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Java Forum / General / May 2006Wicked Cool Java
Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java". It's great! It skips all the plodding step by step stuff and just talks about the cutting edge cool things you can do with java. http://www.wickedcooljava.com/ > Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java". > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > http://www.wickedcooljava.com/ Reviewed: http://www.techbookreport.com/tbr0230.html  SignatureTechBookReport Java http://www.techbookreport.com/JavaIndex.html >> Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java". >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> > Reviewed: http://www.techbookreport.com/tbr0230.html I might be more inclined to take this review seriously if the name of the reviewer was supplied and if the competency of the reviewer was stated. In other words, the review doesn't indicate even the name of the reviewer, let alone the Java skills he/she possesses. Without that information, I have no reason to take this review any more seriously than a review written by a beginner or hype from the publisher. There are several people on this newsgroup who have, in my opinion, demonstrated a wide understanding of Java programming and/or OO design. Why not get some of them to review the books on your site? I'd be more inclined to take a book review seriously if it was written by Oliver Wong or Chris Uppal, for example, than I am by an anonymous review. -- Rhino > There are several people on this newsgroup who have, in my opinion, > demonstrated a wide understanding of Java programming and/or OO design. Why > not get some of them to review the books on your site? I'm not sure if that's the right approach. The neat thing about Wicked Cool Java (http://www.wickedcooljava.com) is that it's an /advanced/ book for *beginners*. It's for people like me who want a minimal amount of formalism, but yet want to jump right into the really cool features of a product or language. It's not "for dummies", and it's not "for pedagogues" either. > It's for people like me who want a minimal amount of formalism, but yet > want to jump right into the really cool features of a product or language.\ I'll be sure and flip through it next time I'm at the book store. If the New England accent comes through too much beyond the title, I'll laugh and move on. Chapter 7 sounds interesting. How deep does it go? > Chapter 7 sounds interesting. How deep does it go? It's hardcore in that it covers a lot of ground. Music Synthesized Sound JMusic Java Speech RealTime APIs Thread Syncs This is more a book to kind of jar the brain and say "look, look at all this stuff that java can do". Then, if one or the other thing really catches your interest, it's up to you to drill down or use the website to get more. However, if this is your area of expertise, I would say, that you would find it not that interesting -- BUT, you may read another chapter and figure out how to mash up AI and Multimedia together! >> Chapter 7 sounds interesting. How deep does it go? > > It's hardcore in that it covers a lot of ground. A chetah covers a lot of ground, but there's nothing "hard" about a chetah. > Music > Synthesized Sound [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > find it not that interesting -- BUT, you may read another chapter and > figure out how to mash up AI and Multimedia together! so does it do THE real cool stuff like: Serial communication RS232 USB implementation or just the "gay" cool stuff like music, that you can implement in 5 lines of java? Steve > so does it do THE real cool stuff like: > > Serial communication RS232 > USB implementation I don't see either of those in the index. What do you mean by USB music? One thing I've always wanted is do be able to pipe my Sandisk m200 player's music via a USB cable to a sound card and out the computer's speakers. Is that possible? > or just...stuff...that you can implement in 5 lines of code Dude. Don't you know? The coolest things are always implemented in 5 lines of code. > so does it do THE real cool stuff like: > > Serial communication RS232 > USB implementation It mostly demonstrates the usage of special-purpose third-party free-software libraries. Some of these libraries do hard things, but non of them solves everyday problems like USB access or fixes the RS232 problem. /Thomas SignatureThe comp.lang.java.gui FAQ: ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/pub/NEWS.ANSWERS/computer-lang/java/gui/faq http://www.uni-giessen.de/faq/archiv/computer-lang.java.gui.faq/ >> so does it do THE real cool stuff like: >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > of them solves everyday problems like USB access or fixes the RS232 > problem. What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. But it's /not/ cool. I did RS232 comms programming for more years than I care to recall, and "cool" lasted maybe a week. These days especially, there is nothing the least bit cool about it. Luke > What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. But > it's /not/ cool. I did RS232 comms programming for more years than I > care to recall, and "cool" lasted maybe a week. These days especially, > there is nothing the least bit cool about it. I wrote serial drivers twelve to fourteen years ago, and today, I honestly cannot tell you how I did it. I'm totally serious, I was doing things in C and x86 asm that I literally do not know how to do today. Some of the systems I worked on were pretty cool, but definitely not the code or the process of writing it. I don't remember anything about it, and except when something reminds me (like this message thread), I actually forget I had that job altogether. >> What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. But >> it's /not/ cool. I did RS232 comms programming for more years than I [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Some of the systems I worked on were pretty cool, but definitely not the > code or the process of writing it. Heh. My first foray into serial comms was on a CP/M box in 1981, starting in assembly language, but switching to Pascal. Then later in a bizarre virtual assembler for the Pick O/S and some BASIC, then later in x86 assembler for the IBM PC under DOS, then later in C for the same platform, then later in C under Winblows and then later in Pascal under Winblows. Too much to forget. > I don't remember anything about it, > and except when something reminds me (like this message thread), I > actually forget I had that job altogether. I still recall fumbling around to learn just what the hell you could do in a PC hardware interrupt routine. Not a lot, as it turned out. <g> Luke >> What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. But >> it's /not/ cool. I did RS232 comms programming for more years than I [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > and except when something reminds me (like this message thread), I > actually forget I had that job altogether. we ve all done this , long before C was ever invented. serial & parallel printer drivers, computer to computer links before ethernet , more than 25 years ago. Unfortunately i still have the code stuck in my head. But my point remains that , "wicked cool java" is obviously a morons Guide. These kids , will never understand the true meaning of pain , or what is actually required in real business environments. (scanners/printers/cash draws /production line control/shipping/Quality assurance and such like) Hence RS232 & USB Steve >we ve all done this , long before C was ever invented. serial >& parallel printer drivers, computer to computer links before >ethernet , more than 25 years ago. Some time ago I meet with a friend. I had my Pet 2001 with me. He had an Apple ][ clone. We connected them with a wire. Then, we talked about a protocol. Within the next two hours or so we both implemented it in 6502 machine language, he on his Apple ][ clone and I on my Pet 2001. Afterwards, we were able to exchange data. The Pet 2001 had an 8 bit userport. A loudspeaker could be connected to a single bit (better with a small amplifier in between). Someone figured out how to use this not only for playing music, but also for generated speech output (via a single bit!) using something that is called (IIRC) pulse-width modulation. Still, I can not follow the bashing on that book here. The contents of the book is given in detail on its web site. If one is interested in this contents, it should make sense to get a copy of that book. The remarks about »RS232« and so are not relevant in this regard. The book does not claim to treat RS232, so it can not be blamed for not treating it. > What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. E.g. that JavaComm was not maintained for years. E.g. that JavaComm for Windows was recently withdrawn by Sun. E.g. that JavaComm never made it into the standard edition. E.g. that JavaComm is difficult to deploy via WebStart. E.g. that JavaComm does not provide access to more esoteric tty options. These problems. /Thomas SignatureThe comp.lang.java.gui FAQ: ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/pub/NEWS.ANSWERS/computer-lang/java/gui/faq http://www.uni-giessen.de/faq/archiv/computer-lang.java.gui.faq/ >> What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. > > E.g. that JavaComm was not maintained for years. > > E.g. that JavaComm for Windows was recently withdrawn by Sun. Ah, OK. I didn't realise that. I've used JavaComm in the past with some success, but that was a few years back. > E.g. that JavaComm never made it into the standard edition. > > E.g. that JavaComm is difficult to deploy via WebStart. I should hope so. I wouldn't want you deploying DLLs to my system via the web. > E.g. that JavaComm does not provide access to more esoteric tty options. > > These problems. Fair enough. That's why I asked. Thanks for enlightening me. Luke > I should hope so. I wouldn't want you deploying DLLs to my system via > the web. You can, though. I assume that it isn't possible to install /system/ DLLs via WebStart, but you can certainly install application-local ones. -- chris >> E.g. that JavaComm is difficult to deploy via WebStart. > > I should hope so. I wouldn't want you deploying DLLs to my system via > the web. That's too narrow a perspective. In my case I had a monitoring device for development that I created that talked serially to the PC. I wanted to deploy the PC application for users of the device within the company using WebStart and found it was quite a pain. For more information about JavaComm and WebStart see: - http://lopica.sourceforge.net/faq.html#comm SignatureDale King >> What RS232 problem? The JavaComm API does RS232 and serial comms. > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > These problems. A couple more you forgot: - Sun never made a JavaComm for Linux or Mac - JavaComm was written to rely on a completely unnecessary properties file that was found using stupid, undocumented, and obscure means instead of using the more logical service provider abstraction (<http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/docs/guide/jar/jar.html#Service%20Provider>). I have told people for years to forget about JavaComm and use the open source RXTX library which solves many of these problems (http://www.rxtx.org). SignatureDale King > A couple more you forgot: > > - Sun never made a JavaComm for Linux or Mac Sun now makes a JavaComm for Linux! Probably in exchange for dropping the Windows version. Of course, no one at Sun manages to update their 5+ years old, outdated, artificial, toy JavaComm FAQ to mention this http://java.sun.com/products/javacomm/reference/faqs/index.html That FAQ still claims there is no Linux version. > - JavaComm was written to rely on