Appendix

Appendix A: Using non-Java code
A totally portable Java program has serious drawbacks: speed and the inability to
access platform-specific services. When you know the platform that you’re running
on, it’s possible to dramatically speed up certain operations by making them native
methods, which are functions that are written in another programming language
(currently, only C/C++ is supported). There are other ways that Java supports
non-Java code, including CORBA. This appendix gives you enough of an
introduction to these features that you should be able to create simple examples
that interface with non-Java code.
Appendix B: Comparing C++ and Java
If you’re a C++ programmer, you already have the basic idea of object-oriented
programming, and the syntax of Java no doubt looks very familiar to you. This
makes sense because Java was derived from C++. However, there are a surprising
number of differences between C++ and Java. These differences are intended to be
significant improvements, and if you understand the differences you’ll see why Java
is such a beneficial programming language. This appendix takes you through the
important features that make Java distinct from C++.
Appendix C: Java programming guidelines
This appendix contains suggestions to help guide you while performing low-level
program design and writing code.
Appendix D: Performance
This will allow you to find bottlenecks and improve speed in your Java program.
Appendix E: A bit about garbage collection
This appendix describes the operation and approaches that are used to implement
garbage collection.
Appendix F: Recommended reading
34 Thinking in Java www.BruceEckel.com
A list of some of the Java books I’ve found particularly useful.