Active Visual J++, with CD (Microsoft Programming Series)

In Active Java J++, well-known computer author Scott Robert Ladd helps experienced C++ programmers make the transition to Java. This book provides a quick overview of the history of computing and Java's position in the evolution of computers. The beginning of the guide offers quick tours of Java's language features and the basics of object-oriented design (OOD). In a particularly valuable chapter, Ladd converts a C++ program, which uses templates, into Java (which has none). Throughout this book, the choice of coding examples is interesting, if unorthodox. (They also seem to be drawn from material the author has covered in his other books on templates, genetic algorithms, and "the Game of Life" or cellular automata.) The heart of this book discusses how to use Microsoft's Visual J++ compiler, which is unique in that it supports ActiveX components. (A strong chapter here shows how to build an ActiveX component in Java.) Though the author briefly describes Sun's JavaBeans component standard, he focuses on ActiveX. His chapters on the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) and user interface design feel a little perfunctory. The book closes with a Java port of the Game of Life. If you don't mind giving up the 100% pure approach to writing Java applets/applications, check out Active Java, which includes some information on Java and ActiveX technologies that you aren't likely to find anywhere else.