a completely unnecessary properties > file I thought I covered this with the remark about JavaComm being difficult to deploy via WebStart :-) It is that brain-dead file (not the native libs, as others have suggested) which makes it a pain to deploy it via JWS. > I have told people for years to forget about JavaComm and use the open > source RXTX library which solves many of these problems > (http://www.rxtx.org). And, which like everything else, creates new problems or has the same problems. Last time I looked at it RXTX was also difficult to deploy it via web-start. It e.g. required super-user rights to set the access permissions on the serial devices on Linux. /Thomas SignatureThe comp.lang.java.gui FAQ: ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/pub/NEWS.ANSWERS/computer-lang/java/gui/faq http://www.uni-giessen.de/faq/archiv/computer-lang.java.gui.faq/ >> A couple more you forgot: >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > http://java.sun.com/products/javacomm/reference/faqs/index.html That FAQ > still claims there is no Linux version. That's news to me. >> - JavaComm was written to rely on a completely unnecessary properties >> file > > I thought I covered this with the remark about JavaComm being difficult > to deploy via WebStart :-) It is that brain-dead file (not the native > libs, as others have suggested) which makes it a pain to deploy it via JWS. I agree that is why it is difficult to deploy via webstart, but the properties file is also factor in using it outside of WebStart. It is an extra file that they require copying. I also wanted to highlight just how stupid their use of that proerty file is. All that properties file has in it is a line like: Driver=com.sun.comm.Win32Driver All the API needs this for is to do a Class.forName of that class to load the class and run initialize on it. You would think that they would allow you to do that yourself (just like they do with JDBC drivers). But for some unfathomable reason they were not satisfied with that. For some reason, they wanted to make absolutely sure that the properties file existed. Before most operations it makes a call to the security manager asking if the file is deletable! How stupid is that? >> I have told people for years to forget about JavaComm and use the open >> source RXTX library which solves many of these problems [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > via web-start. It e.g. required super-user rights to set the access > permissions on the serial devices on Linux. That is more because of Linux and the default permissions in some distributions than anything to do with RXTX or webstart. If the user account does not have permissions to use the port there is nothing that RXTX can do about that. The thing that really bugs me is when JavaComm is held up as some form of standard. Just because something comes from Sun does not make it a standard, especially if they refuse to do any maintenance of it or include it in the standard install. RXTX is really the standard and there is no reason to install the JavaComm adapter on top of it. SignatureDale King >> There are several people on this newsgroup who have, in my opinion, >> demonstrated a wide understanding of Java programming and/or OO design. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > It's not "for dummies", and it's not "for pedagogues" either. You're missing my point. I'm delighted to hear that _you_ find the book useful. I was taking issue with the book review on _TechBookReports.com_ and saying that the review didn't impress me because it didn't identify the reviewer, nor did it identify the Java skills of the developer. If the reviewer is anonymous because he/she is a Java newbie or because he/she is an employee of the publisher, I'm inclined to dismiss the review entirely. I think I've seen your name on this newsgroup before but not enough for me to get a lasting impression of you so your recommendation doesn't particularly wow me either - no offense! I'd be a lot more impressed if the person reviewing it was someone I knew to be unconnected with the publisher and thoroughly competent in Java. I suggested some people on this newsgroup whose approval of the book would make me a lot more likely to get this book than the word of an anonymous reviewer. Again, I'm not criticizing the book since I've never laid eyes on it and I mean no disrespect to you either since I don't know you. -- Rhino > I was taking issue with the book review on _TechBookReports.com_ and saying > that the review didn't impress me because it didn't identify the reviewer, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > enough for me to get a lasting impression of you so your recommendation > doesn't particularly wow me either - no offense! [...] > Again, I'm not criticizing the book since I've never laid eyes on it and I > mean no disrespect to you either since I don't know you. You seem hung up on /knowing/ people. You should explore anonymity more. >> I was taking issue with the book review on _TechBookReports.com_ and >> saying that the review didn't impress me because it didn't identify the [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > You should explore anonymity more. So if I put up a web page asking for $100 and you had it to spare, you'd just give it to me, without knowing anything about me, even my name? Somehow I doubt it yet you expect me to give out $100 (or whatever "Wicked Cool Java" costs) just because some anonymous someone said some nice things about it. All I can say to that is "Don't hold your breath!" -- Rhino > Somehow I doubt it yet you expect me to give out $100 (or whatever "Wicked > Cool Java" costs) just because some anonymous someone said some nice things > about it. All I can say to that is "Don't hold your breath!" If several people review a book and their opinions tend to corroborate each other, I will tend to put the book on my list