Java All-in-One Desk Reference

About This Book

Java All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies is intended to be a reference for all the great things (and maybe a few not-so-great things) that you may need to know when you’re writing Java programs. You can, of course, buy a huge 1,200-page book on each of the programming topics covered in this book. But then, who would carry them home from the bookstore for you? And where would you find the shelf space to store them? In this book, you get the information you need all conveniently packaged for you in between one set of covers.

This book doesn’t pretend to be a comprehensive reference for every detail on these topics. Instead, it shows you how to get up and running fast so that you have more time to do the things you really want to do. Designed using the easy-to-follow For Dummies format, this book helps you get the informa¬tion you need without laboring to find it.

Java All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies is a big book made up of several smaller books — minibooks, if you will. Each of these minibooks covers the basics of one key element of programming, such as installing Java and com¬piling and running programs, or using basic Java statements, or using Swing to write GUI applications.

Whenever one big thing is made up of several smaller things, confusion is always a possibility. That’s why this book is designed to have multiple access points to help you find what you want. At the beginning of the book is a detailed table of contents that covers the entire book. Then, each mini-book begins with a minitable of contents that shows you at a miniglance what chapters are included in that minibook. Useful running heads appear at the top of each page to point out the topic discussed on that page. And handy thumbtabs run down the side of the pages to help you quickly find each minibook. Finally, a comprehensive index lets you find information any¬where in the entire book.

This isn’t the kind of book you pick up and read from start to finish, as if it were a cheap novel. If I ever see you reading it at the beach, I’ll kick sand in your face. This book is more like a reference, the kind of book you can pick up, turn to just about any page, and start reading. You don’t have to memo¬rize anything in this book. It’s a “need-to-know” book: You pick it up when you need to know something. Need a reminder on the constructors for the ArrayList class? Pick up the book. Can’t remember the goofy syntax for anonymous inner classes? Pick up the book. After you find what you need, put the book down and get on with your life.

How to Use This Book

This book works like a reference. Start with the topic you want to find out about. Look for it in the table of contents or in the index to get going. The table of contents is detailed enough that you can find most of the topics you’re looking for. If not, turn to the index, where you can find even more detail.

Of course, the book is loaded with information, so if you want to take a brief excursion into your topic, you’re more than welcome. If you want to know the big picture on inheritance, read the whole chapter on inheritance. But if you just want to know the rules for calling the superclass constructor, just read the section on inheritance and constructors.

Whenever I describe console output from a program or information that you see on-screen, I present it as follows:

A message from not-another-Hello-World program
If the program involves an interaction with the user, you see the text entered by the user in bold type.
How This Book Is Organized

Each of the nine minibooks contained in Java All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies can stand alone. Here is a brief description of what you find in each minibook.

Book I: Java Basics

This minibook contains the information you need to get started with Java. After a brief introduction to what Java is and why it’s so popular, you down¬load Java and install it on your computer and use its command-line tools. Then, you use two popular development tools — TextPad and Eclipse — to create Java programs.

Book II: Programming Basics

This minibook covers all the basic details of programming with the Java lan¬guage. I start with such basics as data types, variables, and statements, and then move on to expressions, conditional statements, looping statements, and methods. I end with a discussion of how to handle exceptions. You really need to know everything that’s in this minibook to do any serious programming, so you’ll probably spend a lot of time here if you’re new to programming.

Book III: Object-Oriented Programming

This minibook goes deep into the details of object-oriented programming with Java. You create your own classes, as well as work with inheritance and polymorphism. You also get the scoop on abstract classes, interfaces, pack¬ages, inner classes, and even anonymous inner classes.
Book IV: Strings, Arrays, and Collections

This minibook focuses on working with strings, arrays, and collections. You find out all about Java’s strange immutable strings as well as the StringBuilder and StringBuffer classes. You also create and work with arrays, and their collection counterparts including array lists and linked lists. Along the way, you find out about a cool new object-oriented programming feature called generics, which is designed to simplify the han¬dling of arrays and collections.

Book V: Programming Techniques

In this minibook, you discover a variety of interesting and often useful pro¬gramming techniques. For example, I include a chapter on working with threads so you can create programs that do more than one thing at a time. There’s a chapter on using regular expressions that shows you how to do some amazing string handling. And there’s a chapter on a programming tech¬nique called recursion that every programmer needs to feel comfortable with.

Book VI: Swing

Swing is the part of Java that lets you create graphical user interfaces. In this minibook, you find out all about Swing: how to create windows with controls like buttons, text fields, check boxes, drop-down lists, and so on; how to write programs that respond when the user clicks a button or types text; and how to control the layout of complicated forms.

Book VII: Web Programming

In this minibook, you use various Java features for creating Web applications. First, you turn Swing applications into applets that run in a user’s browser. Then, you create full-blown Web applications using servlets and JSP.

Book VIII: File and Database Programming

The chapters in this minibook show you how to work with data stored on disk, whether it’s in files, in a database, or in an XML file. You find chapters on working with files and directories, reading and writing data from streams, using Java’s database interface (JDBC) to access databases, and using Java’s XML features to read and write XML data.

Book IX: Fun and Games

This last minibook gets into some of the more interesting and fun aspects of Java programming. Specifically, you play with fonts and colors, draw pic¬tures, work with images and media, and even create animations and write simple game programs.

This book’s Web site

This book has an accompanying Web site (www.dummies.com/go/ javaaiofd) that includes even more goodies. If you’re the kind of person who’s always looking for a way to save time typing, the Web page includes all the code listings that are used in this book. And for those of you who are yearning for even more Java information, be sure to check out the three bonus chapters on the Web site: “Using the BigDecimal Class,” “Twiddling Your Bits,” and “Using Menus.”
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