<pre>
Author/s : Stuart Dabbs Halloway
Publisher : Addison-Wesley
Category : Advanced Java
Review by : Margarita Isayeva
Rating : 9 horseshoes</pre>
I used to think about
Java as a programming language: design, coding, debugging and when my classes are compiled - the game is finished. This book shows that a new round of the game starts from here. The objects turn into "components", and Java, the language, becomes a platform for component development. The author examines its basic features: class loading architecture, type information (Java class format), Reflection API to access this information - on top of these basic mechanisms many high-level technologies, like
EJB,
JSP, RMI, are built. And if you understand the underlying concepts, many mysteries with those technologies are solved. Better yet, now you do not have to rely on existing technologies, you can design and develop your own.
To wake up your imagination, the book shows how you can extend Java class format, write your own custom Class Loaders, add arbitraty functionality at run time via dynamic proxies, and - my favourite subject - to grant routine programming to code generators.
There are three reasons why I would love a book: it gives me either conceptual understanding, or details on what's going on "under the hood", or a bunch of practical advice. It's not often that one book includes it all.
More info at Amazon.com More info at Amazon.co.uk
