John Topley's Weblog

Effective Java Programming Language Guide by Joshua Bloch

Friday, 30 May 2003

I've read a fair number of computer programming books in my time and Effective Java ranks as one of the best. The author is a senior engineer at Sun Microsystems and was responsible for the design and implementation of some of the key parts of the Java platform, including the Math(s) library and the collections framework.

Each chapter is split into a number of items, with each item having a straightforward title such as Avoid creating duplicate objects. The item is then explained and illustrated with numerous code examples throughout. The code sections are just long enough to get the point across concisely, without labouring it. The book is well-written, which means that it's a very easy read; something you can't always say about technical books.

There are 240-odd pages of Java lore in the book and it is obvious from reading it that much of it has been formulated through extensive practical experience. Many subtleties of the language and its libraries are revealed.

No serious Java programmer should be without this definitive book. To quote James Gosling (the originator of Java) from the back cover: “Some might think that I don't need any Java books, but I need this one.” 5/5.

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