book

Beyond Java

Name: Beyond Java
Author: Bruce Tate
ISBN: 9780596100940

by Bruce Tate

September 2005

Intermediate to advanced

200 pages

5h 35m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Preface
Who Should Read This Book?ConventionsUsing Code ExamplesComments and QuestionsSafari® EnabledAcknowledgments
1. Owls and Ostriches
1.1. Ignorance as a Virtue1.1.1. Shaken to the Core1.2. Boiling Frogs1.2.1. Danger Signs1.2.2. 1.2.2.1. Complexity1.2.2.2. Rapid revolution1.2.2.3. Unnatural stretching1.2.2.4. Language evolution1.2.3. What’s Good Is GOOD1.3. New Horizons1.3.1. Dynamic Languages1.3.2. Metaprogramming1.3.3. Continuation Servers1.4. The Premise
2. The Perfect Storm
2.1. Storm Warnings2.1.1. Economics of Client-Server Computing2.1.2. Microsoft2.1.3. The Internet2.1.4. Object Orientation2.2. The C++ Experience2.2.1. Pointer Arithmetic2.2.2. Nested Includes2.2.3. Strings2.2.4. DLL Hell2.2.5. CORBA2.2.6. Inheritance Problems2.2.7. Consistency2.2.8. Portability2.2.9. Compromises2.3. Clouds Open2.3.1. New Economics2.3.2. C++ on Prozac2.3.3. Architecture2.4. Fury Unleashed2.4.1. Servlets2.4.2. J2EE2.4.3. Industry Standards2.4.4. Open Source2.5. Aftermath2.6. Moving Ahead
3. Crown Jewels
3.1. Language and JVM Design3.1.1. Portability3.1.2. Security3.1.2.1. Changing threats3.1.2.2. Remedies in Java3.1.3. Moving Forward3.2. The Internet3.2.1. A Consistent Evolving Vision3.2.2. Moving Forward3.3. Enterprise Integration3.3.1. Moving Forward3.4. Community3.4.1. The Importance of Open Source3.4.2. Moving Forward3.5. Breaking the Myths3.5.1. Myth 1: Java’s Leadership Is Unassailable3.5.2. Myth 2: Java Is a Great Applications Language3.5.3. Myth 3: Java Is the Most Productive Language3.5.3.1. Corollary 3a: All languages are about the same3.5.4. Myth 4: Commercial Interests Drive Most Java Innovation3.5.5. Myth 5: Big Things Usually Come from Likely Sources3.5.6. Looking Ahead
4. Glass Breaking
4.1. Java’s New Job Description4.1.1. Typical Requirements4.1.2. The Learning Curve4.1.2.1. Java for the typical application4.1.3. Agile Processes4.1.3.1. Development processes and Java4.2. Basic Java Limitations4.3. Typing4.3.1. Strong Versus Weak Typing4.3.2. Static Versus Dynamic Typing4.3.3. Syntax4.3.4. Thought Process4.3.5. Code/Compile Cycle4.3.6. Adaptability4.3.7. Generics4.3.8. Overloading4.3.9. Other Costs4.3.10. The Benefits of Static Typing4.3.11. A Safety Net with Holes4.4. Primitives4.4.1. Primitives Are Limited4.4.2. Primitives Are Unnaturally Verbose4.4.3. The Big Trade-off4.5. Parting Shots4.5.1. Sun4.5.2. Exceptions4.5.3. Expressing Data4.5.4. Strings4.5.5. Simplicity4.5.5.1. Tools4.6. Why Not Just Fix Java?4.6.1. Libraries and Community4.6.2. Alternatives
5. Rules of the Game
5.1. Java Raises the Bar5.1.1. Portability5.1.2. Internet Focus5.1.3. Interoperability5.1.3.1. XML and structured data5.1.3.2. Service-oriented architecture (SOA)5.2. Enterprise Integration5.2.1. Database Integration5.2.2. Transactions and Security5.3. Generating the Buzz5.3.1. Open Source5.3.2. Economics5.3.3. Approachability5.3.4. The Killer App5.4. Language Features5.4.1. Dynamic Typing5.4.2. Code Blocks and Continuations5.4.3. Rapid Feedback Loop5.4.4. User Interface Focus5.4.5. Dynamic Class Model5.4.6. Sound Foundations5.5. A Few Potential Suitors5.5.1. Perl5.5.1.1. What I like5.5.1.2. What I don’t like5.5.2. Python5.5.2.1. What I like5.5.2.2. What I don’t like5.5.3. Ruby5.5.3.1. What I like5.5.3.2. What I don’t like5.5.4. PHP5.5.4.1. What I like5.5.4.2. What I don’t like5.5.5. C# and Visual Basic5.5.6. Smalltalk5.5.6.1. What I like5.5.6.2. What I don’t like5.5.7. No Silver Bullet
