From Java5 to Java6 in 200 pages

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Java 6 Platform Revealed With the release of Java6, I was looking for a quick introduction of the new things. Indeed, there are plenty of materials out there, disecting each and every small addition or change, but I was looking for a centralized information source. And I've found it in the form of the Java6 Platform Revealed book: a 200 page introduction to what is new or updated. What is even more interesting is that most of the things discussed are accompanied by short examples that are giving a bit more than just an overview. As a teaser, here are the chapters included in the book:
  1. Java SE 6 at a Glance
  2. Language and Utility Updates
  3. I/O, Networking, and Security Updates
  4. AWT and Swing Updates
  5. JDBC 4.0
  6. Extensible Markup Language
  7. Web Services
  8. The Java Compiler API
  9. Scripting and JSR233
  10. Pluggable Annotation Processing Updates
Even if you are not gonna need to work with all the aboves, it is always a good idea to know about them and I thinkg that having a place where to look for a short intro is quite cool (f.e. I got a better picture of what scripting inside the JDK is bringing). I have found pretty cool the idea of the tables summarizing deltas between Java5 and Java6 in the form:
Package Version Interfaces Classes Throwable Total
io       5.0      12         50      16+0      78
io       6.0      12         51      16+1      80
Delta              0          1       0+1       2
I am still a bit puzzled by why the Web Services are included in the JDK, but explaining the reasons is not the intend of the book. Wish you a happy upgrade!