perl

Java 1.5 has started to emerge into general usage. But most of us Java programmers are still safely ensconced in 1.4. Not a few are undoubtedly wondering what the big deal is about 1.5. If you're like me, you are probably quite satisfied with 1.4.

Well this book quickly attempts to change that opinion. It hits all the new stuff, with simple descriptions and example code. Like autoboxing. Nothing deep about this, to say the least. But it really eliminates a lot of visual clutter in your source code, when you have to go between a primitive and its wrapper type. It is the analog of how you can do (eg) System.out.println(' t='+t+' d='+d); where t and d can be any primitive types, and the jvm figures out the printing for you. You don't have to specifically describe the output format for each type, as you have to in C. The wonder about autoboxing (and its inverse) is that it was not introduced way earlier. Well, anyway, you have it now.

Long time C programmers will also welcome varargs, which are variable argument lists. Ever since Java came out in 1996, many asked for this ability. This push has gone on for years. Finally, they scored and we have varargs.

Other 1.5 changes are covered. But the above should be enough to give you a flavour of what the book offers.