6. Ruby in the Rough
6.1. About Ruby6.1.1. Ruby Is Fully OO6.1.2. Typing6.1.3. Conditionals6.1.4. Looping6.1.5. Ranges6.1.6. Regular Expressions6.1.7. Containers6.1.8. Files6.1.9. Why Should You Care?6.2. Applying Some Structure6.2.1. Classes6.2.2. Using Mixins6.2.3. Interceptors6.2.4. AOP6.2.5. Dependency Injection6.3. Breaking It Down6.3.1. Collapsing Under the Weight of Abstraction?
7. Ruby on Rails
7.1. The Numbers Game7.1.1. A Blinding Flash of Insight7.1.2. Making the Commitment7.1.3. Some Numbers7.1.4. The Community Response7.2. Rails by Example7.2.1. Generating a Basic Application7.2.2. Managing Relationships and Updating Views7.3. Under the Hood7.3.1. Active Record7.3.1.1. Automatic properties7.3.1.2. Association management7.3.1.3. Composition7.3.1.4. Inheritance7.3.1.5. Other features7.3.2. Action Pack7.3.2.1. Capabilities7.4. The Essence7.4.1. Is Rails the Killer App?7.4.2. Or Is Metaprogramming the Killer Technique?7.4.3. Final Thoughts on Ruby and Rails
8. Continuation Servers
8.1. The Problem8.1.1. What You Want8.1.2. Statelessness8.1.3. The Back Button8.1.4. Navigation8.1.5. Continuation Servers to the Rescue8.2. Continuations8.2.1. The Syntax8.2.2. A More Powerful Example8.2.3. Why Would You Use Them?8.3. Continuation Servers8.3.1. Advantages and Disadvantages8.4. Seaside8.4.1. A Little Smalltalk Syntax8.4.2. A Seaside Overview8.5. A Seaside Example8.5.1. Components8.5.2. Complex Control Flows8.5.2.1. Debugging and browsing8.5.2.2. Tasks8.6. So What?
9. Contenders
9.1. The Primary Contenders9.1.1. Ruby9.1.1.1. In favor9.1.1.2. Against9.1.1.3. Overall9.1.2. Python9.1.2.1. In favor9.1.2.2. Against9.1.2.3. Overall9.1.3. Groovy9.1.3.1. In favor9.1.3.2. Against9.1.3.3. Overall9.1.4. .NET9.1.4.1. Language options9.1.4.2. Visual Basic for .NET9.1.4.3. C#9.1.4.4. Other languages on the CLR9.1.4.5. A weakness and a strength9.2. Minor Contenders9.2.1. PHP9.2.2. Perl9.2.3. Smalltalk9.2.4. Lisp9.2.5. Functional Languages9.3. The Next Big Thing9.3.1. A Charge to You

10. About the Author
Index
About the Author
Colophon
Copyright

Overview

Bruce Tate, author of the Jolt Award-winning Better, Faster, Lighter Java has an intriguing notion about the future of Java, and it's causing some agitation among Java developers. Bruce believes Java is abandoning its base, and conditions are ripe for an alternative to emerge.

In Beyond Java, Bruce chronicles the rise of the most successful language of all time, and then lays out, in painstaking detail, the compromises the founders had to make to establish success. Then, he describes the characteristics of likely successors to Java. He builds to a rapid and heady climax, presenting alternative languages and frameworks with productivity and innovation unmatched in Java. He closes with an evaluation of the most popular and important programming languages, and their future role in a world beyond Java.

If you are agree with the book's premise--that Java's reign is coming to an end--then this book will help you start to build your skills accordingly. You can download some of the frameworks discussed and learn a few new languages. This book will teach you what a new language needs to succeed, so when things do change, you'll be more prepared. And even if you think Java is here to stay, you can use the best techniques from frameworks introduced in this book to improve what you're doing in Java today.

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