Java Swing (Java (O'Reilly)): Amazon.co.uk: Robert Eckstein, Marc Loy, Dave Wood, Dave Wood: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

In bygone days programmers reckoned 10 per cent of the effort went into the program and 90 per cent into its user interface. Most modern programming environments build user interfaces on the fly--apart from Java which is weak and provides inconsistent classes in this area. But no more.

Swing is completely written in Java to avoid platform dependencies and is designed to make interfaces to Java programs easy to create; but in itself it's complex. The authors take 1200 pages to explain it all, beginning with an apology for any confusion on version numbering and availability - Swing is still a moving target.

Java Swing starts by describing changes from the AWT classes. It also introduces, describes and provides usage examples of the new Swing classes and interfaces. Along with the basics are a number of complete Swing applications, including a text editor. By the time you reach the end of the book you're already modifying the basic interface to provide a customised look and feel for applications.

The authors claim there will be a new version when Swing settles down with final package names and a "finished" release for JDK 1.1. Don't wait. You need Java Swing now. --Steve Patient

Product Description

The Swing classes eliminate Java's biggest weakness: its relatively primitive user interface toolkit. Swing provides many new components and containers that allow you to build sophisticated user interfaces, far beyond what was possible with AWT. The old components have been greatly improved, and there are many new components, like trees, tables, and even text editors. It also adds several completely new features to Java's user interface capabilities: drag-and-drop, undo, and the ability to develop your own "look and feel," or the ability to choose between several standard looks. The Swing components are all "lightweight," and therefore provide more uniform behavior across platforms, making it easier to test your software.

All these new features mean that there's a lot to learn. Swing is undoubtedly way ahead of AWT -- or, for that matter, any widely available user interface toolkit -- but it's also a lot more complicated. It's still easy to do simple things. But once you've seen what's possible, you won't want to do the simple things.

Java Swing gives you in-depth coverage of everything you need to know to take full advantage of Swing, providing detailed descriptions of every class and interface in the key Swing packages. It shows you how to use all of the new components, allowing you to build state-of-the-art user interfaces. It also discusses how the components implement the MVC (Model View Controller) architecture, so you can understand how the components are designed and subclass them intelligently. Finally, it shows how to create your own "look and feel." Throughout, Java Swing focuses on giving you the context you need to understand what you're doing. It's more than documentation; Java Swing helps you develop code quickly and effectively.

Whether you're a serious Java developer, or just trying to find out what Java can do, you'll find Java Swing an indispensable guide.

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Customer Reviews

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Exhaustive and detailed coverage of Swing. 30 Nov 2000

By Daniel Woods

Format:Paperback

O'Reilly technical books have a well-deserved repuation for excellence, and this one is no exception. It launches into the innards of Swing barely after the introduction, explaining each of the major classes in detail. The functionality provided by each of the major GUI components is revealed, along with quirks and perhaps unexpected side-effects of use. The JTable and JTree classes (and their associated components) receive extensive coverage, as does the undo mechanism and the document model for text components. Creation of a custom look and feel is also discussed in detail.

NOT a book for the Java beginner, as it assumes a solid grounding in the language and at least a basic familiarity with the AWT, but a MUST HAVE for anyone involved with developing or maintaining Swing applications.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Great annotated reference 25 Sep 2000

By g.buchanan@mdx.ac.uk

There are many types of computer book. If you are inexperienced, or don't know the background, then a tutorial is best. This isn't a tutorial, more towards the "Nutshell" tradition of O'Reilly - ie what I'd call an "Annotated Reference", giving both building-brick examples and concise explanations of the technology alongside a full technical reference. For a tutorial, it'd deserve no more than 2 stars, but as a desktop reference for those who are confident of their Java/GUI skills, it is a great reference - 5 stars. Overall though, as a second Swing book for those less sure of themselves, and doubling as an annotated reference for the more advanced: 4 stars overall, as it doesn't give you the background a full tutorial would.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

It's a big book, but it's a big topic 16 Oct 2001

By K. Tune VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Many computer books are too long, excessively padded with fat margins and code listings for irrelevent programs. Despite it's size, this is not one of them.

The authors have written a book for someone who wants to understand how Swing works. To this end, every element of the language is investigated, with significant emphasis being placed on understanding the Model-View-Controller pattern underlying the architecture.

The examples almost all work ( need to show() internal frames but that's the only bug I found ) and really help in clarifying the subject matter, and there's plenty of them.

Everything from labels to creating your own components / Look and Feel is covered.

Just maybe it might be worth reading Chapters 26 and 28 early on ( Look and Feel / Swing under the Hood ) as you have to wait for these before you find out how rendering works, and how the UIDelegate fits into the picture.

Overall though, a very good tutorial, and an excellent reference work.