appendix C "Odds and Ends" PDF document from my website, you'll discover the following Note near the top of this appendix:

NOTE: I originally (and foolishly) planned to cover every standard class library API, but this proved too big a task to perform. Therefore, with two exceptions, this appendix covers only those APIs that I promised to cover in the book itself (and a few others). These exceptions are New I/O and Security, which I still plan to cover in the future. Because of their sizes, I’ll present New I/O and Security in separate chapter PDF files.

I'm committed to still covering the topics of New I/O and Security via separate Chapter 13 and 14 PDF files that can be downloaded from my book's web page. Unfortunately, the need to make a living and health issues have slowed me down. However, this is a priority for me to work on this year; I'll probably release these PDFs in multiple stages of completion.

All the best.

Jeff

[Deepak Lal]

Jeff,
Thanks for the prompt reply,in case you are releasing those 2 pdf files ,You can refer to this thread again in future("Queries on Java 7 Beginner book") leaving your comments for ranchers to download the 2 pdfs for NIO and security as well.
i now hope i win this copy of book.

Thanks Jeff for your kind gesture of replying quickly.

Regards,
Deepak Lal