The book begins with a summary of JDK 1.2 features covered throughout the text. It then moves on to the new JDK 1.2 collection classes, which, for the first time, give Java programmers access to robust, customizable data collections.
After a section on internationalization (also newly enhanced), the authors show how to use the Java 2D API for 2-D graphics, from creating basic graphics primitives to displaying images. The authors include some material on building JavaBeans and then discuss Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) database programming, including new JDBC 2 features such as batch updates and SQL3 data types. Sections on Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) and Java servlets show off other ways to use Java in the enterprise.
For the real-world Java programmer, there is perhaps nothing more frustrating than coping with Java's security model. Several chapters within this book help you take advantage of the new JDK 1.2 security policy and cover signing Java Archive (JAR) files to permit local file access for both applets and applications. The book closes with some useful material on the Java Native Interface for mixing Java with native C/C++ code. --Richard Dragan