of things to consider buying. In this case, the controversy about the *review* is enough to prompt me to flip through it next time I'm at the bookstore. The reviews have been sufficient to let me understand that I'm at a level beyond the audience of the book. I don't care who wrote them. They were useful to me. I don't see where anyone asked you for $100. >>> Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java". >>> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > -- > Rhino Some of the reviews on the site are signed, it's up to the reviewer whether they want to put their name to a review or not. However, even if the reviews were signed how could you judge the competence (or otherwise) of the reviewer if you've never heard or him or her? Adding a note saying that the reviewer has x years of Java experience doesn't add much either. There are people with x years of experience in one niche area who won't have the knowledge or broader experience of someone with fewer years. Besides, how could anyone verify the truth? Just for the record, all of the reviewers on TechBookReport are active developers. None of them work for publishers or are authors of the books they are publishing. The point of the site is that the book reviews are independent, which is more than can be said for some of the reviews on Amazon, for example. Like all sites, TechBookReport.com depends to a large extent on reputation. That means that bad books are criticised, good books lauded and so-so books described as such. If there's a review that you bitterly disagree with then say so, casting doubt on the honesty of the site isn't helpful. Pan SignatureTechBookReport Java http://www.techbookreport.com/JavaIndex.html >>>> Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java". >>>> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > the reviews were signed how could you judge the competence (or otherwise) > of the reviewer if you've never heard or him or her? Obviously, I _can't_ judge the competence of someone I've never heard of. However, if a name _is_ given, there is at least a chance I _have_ heard of them. If no reviewer name is given, there is no chance whatever of judging competence; in that case, the review could have been written by the proverbial one million monkeys with one million typewriters for all I know. > Adding a note saying that the reviewer has x years of Java experience > doesn't add much either. There are people with x years of experience in > one niche area who won't have the knowledge or broader experience of > someone with fewer years. Besides, how could anyone verify the truth? It may not add much but it adds _something_. If someone claims to have 5 years or 10 years experience, the review seems more credible than saying 5 minutes or 10 days experience. I agree that depth vs. breadth is an issue, as is the verifiability of any information given. Anyone can exaggerate their abilities and experience. However, a name might be recognized, particularly if it was a name known within the Java community, such as Bruce Echols. An unknown name could be researched if the person reading the review had serious doubts about that person's reliability. > Just for the record, all of the reviewers on TechBookReport are active > developers. None of them work for publishers or are authors of the books > they are publishing. The point of the site is that the book reviews are > independent, which is more than can be said for some of the reviews on > Amazon, for example. That is good to know. Is that fact posted anywhere at the website? I didn't see it in the Wicked Cool Java page. > Like all sites, TechBookReport.com depends to a large extent on > reputation. That means that bad books are criticised, good books lauded > and so-so books described as such. And that's great. I have no problem with that. > If there's a review that you bitterly disagree with then say so, casting > doubt on the honesty of the site isn't helpful. I was not disagreeing with the review of Wicked Cool Java. I have never read that book and therefore have no opinions about it. If you think I was casting doubt on the honesty of the site, you misunderstood me. I did not say anyone was being dishonest. I simply said that the reviewer was not identified by name or skill level and that an anonymous review was not something I found terribly persuasive. I am relieved to find that the reviewer is, apparently, an active developer with no vested interest in promoting (or trashing) the book, but I didn't know that until you mentioned it just now. Personally, I would be more likely to take the reviews at the site seriously if all reviewers were identified and if some sort of information was available about each reviewer's experience. That does not mean that your current approach is dishonest, just that it isn't optimal for _my_ needs. I was merely trying to give some personal feedback on what I deem a less-than-ideal approach. Obviously, it is up to you to decide whether I am just an individual with an eccentric view about how a book review site should operate or someone whose views might well be widespread across your target audience. If you decide that I am just an eccentric, you will probably not change anything, unless perhaps you perceive eccentrics as an important new audience. On the other hand, if you decide I am the tip of the iceberg and represent a strong undercurrent within the Java community, you may decide to do things differently. That's your call. In any case, I have shared my views with you and consider the matter at an end. -- Rhino You've written more about the "reviewer" controversy than the reviewers wrote about the book. >>>>> Just bought the book "Wicked Cool Java". >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 103 lines] > -- > Rhino It's OK, no offence was taken. You made a fair comment and I responded to it. End of story. Pan SignatureTechBookReport