Hardcore Java

What Hacker News says

1. ConfusionFeb 2010
   As argued in, for instance, Hardcore Java[1], 'final' should definitely have been the default for variables in Java. My Eclipse 'on save' actions include making every possible local variable, parameter and field final. If I'm reading the code and one of them is not final, I know it requires some extra attention.

   [1] http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596005689

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2. jm4Jun 2008
   While slightly off topic, albertcardona may have a point here. This deserves some clarification. It may be that they specifically need Java if they're going to have some in house programmers maintain the application later, but if all they're really interested in is the JVM then you've got some options you may want to consider. I don't want to stray too far here, but one thing I've noticed about many Java people is that they have very narrow views of what's good. (Don't flame me. I'm a Java developer myself.) Maybe they're just playing it safe. It seems to be a common theme with Java. Basically, for several years now the prevailing attitude has been that Struts is the only game in town, but there is a world of other good options for the JVM.

   Anyway, back on topic... If you must go the Struts route do yourself a favor and use Struts 2. It's been a little while since I've been in the Java web development world, but when I was keeping up with it a lot of developers still hadn't moved on yet. It's light years ahead of Struts 1 and really not so bad to work with as far as Java web development is concerned.

   Some others have mentioned 'Thinking in Java'. It's a great book for those new to Java and especially object oriented programming. A seasoned programmer may find it a little verbose. Either way it's free to read online so it's probably worth checking out. If you're looking for something a little smaller to digest you might want to check out Sun's tutorials, and the Java API docs are invaluable. The language itself is simple; it's knowledge of the standard libraries that separates a good Java developer from a mediocre one.

   'Effective Java' and 'Hardcore Java' (specifically the chapter on the Collections API) should be mandatory reading for Java developers as well so you may want to check those out once you get up to speed with the language.

   For learning Struts, I'd check out the online docs first. Last time I checked they were pretty good. If you still want a book, I've found the 'In Action' series from Manning Press to be good.

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3. dijitSep 2024
   I'm not certain what statement you're implying, but yes, accessibility of bookwriting has definitely decreased the quality of books.

   Even technical books like Hardcore Java: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/hardcore-java/059600568... are god-awful, and even further away from the seminal texts on computer science that came before.

   It does feel like authorship was once heralded in higher esteem than it deserves today.

   Seems like people agree: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/18cvy9e/rant_bestsel...

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4. malfistOct 2022
   There was a book I read one time, early in my journey, called "Hardcore Java" It's promise was to take you from beginner java engineer to an advanced one. It was written by someone who "knew" the craft and was ready to pass on their anointed knowledge.

   The author of the book had just recently made the progression to what they considered advanced, so the book was chock full of beginner-cum-expert advice like this article.

   And it was all wrong. The errata for the book is more pages than the book itself. It had the basics of java incredibly wrong, most of the code samples in the book were not compilable, it was a mess.

   This article strikes me the same way. Someone who has a little more knowledge than a beginner, but hasn't yet learned how little they know. So they want to show off their new knowledge with gatekeeping "lessons"

   The difference between junior and senior isn't just about going from "easy way" -> "best way" It's about understanding when you can get away with the easy way, when the best way is too hard for a situation, or the situation isn't called for. It doesn't fit nicely into X does Y and A does B. Design/Engineering isn't black and white.

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