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Book:   Java Threads
Subject:   The Basics Are Missing
Date:   2005-07-30 07:35:59
From:   Dave
Rating:  StarStarStarStarStar

Very poor book. Many essential explanations are missing, possibly due in part to an apparent obsession with race conditions. Although race conditions are a very important topic, and they should be thoroughly covered in a book such as this, many of them can be avoided by knowing the basics, which this book does not explain well.


For instance, look at lock() and unlock(). What is being locked? What is being unlocked? Basic questions, right? We are never really told. Although there is much text devoted to these methods, it is left to the reader to figure out the answer to these questions.


The same is true for wait() and notify(). What is being waited on? Who is being notified? We are never really told, but rather we are left to try to put the descriptions together in a way that makes sense.


There are many other areas of total confusion (including many pages devoted to a "race condition" that apparently does not exist), but the above examples should give you an idea of the caliber of this book.


BTW, I have been in this business for 30+ years.

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