If you are not planning to use Java 1.5 then an earlier version may be more useful as a large proportion of the text focuses on java 1.5. However as the Threading utilities are largely based on Doug Lea's Concurrency utilities which is freely downloadable you should be able to easily convert a large number of the examples to work with those.

Some people may be of the opinion that this is a boring topic (I disagree) and as a result you can't expect too much from the book. However the examples they chose are just dreadful. There are many more exciting things you can do with threads than display a random character on a swing ui.

If you are looking for a deeper coverage of the threading APIs this is a good book. If you expect practical examples and the authors to share their practical experience then you will probably be a bit dissapointed.

A section covering Threading issues within J2EE, on which most of us work, would be a welcome addition to this book.


Invaluable tutorial   October 2, 2002
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

If ya' don't know threads and are a little wary (scared even) then this is the book. The first few chapters provide an invaluable tutorial that builds up slowly. You'll find yourself understanding the well presented examples and explanations in no time. Further the narration is well formed and flows easily (without too many 'too specific' examples). I highly recommend it, full marks. Without this book I'd have still been floundering with a mission critical project!


Good quality hands-on guide to using Java Threads   February 26, 2002
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is a useful little book, with plenty of handy examples, and clear presentation of the 'stuff'.

My only minor gripe would be that it may appear a little wordy if you are more used to a formal treatment of parallel or concurrent systems. Also, the coverage of the analysis of the complexity of Threaded algorithms is fairly superficial (although Amdahl's law is included), and issues regarding livelock are left out.

All in all, a good qualatative guide to using Threads in Java.


Essential basics about threading in Java   December 5, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

A great book for people wanting to learn the fundamentals of Java threads. I've not found a more thorough explanation of threads in any other Java textbook! The examples clearly need some thinking through and detailed analysis but ultimately, this book is very rewarding if you can read it cover to cover. It definitely lives up to the O'Reilly series!