turncoat

[Duane Griffin]

On 26/07/07, Peter Corlett <abuse at cabal.org.uk> wrote:
> So... I'm going to wander into Foyles to stock up on books to get me
> back up to speed. Assume I'm
> a competent Perl 5 and Java 1.1 developer. Which books come
> recommended to drag me kicking and screaming into the 21st century?

Maybe not exactly the sort of thing you're looking for, but "Effective
Java" is the best Java book I've read. IMO it lives up to its
"Effective C++" namesake.

> Swing looks useful (or at least seems to suck less hard than AWT), is it?

Short answer, yes. It is a pretty decent option for writing
cross-platform desktop GUIs. It certainly sucks less than AWT, but it
still has plenty of little (and not-so-little) idiocies (but what GUI
library doesn't?). Once you get used to its ways it is quick and easy
for simple GUIs, and no harder than anything else for complex ones.
FWIW, Sun are getting better at making Swing look, feel and integrate
into the native environment, but there are still plenty of rough
patches.

Cheers,
Duane.

-- 
"I never could learn to drink that blood and call it wine" - Bob Dylan