Feedback
If you need to learn about earlier releases of the language that are not
covered in this edition, the first edition of the book is freely downloadable
at www.BruceEckel.com and is also contained on the CD that is bound in
with this book. Feedback
One thing you’ll notice is that, when I do need to mention earlier versions
of the language, I don’t use the sub-revision numbers. In this book I will
refer to Java 1.0, Java 1.1, and Java 2 only, to guard against typographical
errors produced by further sub-revisioning of these products. Feedback
Seminars and mentoring
My company provides five-day, hands-on, public and in-house training
seminars based on the material in this book. Selected material from each
chapter represents a lesson, which is followed by a monitored exercise
period so each student receives personal attention. The audio lectures and
slides for the introductory seminar are also captured on CD ROM to
provide at least some of the experience of the seminar without the travel
and expense. For more information, go to www.BruceEckel.com. Feedback
26 Thinking
in
Java www.BruceEckel.com
My company also provides consulting, mentoring and walkthrough
services to help guide your project through its development cycle—
especially your company’s first Java project. Feedback
Errors
No matter how many tricks a writer uses to detect errors, some always
creep in and these often leap off the page for a fresh reader. Feedback
There is an error submission form linked from the beginning of each
chapter in the HTML version of this book (and on the CD ROM bound
into the back of this book, and downloadable from www.BruceEckel.com)
and also on the Web site itself, on the page for this book. If you discover
anything you believe to be an error, please use this form to submit the
error along with your suggested correction. If necessary, include the
original source file and note any suggested modifications. Your help is
appreciated. Feedback
Note on the cover design
The cover of Thinking in Java is inspired by the American Arts & 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 & 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. Feedback
I see Java in this same way: as an attempt to elevate the programmer
away from an operating-system mechanic and toward being a “software
craftsman.” Feedback
Introduction
27
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. Feedback
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 “cover object,” which
illustrates the fundamental concept of aggregation in object-oriented
programming. Of course, a programmer cannot help but make the
association with “bugs,” 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’s ability to find, display, and subdue bugs
(which is truly one of its most powerful attributes). Feedback
Acknowledgements
First, thanks to associates who have worked with me to give seminars,
provide consulting, and develop teaching projects: Andrea Provaglio,
Dave Bartlett, Bill Venners, Chuck Allison, Jeremy Meyer, and Larry
O’Brien. I appreciate your patience as I continue to try to develop the best
model for independent folks like us to work together.
Recently, no doubt because of the Internet, I have become associated with
a surprisingly large number of people who assist me in my endeavors,
usually working from their own home offices. In the past, I would have
had to pay for a pretty big office space to accommodate all these folks, but
because of the net and Fedex and occasionally the telephone, I’m able to
benefit from their help without the extra costs. In my attempts to learn to
better “play well with others,” you have all been very helpful, and I hope
to continue learning how to make my own work better through the efforts
of others. Paula Steuer has been invaluable in taking over my haphazard
business practices and making them sane (thanks for prodding me when I