Java http://www.techbookreport.com/JavaIndex.html > Some of the reviews on the site are signed, it's up to the reviewer > whether they want to put their name to a review or not. Out of curiosity, why would a reviewer NOT want to put their name on their reviews? - Oliver > Out of curiosity, why would a reviewer NOT want to put their name on > their reviews? To avoid reprisals ? To preserve a "handle" by which s/he was already well-known in other contexts ? To maintain a fixed identity, independent of [future] changes in his/her professional or private life ? Because "he" is actually a group of people ? Because "they" are actually all the same person ? And that's without getting into questionable or dishonest motivations... -- chris >> Out of curiosity, why would a reviewer NOT want to put their name on >> their reviews? [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Because "they" are actually all the same person ? Right, sorry, I by "their name", I meant "a name". I'm familiar with the practice of authors using pen-names which vary depending on the genre or target audience they're writing for. You'd use one name for horror novels, and another for romantic comedies, for example, so as not to have your romantic-comedy fans stumble upon your horror novels and vice versa. I suppose some sort of parallel could be drawn for reviews. But my understanding is that some of the reviews on the site mentioned upthreaded have no reviewer-name at all. The "avoid reprisals" seems to be the only reason applicable for this context, but do reviewers really have to fear reprisal? Unless you were giving a poor review for a product released by the company you worked for, I really imagine getting into much trouble unless the text you're submitting isn't so much a review, but more of a whistleblowing for a dangerous, malfunctioning product, for example. As Rhino said, the review is less convincing if the reviewer isn't willing to stand by and defend his/her judgement. - Oliver > But my understanding is that some of the reviews on the site mentioned > upthreaded have no reviewer-name at all. The "avoid reprisals" seems to be > the only reason applicable for this context, but do reviewers really have to > fear reprisal? The Mafia's gotta do something to survive! Who says they don't have book publishers among their clientele? (Seriously, I agree with you.) Signaturewww.designacourse.com The Easiest Way To Train Anyone... Anywhere. Chris Smith - Lead Software Developer/Technical Trainer MindIQ Corporation > But my understanding is that some of the reviews on the site mentioned > upthreaded have no reviewer-name at all. The "avoid reprisals" seems to be > the only reason applicable for this context, but do reviewers really have > to fear reprisal? I admit that suggestion was a little frivolous. I imagine that if a publisher were displeased with a review, then they might apply sanctions[*] to the website, but hardly to the reviewer. ([*] No more free review books, no more advanced notices, no more invites to publicity events. All of this on the (unlikely?) assumption that the publisher is providing these goodies in the first place.) Here's an imaginary scenario which I think could give rise to unidentified (more than merely anonymous) reviews. I'm not suggesting that the techbooks website's history resembles this in any way at all. Some one (call him/her the editor) starts up a review website. At first all the reviews are written by the same person, so there is no effective distinction between the identity of the reviewer and the website itself (for the purposes of "brand recognition"). I.e. all reviews are perfect reflections of the editorial policy, and are merely written by an unidentified "staffer", like many[**] newspaper articles. So there are no "names" on the reviews themselves. ([**] But not enough. The cult of the reporter gets up my nose. Who /cares/ whether the reporter is John Middlethorpe or Amanda Dickinson. And it's even worse on television news. Damned inane reporters gibbering platitudes at the camera, and to cap it all insisting of telling us their names! Why do they think we care ? Why are they wasting precious broadcasting time with their personal problems ? Is it so that they may more easily be hunted down and obliterated !? Anyway <cough/>, getting back to normal service...) But it's easy to imagine that outsiders might supply reviews as the websites reputation grows. Maybe even Big Names of the computer industry might do so (a dream scenario for the editor ;-) If so, then they would probably want to provide names, or at least identifiers. So, now we end up in a situation where some, but by no means all, of the reviews are identified. > As Rhino said, the review is less convincing if the reviewer isn't > willing to stand by and defend his/her judgement. BTW, my thanks to Rhino for the expression of confidence (some way up-thread). -- chris > Here's an imaginary scenario which I think could give rise to unidentified > (more than merely anonymous) reviews. I'm not suggesting that the [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > like many[**] newspaper articles. So there are no "names" on the reviews > themselves. [...] > But it's easy to imagine that outsiders might supply reviews as the > websites [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > where > some, but by no means all, of the reviews are identified. Okay, makes sense. If I were the editor, when I'd modify the DB to insert an "author" column, I'd have set the default value of the column to myself, so that all existing articles are retroactively associated with me, but maybe that's just me. - Oliver Free MagazinesGet these publications absolutely FREE for up to 12 months. There are no hidden fees and no obligation. Simply choose a title, complete the application form and submit it. Read more ...
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