Murray Todd Williams | Eric Albert | James Hart | Daniel Steinberg | John Hopkins
1 Easily the Worst book I can remember buying
I am not sure who this book the 'committee' wrote this for, but I can think of no one. More like a hodge-podge collection of Internet clippings somewhat related to Java & Macs, interspersed with useless code. It is sad because the Mac market needs a Java book covering getting started and the many options and tools Apple has provided the Java student & developer.
I am sorry I wasted my money & was responsible for the deaths of the trees that made it!
2 Mac OS X Java
This is probably the worst technical book that I have read. Its more a collection of papers than anything else, and much of the content is trivial. Beginning progrmmers would find nothing in here. Advanced programmers will probably find a few nuggets of information that are useful, but they are few and far between.
3 Just what I was looking for...
If you are looking for an excellent book on Java on the new Macintosh operating system OS X, this is one to get. The writing style is well done and the book, in terms of content, is well thought out. I am enjoying the authors coverage of pure Java vs Mac OS X specific issues in particular. Keep up the good job.
4 Only Game In Town
What a jumble; it's symbolic of the dev environment these days.
There are seven chapters and five authors. Examples from chapter 2 disappear and then resurface in a late chapter because, hey, those are two chapters from the same author. Terms get introduced multiple times in different ways. One paragraph assumes you've been a developer for 10 years, the next assumes you know nothing, and then it's back to assuming you're very experienced again. The writing itself is clear, but this is not a polished book. It's a set of essays in chronic need of a good editor to unify them.
Still, if you want to do Java programming in OS X, this is the book for you. It got me through the buzzword thicket that's grown around all things OS X, and the code examples are great. I'm glad I bought it.
Until Ian McFarland's _Java Programming with Mac OS X_ comes out, this is the only book out there.
I feel sorry for any 16-year-olds out there who didn't get to grow up with NeXTStep or classic mac toolbox experience. They might be best off learning Objective C if they want to pick up Cocoa. For those who know Java but not Cocoa... this is the book.
5 Good Book for Experienced Java Programmer
This book is a good book for the experienced Java Programmer and happens to be the only modern book out there discussing Java on the Mac OS X platform. A thin book, only about 200 pages, it contains no fluff; every section of the book deals leads you through the essentials for tapping Mac OS X's built in Java VM and optionally COCOA. The sixth chapter of the 7 chapter book is devoted to using COCOA in your Java Applications, making them bound to run only on Mac OS X, but allowing greater power by leveraging the the bridge between Java and Objective C and thereby using the native Mac code in a fast and efficient manner.
6 NOT for learning Java!
If you're looking to break into Java programming using your Mac, this is definately NOT the book to choose! This book is basically a single-source for all the miscellaneous docs, FAQs, and "how would I" type info that can already be found in Apple docs if you're willing to look for it. Book covers in brief topics such as using the various Java tools for packaging Java apps, what editors are available for the Mac, a short description of the various Mac interfaces, etc. This book is for experienced Java programmers who are interested in packaging their apps for OS X... assumes a great deal of knowledge and experience with Java.
7 Holds what it promises
Overall a well written book. It collects information scattered in different documents in the web, it even explains Cocoa basics well for an pure Java-Programmer. Just some superfluos pages (Which reader is addressed, when a pure Java AWT/Swing example is shown?), otherwise 5 stars.
