remote method invocation, and security are to be printed in a separate volume. For comprehensive information on all the Java class libraries, one should consider purchasing a complete reference set, such as Patrick Chan and Rosanna Lee's The Java Class Libraries, Second Edition, Volumes 1 and 2 (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley; 1998).
The subject index is comprehensive but short on cross-references. This is particularly true of abbreviations which are used throughout the index. For example, information on the Abstract Windowing Toolkit is found under AWT, not "abstract." For the experienced programmer, this is a time-saving feature, however it would have been useful to include the full phrase, in parenthesis, after all abbreviations, instead of just some. An ordering key would also have been useful. For instance, KEY_ACTION is filed as "key action" which naturally comes before "keyboard," and "java.beans" comes before "javac," which comes before "java.math." In one case, the underscore functions as a space; in the other, the period is ignored.
An errata list, as well as further information regarding the book, can be found at O'Reilly's website: http://www.oreilly.com/ catalog/javanut2/. There are some 24 corrections listed, the vast majority of which are minor spelling and/or grammatical errors. For a book of this size and complexity, this is a remarkably small list.
A note about the binding is in order here. A good reference book, when opened to any page, should lie flat on a desktop, to allow easy reading while hands are occupied with typing/input. This book, unfortunately, does not do this, and you will need some sort of weight to keep it open, which is a definite annoyance.
Mr. Flanagan succeeds in producing this quick, desktop reference. If one had to have just one book, this would be an excellent choice, and at under $20.00, it is one of the best investments any Java programmer can make.