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Java Puzzlers : Traps, Pitfalls, and Corner Cases
by Joshua Bloch, Neal Gafter


Addison-Wesley Professional
1 edition
July 2005
304 pages

Reviewed by Ernest Friedman-Hill, November 2005
  (9 of 10)


First, let's get this out of the way: you're not as smart as you think you are. Seriously. You don't know everything about Java. It's possible, however, that these authors do.

"Java Puzzlers" shows you more tricky corners of the Java language than you ever expected could exist. Not odd behaviors of obscure API classes, not failings of a particular implementation, but known consequences of the language specification itself. Each puzzler, written in an engaging and often humorous style, gives you a chance to figure things out for yourself before lowering the boom to let you know that, once again... you're wrong.

If you read this book and take its message to heart, you'll learn to avoid the dark alleys of Java, making sure your programs will never inadvertently become puzzlers for you or those who come after you.

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Addison-Wesley Professional
1 edition
July 2005
304 pages

Reviewed by John Wetherbie, August 2005
  (9 of 10)


This is a fun book that's educational, too! The purpose is to help the reader learn about traps you can fall into coding in Java through the use of code puzzles. There are 95 puzzlers with each puzzle and associated solution discussion running two to three pages each. Appendix A provides a quick summary of the various traps identified in the book and the puzzlers in which they appeared. Appendix B describes the optical illusions scattered throughout the book.

In general each puzzler has a very short description of what the program appears to do and the program itself. It is your job to figure out what the program actually does and more importantly why. The following page is a discussion of why the program actually does what it does. Important points and traps to avoid are bolded in the discussion. Note that some of the puzzlers depend on you having Java 1.5.

Bloch and Gafter want you to think about and be aware of the language features and APIs you are using along with having fun. Read the description and the code, determine what the code does, run the code, and then, in most cases, rethink your analysis. Then read the solution and think about what the authors are saying. Go read the sections of the Java Language Specification or other references mentioned in the solution.

Truly an enjoyable book!

Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review.

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