Java in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference 7th Edition

This book is aimed at experienced programmers. It's concise because it doesn't teach programming, but instead focuses on the specifics of Java. I imagine this book would work very well for veterans of other object oriented languages such as C#, C++ or Python; however, I started reading this with 10 years of experience in C, and still found it a perfect balance of technical depth and brevity. (The JVM is written in C, and this book is very good at calling out how Java concepts were implemented -- perfect for C programmers.)This is one of only a handful of technical books that I've basically read cover-to-cover. (It's also been a terrific reference.) After reading this book, I was able to pivot directly from a senior C developer to a senior Java developer.If you're new to Java, I'd recommend following it up with a book on the Java ecosystem, such as "The Well Rounded Java Developer". If you're new OOP, I'd recommend following it up with a book on best-practices, such as "Effective Java" or "Clean Code". And, if you're one of the many Java developers who will be working with Spring, definitely check out "Spring in Action".

i have always liked the Nutshell pocket guides. all the important information is there, and you don't have to carry around a book that weighs two pounds. is everything in there, no, because the book would weight two pounds, but everything you need on the fly will probably be there.

The book is good

I already do coding in java, but this book has shed light on some features I didn't know.

I have read several books regarding Java 7/ Java 8 / Java 9 before. This book is one of myfavorites, since it is very compact and chock full of examples

“Java in a Nutshell” has been updated for Java 11. It has everything you'd expect from the prior editions – syntax, examples and a great reference. New features from Java 8+ are highlighted. Some design patterns and tradeoffs are explained. A lot of concepts, like garbage collection, are covered as well.I particularly liked the examples of common methods. There were a few in Collections that I could use and didn't realize existed. I also learned about a trick to with var and anonymous inner classes (that I hope not to see in real code). And of course, I like that big O notation was used in discussing collections. Many new features were covered well including method handles and modules.A number of garbage collectors were discussed. I was surprised the g1 garbage collector didn't get more attention. It was well explained but didn't have a section header. I was also surprised to see an appendix that covered Nashorn since it a deprecated feature.Overall, this is a great book and I recommend it for your Java learning/reference.

An otherwise good book, but the paper quality is poor. The pages seem thinner, and are very susceptible to humidity. All my pages are wrinkled. Am considering sending it back.

I program in other languages and wanted to add Java to my skills. I thought the compact nature of this book would allow me to save time while learning the language. Much of the book references topics in later chapters without explaining their use at the time.In my opinion, there were too many suggestions to get external sources of information to keep the book size down. The authors say the topics were beyond the scope of the book so they skipped the topics. There were too many to keep track of but I would estimate well over a dozen - maybe two dozen (this is an estimate).I thought "In a Nutshell" meant comprehensive coverage without filler material, but the presentation assumes you know Java already; the cover says "A Desktop Quick Reference". Still, many code examples build on previous examples recently presented as if its a tutorial and not a reference. Sometimes it seemed the book wasn't sure which of the two it should be. Since more advanced topics are mentioned without explanation at the time, I found this approach frustrating and not very helpful.Also, some of the code examples contain trigonometry. I never got past algebra, so I couldn't follow some of what was being presented. In my opinion, examples containing 'widgets' or everyday topics would be easier to follow and remember. Did everybody ELSE take trigonometry except me? Fortunately I was able to follow the geometry examples, which were much more represented than the trig.I thought providing more examples of what programmers would likely encounter in a professional or business scenario would make better educational material than finding the area of a circle or rectangle (or how close the centers were to the zero coordinates on a Cartesian graph) over and over. The authors were building on previous examples here, to keep it simple. It seemed like more of the tutorial aspect, rather than a reference. If you went to the topic directly from the index, you wouldn't have read the previous examples.To be fair, there were some solid and valuable hi-tech examples presented for those who can use them as professionals. Still, it seemed to me too much time was spent on shapes and their positions, where processing database records or creating an inquiry program might have been more useful.When presenting new topics, the book often starts with a historical account of why that topic was introduced into Java platform. I would have preferred an immediate and direct explanation of the topic itself, which was sometimes hard to find. Since this is a reference, a standardized heading followed by the topic description format is what I expected.I think information like, "This feature was originally added to Java in version 1.2" (for example) is not helpful and contradicts the 'no filler' aspect I read in the book description. This does not apply to recent language additions, which are actually helpful for people catching up with the latest versions (the book covers up to version 11 at the time of this review).Before purchasing this book I checked others on Amazon. This one seemed to have the best ratings for Java 11. Although I did not enjoy reading it, I would still recommend it for it's intended use - a reference. I tried to learn the language from it, so I can't blame the book - only myself. I give it three stars for the presentation issues listed above.Overall, there is a lot of valuable information here and it looks like a good reference for seasoned Java programmers. The authors have impressive credentials and know the history of Java from the beginning to the current version. If you know Java, this might be the one for you.