Java is a new and exciting object-oriented programming language which is set to transform the world wide web. Java allows users to write applications which can be accessed across different platforms and provides an effective means of building small but powerful programs that enable a huge range of new applications - such as animation, live updating, two-way interactions etc. - to be quickly and easily implemented. As with all the 'Essential Series' books Essential Java Fast provides a highly readable and accessible introduction to the Java programming language allowing the reader to get up and running fast when developing their own programs. Software developers producing software for the Internet, those writing substantial commercial applications in a Windows environment, as well as individuals wanting to produce single versions of an application to run on any platform, should read this book from cover to cover.

Inhalt
1 Why Use Java?.- What is Java?.- Is this book for you?.- What you need to run Java.- How to use this book.- Conventions.- 2 Object Orientation Primer.- What are objects?.- Classes.- Attributes and behaviour.- Inheritance.- Why use inheritance?.- 3 Java Applets.- Applets and applications.- Why applets are different.- A simple applet.- Initialising an applet.- Starting an applet.- Stopping an applet.- Destroying an applet.- Displaying text and graphics.- Java and HTML.- HTML tags.- The applet tag.- Creating an applet.- Controlling the applet size and position.- Compiling applications.- Command line arguments for applications.- Command line arguments for applets.- 4 The Java Language.- Applications and applets.- Features of Java programs.- Names in Java.- Running a Java application.- Key elements of a Java program.- Classes.- New objects.- Data types.- Arrays.- Methods.- Calling methods.- Creating a class and an object.- Instance variables.- Class variables.- Constants.- Using instance variables.- Using class variables.- The keyword this.- Arithmetic in Java.- Assigning number variables.- Casting.- Assigning characters, strings and boolean variables.- Assignment operators.- Assigning objects.- Comparison operators.- Comparing objects.- Overloaded methods.- Constructors.- The finalize method.- 5 Branching and Looping.- Ifelse statements.- Block statements.- The conditional operator.- Switch statements.- Looping.- While loops.- Do..while loops.- For loops.- Quitting loops.- Java operators.- Bitwise operators.- Logical operators.- Operator precedence.- Using strings in Java.- 6 Graphics.- Graphics basics.- Graphics drawing methods.- Lines and points.- Rectangles.- Plain rectangles.- Rounded rectangles.- 3D-effect rectangles.- Polygons.- Ovals.- Arcs.- Colour.- Pre-definedcolour.- Defining colours.- Changing object colours.- Text and fonts.- Using images.- The drawlmage method.- The keyword this.- 7 Animation and Multithreading.- Multithreading.- Creating new threads.- Pre-emptive scheduling.- Problems with multiple threads.- The synchronized keyword.- Using Runnable.- Thread priorities.- Animation.- The bouncing ball applet.- Using threads.- Reducing flicker.- Overriding methods.- Overriding update.- Using double buffering.- 8 Handling Exceptions.- What are exceptions?.- Java exceptions.- The java.lang.Exception class.- Trying and catching.- Throwing and catching.- Using finally.- 9 The Java.Awt Package.- Event driven programming.- What the AWT does.- The Button component.- The Label component.- The Scrollbar component.- The Checkbox component.- The List component.- The TextField component.- Entering passwords.- The TextArea component.- Controlling layout.- The FlowLayout class.- The GridLayout class.- The GridBagLayout class.- The BorderLayout class.- The CardLayout class.- Layout methods.- Using the layout managers.- 10 Handling Events.- Mouse events.- The mouseDown and mouseUp events.- Boolean methods.- The line drawing applet.- The scribble applet.- Keyboard events.- The handleEvent method.- The action method.- 11 Windows, Dialogs and Menus.- Creating and displaying windows.- Adding objects to pages.- Menus.- Types of menu items.- Enabling and disabling menu items.- The Dialog subclass.- Windows methods.- 12 Input and Output Streams.- The java.io package.- The FilelnputStream class.- Reading from streams.- The skip and mark methods.- The ByteArraylnputStream class.- The StringBufferinputStream class.- The FilterinputStream class.- The BufferedlnputStream class.- The DatalnputStream class.- The LineNumberinputStream class.- The PushbacklnputStream class.- The PipedlnputStream class.- The SequencelnputStream class.- The OutputStream class.- The FileOutputStream class.- Writing to streams.- The ByteArrayOutputStream class.- The FilterOutputStream class.- The BufferedOutputStream class.- The PrintStream class.- The DataOutputStream class.- The PipedOutputStream class.- 13 Modifiers and Packages.- Access control.- The public access modifier.- The private access modifier.- The package access modifier.- The protected access modifier.- Accessor methods.- The final modifier.- Using packages.- Why use packages?.- Importing packages.- The java.lang package.- 14 Java and C++.- Data types.- Using strings.- Command line arguments.- Exception handling.- Miscellaneous differences.- Appendix A Java Packages.- Reserved words.- Reserved characters.- Java operators.- Java data types.- The Java class library.- Appendix B Class Hierarchies.- Class hierarchy.