Pure JFC 2D Graphics and Imaging (Pure)

Swing Hacks (Hacks)

Awt

Building Imaging Applications with Java(TM) Technology: Using AWT Imaging, Java 2D(TM), and Java(TM) Advanced Imaging (JAI)

Format: Paperback
Author: Lawrence H. Rodrigues
ReleaseDate: 06 June, 2001
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Rating:

Indispensable


As someone who both develops and specifies medical imaging applications in Java and other languages, I buy every book that has anything to do with the subject, and this is the one that I find most helpful and the one that I refer to most, even after all these years of using it. I love this book; I was tempted to write this review since I saw a few negative comments by others that might put a potential purchaser off, and I would not want that.

This is NOT a book dedicated to JAI, however, and it pre-dates the JIIO stuff, so you will still need the Sun material for that, as others have pointed out.

It is also very elegantly presented and produced, for those who appreciate the aesthetics of a book as well as its content.

David.

Worth it more for the examples than the tutorial
Some things have changed, particularly with the Java Advanced Imaging API, but not enough to invalidate the book's tutorial. This book is an OK tutorial on Java imaging technologies, even though the book is 5 years old. I would say if you are a complete novice to imaging in Java, you should read "Java 2D Graphics" by Knudsen. Also, the chapters on Swing in "Core Java Volume 1" by Cornell are essential. For the Java advanced imaging API, go to the JAI API website and download the "Java Advanced Imaging Programming Guide" that is freely available online from Sun Microsystems.
After you know the essentials, this book is good for specific problems you'll encounter in the AWT, Java2D, and JAI. For example this book talks about how to load images from Jar files, how to build region-of-interest (ROI) applications in Java 2D, the use of Java Beans and imaging, interactive graphics, and curves.
Finally, this book is good because it goes into details - including code - on how to perform certain common but often difficult imaging utilities in Java such as pie charting, image histograms, viewing very large images using JAI tiles, image processing with JAI, and performing Internet imaging by using the JAI with servlets.
If you are serious about imaging in Java it is an essential reference, but don't use it as your primary source for a tutorial.

Don't buy this book!
I have read the book from cover to cover three times, and all I have learned is how wonderful a developer the author believes he is. I bought this book with the intention of learning the JAI API for dealing with imagery.

This book does not go into enough detail on any of the API's, but it is especially lacking with regards to JAI. He has some sample code in the book, but all of the sample code is wrappers he has written around the Sun API's. Instead of explaining the API's one would like to learn, we are given a full detailed explanation of the wrapper code he has written, and leaves the API explanation details to the reader to figure out for themselves.

This book is a complete waste of time, and has to be the worst book I have ever read relating to Java. Next time, save your development skill advertising to your resume.
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