Java 2D Graphics

by Jonathan Knudsen

One weakness of Java has been its graphics capabilities. Java 1.0 and 1.1 only included simple primitives for line drawing: lines could only be one pixel wide, they could only be solid, and there wasn't any good way to draw curves. Font management and color management were also weak. Java 2D (collectively called the "2D API") signals a major improvement in Java's graphics capabilities. It covers many of the classes in Java 1.2 that address graphics...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565924843
• ISBN13: 9781565924840
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great book on the foundations of Java 2D

In computing, Java 2D is an API for drawing two-dimensional graphics using the Java programming language. Every Java 2D drawing operation can ultimately be treated as filling a shape using a paint and compositing the result onto the screen. This book, although seven years old, is the best in print on learning the basics of Java 2D. Several other reviewers have said that the Java docs for the API from Sun are just as good, but I disagree. This book does a good job of taking a complex API and laying out what it takes to produce graphics using it. It starts out explaining the architecture of the Java 2D API, and includes a very long "Hello Java 2D" example showcasing what the API can do. The author admits at the time it is presented that it is likely the reader will not understand the code until the book has been read. Next, the author introduces the drawing of shapes, and then adds painting, stroking, transforming, compositing, and clipping to the equation, one by one, while explaining the nuances of each feature being added. Next, the author goes into adding text to your figures and also explains how to do simple image processing with the Java 2D API, even explaining how to "roll your own" image transform operations. The book concludes with a discussion of printing, animation, and measuring performance with Java 2D. The author includes a flexible framework for performing animations using Java 2D. There is example code throughout the book that can be downloaded from the publisher's website. If you are looking for a book of image processing tricks and recipes in Java, this is not the book that you want. In that case you might want to read Hardy's excellent but out-of-print work, "Java 2D API Graphics", after you read this book. However, if you want a good foundation in programming with the Java 2D API and understanding its architecture, this is a very good source. I highly recommend it.

Excellent, Easy and Complete!

This is a great book for those interested in working with graphics 2d in java. I never really liked o'reilly's books since most of them in my opinion are not too clear with not a lot of examples. This one however is very clear, complete and easy too! After reading this book you will truly enjoy using the numerous outstanding features in the java's JFC Graphics 2D. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject.

Excellent straight-forward book on 2D Graphics

This is an excellent book on Java's 2D Graphics classes. It's both straight-forward and complete, and the author discusses topics with unique clarity. The author gives some background on graphics theory but always ties it to actual Java classes and the 2D Graphics framework. I kept saying things like, "Oh! That's what anti-aliasing means" and "Oh! That's what a 'raster' is." I highly recommend this book.

A handy reference to the Java 2D API

This book picks up where Sun's documentation on the 2D API falls short. What it does well is describe the details of the API's classes and their methods, much like other OReilly books on Java. The book also has a few code examples, including some that demonstrate the use of Sun's JPEG classes that are not officially part of Java 2.

Simplicity goes far beyond thousand words

If you have a chance to read 'Visualization toolkit', you will love this book !! His writing style is quite effective !!