Debugging Java: Troubleshooting for Programmers

by Will David Mitchell

-- Troubleshooting reference for the Java programmer.-- Author's computer science teaching experience led him to discover the importance of debugging. His research showed that people who learn... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0072125624
• ISBN13: 9780072125627
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Break some rules!

A genuine treat! Witty, but erudite -- but easy to read, like a "spoonful of sugar." With Java being such an error-free language by design, how do you write a book like Debugging Java? You look for where the errors are. They aren't in the source code nearly so often as they are in the development processes. Surely this is why Mitchell doesn't include a ton of source code. It's not a book that lists a lot of boring subroutines you can cut and paste for your website. There have been 2,000 other books that do that!This unique book teaches you the Mastery of Java. One reviewer said it is for beginners only. I strongly--strongly disagree. It is primarily for Experts, and Would-be Experts. It is for people who need to become, as the author states, Java Masters. Beginners copy source code from books. Experts expand the horizons and write their own. Therein lies the problem. How do you write code that can be, "Guaranteed to Specs., Forever!"? Mitchell guarantees his code that way, and lo, he shows you how he does it. He sure showed me a lot. I feel 50% better about my Java now, and people already consider me a guru. Little did they know how shakey I really was.Want to be the best? Devour this book! Even if you're a VB or a Cobol programmer, devour this book. Dev-X loves it. Java Pro loves it (3/01), saying it belongs on every programmer's shelf.I think it belongs open, next to the keyboard. I did what another reviewer suggested. I bought nine copies for my people and made it required reading. Way to go, Mitch!

I'm buying a copy for each of my engineers

This is a great book. It is inusual in that it talks about techniques and methodologies rather than just reiterating a bunch of APIs. It discusses how to avoid bugs in the first place, and how to code defensively, and how to present abnormal conditions to users. It talks about how to cope with the inevitable deadlines, and how to design programs (like write the user manual FIRST, instead of last).Every so often a book comes along that you know instantly must be read by all your colleagues. This is one of those books. I'm ordering a copy for each of my staff today, and we're going to decide which of the author's recommendations to adopt (maybe all of them).Only about half of this book is really about "Debugging Java". The rest of the book could be titled "How to Develop Quality Software" and could be used with other languages (although if you care about quality software you're already programming in Java anyhow).Buy this book. As soon as you get your hands on it make sure you write your name in it, because it'll get passed around a lot!

Do you write buggy Java software? Then buy this book..

Nowadays there are a few Java books out there which are starting to catalogue common Java pitfalls ("Java Pitfalls" by Daconta et al, "Practical Java" by Haggar), but none of these actually focus on the entire debugging process. Come to think of it, I don't know *any* book which focusses purely on debugging software, full stop. When I spotted "Debugging Java" I therefore bought it virtually "on spec". Was I right to do so? In this rare instance, yes.Mitchell's writing style is engaging, informal without being inaccurate, and in some places refreshingly unconventional. This book is clearly the author's considerable debugging knowledge condensed in one place. To give you a taste of how different Mitchell is compared to the majority of programmers (and book authors), Mitchell claims that he always guarantees his software for life: if clients find bugs in his deliverables, he fixes them... for free. Microsoft, IBM, Sun, Novell, and the other big guns, shame, shame on you for not being as quality-driven as one Will David Mitchell.Given Mitchell's software product quality philosophy, it's no surprise that he has a few tricks up his sleave that the rest of us should also know. Buy the book and join the elite ranks.

This book is money for IT professionals

This book is money. The ideas and concepts in this book will probably recoup the book's cost many times over every month you remain in the industry. It is hard to discuss technical matters in a clear manner. Will Mitchell does so with warmth, wit and humor. No mean feat in a technical book. This guy actually tries to explain his ideas, not impress us with his intellect. Probably 60% of this book will be useful long after Java is an old dusty language that people used to use. I think that just about everyone in data processing would benefit from this book whether they use Java or not. I have been programming for over twenty years and I wish I could have read this book in the beginning. I have learned most of these principles and ideas the hard way. The rest not at all until now.