Home > Store

Effective Java, 2nd Edition

Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.

Effective Java, 2nd Edition

Book

  • Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Not for Sale

eBook

  • Your Price: $42.39
  • List Price: $52.99
  • Includes EPUB and PDF
  • About eBook Formats
  • This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:

    ePub EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.

    Adobe Reader PDF The popular standard, used most often with the free Acrobat® Reader® software.

    This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

Description

  • Copyright 2008
  • Dimensions: 7-3/8" x 9-1/4"
  • Pages: 384
  • Edition: 2nd
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-321-35668-3
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-321-35668-0

Are you looking for a deeper understanding of the Java™ programming language so that you can write code that is clearer, more correct, more robust, and more reusable? Look no further! Effective Java™, Second Edition, brings together seventy-eight indispensable programmer’s rules of thumb: working, best-practice solutions for the programming challenges you encounter every day.

This highly anticipated new edition of the classic, Jolt Award-winning work has been thoroughly updated to cover Java SE 5 and Java SE 6 features introduced since the first edition. Bloch explores new design patterns and language idioms, showing you how to make the most of features ranging from generics to enums, annotations to autoboxing.

Each chapter in the book consists of several “items” presented in the form of a short, standalone essay that provides specific advice, insight into Java platform subtleties, and outstanding code examples. The comprehensive descriptions and explanations for each item illuminate what to do, what not to do, and why.

Highlights include:

  • New coverage of generics, enums, annotations, autoboxing, the for-each loop, varargs, concurrency utilities, and much more
  • Updated techniques and best practices on classic topics, including objects, classes, libraries, methods, and serialization
  • How to avoid the traps and pitfalls of commonly misunderstood subtleties of the language
  • Focus on the language and its most fundamental libraries: java.lang, java.util, and, to a lesser extent, java.util.concurrent and java.io

Simply put, Effective Java™, Second Edition, presents the most practical, authoritative guidelines available for writing efficient, well-designed programs.

Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Creating and Destroying Java Objects

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Chapter 2: Creating and Destroying Objects 5

Item 1: Consider static factory methods instead of constructors 5

Item 2: Consider a builder when faced with many constructor

parameters 11

Item 3: Enforce the singleton property with a private constructor 17

Item 4: Enforce noninstantiability with a private constructor 19

Item 5: Avoid creating unnecessary objects 20

Item 6: Eliminate obsolete object references 24

Item 7: Avoid finalizers 27

Chapter 3: Methods Common to All Objects 33

Item 8: Obey the general contract when overriding equals 33

Item 9: Always override hashCode when you override equals 45

Item 10: Always override toString 51

Item 11: Override clone judiciously 54

Item 12: Consider implementing Comparable 62

Chapter 4: Classes and Interfaces 67

Item 13: Minimize the accessibility of classes and members 67

Item 14: In public classes, use accessor methods, not public fields 71

Item 15: Minimize mutability 73

Item 16: Favor composition over inheritance 81

Item 17: Design and document for inheritance or else prohibit it 87

Item 18: Prefer interfaces to abstract classes 93

Item 19: Use interfaces only to define types 98

Item 20: Prefer class hierarchies to tagged classes 100

Item 21: Use function objects to represent strategies 103

Item 22: Favor static member classes over nonstatic 106

Chapter 5: Generics 109

Item 23: Don't use raw types in new code 109

Item 24: Eliminate unchecked warnings 116

Item 25: Prefer lists to arrays 119

Item 26: Favor generic types 124

Item 27: Favor generic methods 129

Item 28: Use bounded wildcards to increase API flexibility 134

Item 29: Consider typesafe heterogeneous containers 142

Chapter 6: Enums and Annotations 147

Item 30: Use enums instead of int constants 147

Item 31: Use instance fields instead of ordinals 158

Item 32: Use EnumSet instead of bit fields 159

Item 33: Use EnumMap instead of ordinal indexing 161

Item 34: Emulate extensible enums with interfaces 165

Item 35: Prefer annotations to naming patterns 169

Item 36: Consistently use the Override annotation 176

Item 37: Use marker interfaces to define types 179

Chapter 7: Methods 181

Item 38: Check parameters for validity 181

Item 39: Make defensive copies when needed 184

Item 40: Design method signatures carefully 189

Item 41: Use overloading judiciously 191

Item 42: Use varargs judiciously 197

Item 43: Return empty arrays or collections, not nulls 201

Item 44: Write doc comments for all exposed API elements 203

Chapter 8: General Programming 209

Item 45: Minimize the scope of local variables 209

Item 46: Prefer for-each loops to traditional for loops 212

Item 47: Know and use the libraries 215

Item 48: Avoid float and double if exact answers are required 218

Item 49: Prefer primitive types to boxed primitives 221

Item 50: Avoid strings where other types are more appropriate 224

Item 51: Beware the performance of string concatenation 227

Item 52: Refer to objects by their interfaces 228

Item 53: Prefer interfaces to reflection 230

Item 54: Use native methods judiciously 233

Item 55: Optimize judiciously 234

Item 56: Adhere to generally accepted naming conventions 237

Chapter 9: Exceptions 241

Item 57: Use exceptions only for exceptional conditions 241

Item 58: Use checked exceptions for recoverable conditions and runtime exceptions for programming errors 244

Item 59: Avoid unnecessary use of checked exceptions 246

Item 60: Favor the use of standard exceptions 248

Item 61: Throw exceptions appropriate to the abstraction 250

Item 62: Document all exceptions thrown by each method 252

Item 63: Include failure-capture information in detail messages 254

Item 64: Strive for failure atomicity 256

Item 65: Don’t ignore exceptions 258

Chapter 10: Concurrency 259

Item 66: Synchronize access to shared mutable data 259

Item 67: Avoid excessive synchronization 265

Item 68: Prefer executors and tasks to threads 271

Item 69: Prefer concurrency utilities to wait and notify 273

Item 70: Document thread safety 278

Item 71: Use lazy initialization judiciously 282

Item 72: Don’t depend on the thread scheduler 286

Item 73: Avoid thread groups 288

Chapter 11: Serialization 289

Item 74: Implement Serializable judiciously 289

Item 75: Consider using a custom serialized form 295

Item 76: Write readObject methods defensively 302

Item 77: For instance control, prefer enum types to readResolve 309

Item 78: Consider serialization proxies instead of serialized instances 313

Appendix: Items Corresponding to First Edition 317

References 321

Index of Patterns and Idioms 327

Index 331

Updates

Submit Errata

More Information

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020