Java links

What should I read to get started?

• See my section on computer books.
• Sun has many excellent tutorials: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/reallybigindex.html  

Improve your Swing performance.

You need to know a few things about Swing event handling to improve performance.

Tips

Here are some java issues that I find myself explaining often.

Class documentation

• JDK Documentation:   java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/api/index.html   http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5/docs/api/index.html   http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/api/index.html
• New features for 1.6: java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/features.html  
• New features for 1.5: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/index.html  
• Java Almanac "Examplets": http://javaalmanac.com/egs/  
• Searchable docs:   http://java.sun.com/docs/searchabledocs.html
• Java coding conventions:   http://java.sun.com/docs/codeconv/html/CodeConvTOC.doc.html

Java Development Kit

• The latest JDK for Solaris, NT/Win32, and Linux:   http://www.javasoft.com/products/   http://www.javasoft.com/   http://java.sun.com/
• The Eclipse IDE: http://www.eclipse.org/   http://graphics.stanford.edu/~katokop1/eclipse.html  

General language features

• All Sun's tutorials: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/reallybigindex.html  
• Specification: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls/index.html  
• Developer's Connection:   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/
• Bug Parade:   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/index.jshtml
• Java FAQ's:   http://metalab.unc.edu/javafaq/   http://sunsite.unc.edu/javafaq/javafaq.html   http://www.www-net.com/java/faq/
• Many good articles at Sun:   http://java.sun.com/features/   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/JDCTechTips/
• Code conventions:   http://java.sun.com/docs/codeconv/index.html
• Great collection of short code samples for every package.:   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/codesamples/
• I found java generics very easy to understand and remember after reading this explanation of the implementation, with "erasure" and "bridging." http://today.java.net/pub/a/today/2003/12/02/explorations.html  
• How to use javadoc :   http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/javadoc/writingdoccomments/index.html
• Triggering stack traces for debugging :   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/onlineTraining/Programming/JDCBook/stack.html
• Reference objects and garbage collection :   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/ALT/index.html
• Tuning garbage collection, and how it works: http://java.sun.com/docs/hotspot/gc5.0/gc_tuning_5.html  
• Serialization and versioning:   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/TechTips/2000/tt0229.html   xstream.codehaus.org  
• Resource bundles with property files : for internationalization   http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/i18n/resbundle/propfile.html
• JavaMail: http://java.sun.com/developer/onlineTraining/JavaMail/contents.html   http://java.sun.com/products/javamail/reference/faqs/index.html  
• TSpaces, another n-tuple Linda derivative -- like JavaSpaces.   http://alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/tspaces/   http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/TSpaces/
• Free book: "Data Structures and Algorithms with Object-Oriented Design Patterns in Java" by Bruno Preiss.   http://dictator.uwaterloo.ca/Bruno.Preiss/books/opus5/html/page9.html

Threads

• Doug Lea's concurrent programming classes.:   http://gee.cs.oswego.edu/dl/classes/EDU/oswego/cs/dl/util/concurrent/intro.html   http://gee.cs.oswego.edu/dl/cpj/index.html
• The memory model and the effect on synchronization:   http://www.cs.umd.edu/~pugh/java/memoryModel/
• Double checked locking may not work!:   http://www.cs.umd.edu/~pugh/java/memoryModel/DoubleCheckedLocking.html

Swing

• Tutorial: java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing  
• Tips: www.swingwiki.org  
• Good Swing articles, including TreeTable:   http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/tsc/articles/index.html
• The paint mechanism in Swing:   http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/tsc/articles/painting/index.html
• The Swing event-dispatching thread:   http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/tsc/articles/threads/threads1.html

RMI

• Main RMI page:   http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/rmi/
• RMI tutorial:   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/onlineTraining/rmi/RMI.html
• Properties for RMI activation server: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/rmi/sunrmiproperties.html  

Profiling

• JVMPI reference documentation.:   http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/docs/guide/jvmpi/jvmpi.html
• PerfAnal is a handy graphical tool for interpreting HPROF profiles.:   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Programming/perfanal/
• Monitor process:   java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/J2SE/jconsole.html
• Memory and performance: www.khelekore.org/jmp  
• Memory profiler: http://cougaar.org/projects/profiler/  
• Here's another profiler, more encumbered than PerfAnal: http://www.hp.com/products1/unix/java/hpjmeter/  
• HPROF is the built-in profiler.:   http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/TechTips/2000/tt0124.html#tip2 : java -Xrunhprof:cpu=samples,depth=30,file=temp.hprof com.foo.Bar
• HAT: analyze the heap for unnecessary object retention: https://hat.dev.java.net/  
• Get CPU times per thread on all platforms, using JVMPI:   http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/javatips/jw-javatip92.html
• High-performance Java:   http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/sj39-1.html
• Java optimization:   http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jch/java/optimization.html

Containers

• Collections tutorial:   http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/collections/index.html

Utilities

• JUnit is an essential testing framework:   http://www.junit.org/   http://sourceforge.net/projects/junit/
• Ant: a great alternative to Make for Java.:   http://jakarta.apache.org/ant/   http://ant.apache.org/manual/index.html  
• Parse html: people.apache.org/~andyc/neko/doc/html  
• OpenGL wrappers: www.jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=231   opengl.j3d.org  
• JRefactory: cleans up your formatting and indentation, plus refactoring: http://jrefactory.sourceforge.net/  
• Liftoff: a handy cross-platform installer using Java.:   http://liftoff.sourceforge.net/
• Jython: a great way to script, debug, and test Java classes.:   http://jython.sourceforge.net/
• Aspect-oriented extensions to Java:   http://aspectj.org/
• New stuff:   http://jars.com/
• Great components, but puzzling licenses:   http://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com/Home/
• GNU Java utilities:   http://www.gnu.org/software/java/java.html
• Decompilers: www.java-decompiler.com  
• Getopt in Java:   http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/hacking/download.html
• Help using XML in Java:   http://developerlife.com/
• Running a java application as a Windows service:   http://www.kcmultimedia.com/javaserv/
• Java hall of fame:   http://www.apl.jhu.edu/~hall/java/
• AFU good stuff (Peter van der Linden):   http://www.afu.com/

Applications

• IBM Java: Visual Age is a free IDE (development tool):   http://www3.software.ibm.com/download/   http://www.ibm.com/java/
• Open-source UML Case tool in java:   http://argouml.tigris.org/
• Japhar, another public source VM:   http://www.hungry.com/   http://www.japhar.org/
• JEdit -- a text editor in Java:   http://jedit.sourceforge.net/
• 3D Visualizer:   http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/visad.html
• Java shareware:   http://www.javashareware.com/
• See where those satellites are right now.:   http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTime/JTrack/3D/JTrack3D.html
• Stretch an image in your browser:   http://www.axlrosen.net/alexwarplarge.html

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