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Concurrent Programming in Java - Design Principles by Doug Lea Recommended

ISBN: 0 201 69581 2       Publisher: Addison-Wesley       Pages: 337pp       Price: £29-95

Categories:   parallel systems     java

Reviewed by Francis Glassborow in C Vu 9-4 (May 1997)

This book deals with the issues from a Java viewpoint but the author is aware of the wider issues and describes the Java mechanisms and coding practices in this extended context. However it is also a (much) better than average book on the subject of concurrency. The author does not assume you know about the subject in general and merely want to implement it in Java.

Because of this approach it is a good book for those that want to understand the wider issues. However you should remember that the Java focus means that the authors solutions are based on relatively weak multi-thread support.

Unless cost is an issue then I would prefer this book to the O'Reilly one (Java Threads), though if you are simply interested in how to do it in Java, the O'Reilly book will meet your needs. If you have a wider interest in concurrency then I have to say that there is no contest.