Java Generics and Collections - O'Reilly's Latest Release

For Immediate Release
For more information, a review copy, cover art, or an interview with
the authors, contact:
Kathryn Barrett (707) 827-7094 or kathrynb@oreilly.com 

Speed Up the Java Development Process
O'Reilly Releases "Java Generics and Collections"

Sebastopol, CA--The support of generics is the most significant change to
Java since the addition of inner classes in Java 1.2, and some would say
the most significant change to the language ever.  Generics are a
powerful, occasionally controversial, feature of the language. Together
with the greatly expanded collection libraries, they've tremendously
increased the power of Java 5 and Java 6.  But the libraries have also
confused developers who haven't known how to take advantage of these new
features. In "Java Generics and Collections" (O'Reilly, US $34.99),
authors Maurice Naftalin and Philip Wadler cover everything from the most
basic uses of generics to a comprehensive introduction to Collections
Framework, including how and when to use each collection for any given
task.

"In a few years, lots of folks will know how to use generics, and it will
be easy to learn," says Wadler. "But just for now, what is needed is a
good book." A professor of theoretical computer science at the University
of Edinburgh, Wadler is a co-designer of GJ, the work that became the
basis for generics in Sun's Java 5.0. His coauthor, Naftalin, is technical
director for a software consultancy in the UK, and has taught both basic
and advanced levels of Java since 1998.

"I was involved in the development of Java generics and I wanted to be
sure there was an introduction that would explain the ideas in depth,"
Wadler explains. "A few good examples can make a world of difference. I
wanted to write down the examples that others would use--to teach the
teachers." 

According to Wadler, a mastery of generics is not only essential for Java
developers, but other developers as well. As he points out, "There's a big
debate right now about static typing. Some people say that static typing
is dead, and dynamic languages  (like Python and Ruby) will dominate. But
types are the best tool we have to find bugs in programs without running
them, and I think they will play an increasingly important role.  Generics
have an absolutely central role to play here, because they make static
types much more flexible, and they often give the best of both worlds--the
error-checking offered by static types with the adaptability of dynamic
languages. Generics are definitely the coming thing. They are in Java, and
they are also in C# and .NET. So it's a subject that everyone will need to
know about."

The first part of the book describes generics, using the Collections
Framework as a source of examples.  Part II begins with an overview of the
Framework and then looks in detail at each of the main interfaces and
standard implementations of them. And finally, readers will look at the
special-purpose implementation and generic algorithms provided in the
Collections class. Topics include:

-Fundamentals of generics: types of parameters and generic methods
-Boxing and unboxing, foreach loops, varargs, and other new features
-Subtyping and wildcards
-Evolution not revolution: generic libraries with legacy clients and
generic clients with legacy libraries
-Generics and reflection
-Design patterns for generics
-Sets, Queues, Lists, Maps, and their implementation
-Concurrent programming and thread safety with collections
-Performance implications of different collections

Advance praise for "Java Generics and Collections":

"A brilliant exposition of generics. By far the best book on the topic, it
provides a crystal-clear tutorial that starts with the basics and ends
leaving the reader with a deep understanding of both the use and design of
generics."
--Gilad Bracha, Java Generics Lead, Sun Microsystems

Additional Resources:

For more information about the book, including author bios, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/javagenerics/

For a cover graphic in JPEG format, go to:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/javagenerics/cover.html

Java Generics and Collections
Maurice Naftalin and Philip Wadler
ISBN: 0-596-52775-6, 273 pages, $34.99 US, $48.99 CA
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