Recommended reading on Java

Question

For my new job I'll need to do Java development, which I have never done before. Nevertheless I have a fairly decent software development background, so it would be great to read a couple of books that won't be too simplistic (not "Java in 24 hours for the mentally deranged"-style ;-). Topics especially interesting for me are:

• Language basics (but not OOP basics)
• JBoss
• Java Beans
• JDBC

I won't be doing any GUI or web-development at least for the time being, so these things are of secondary interest. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Effective Java (2nd edition) - Josh Bloch

It doesn't cover any of the topics you mentioned, but it's likely to be the most important Java book you ever read, IMO.

Answer 2

Thinking in Java could be really useful for a beginner.

And The Java Tutorial have a good introduction to the language basics and specific trails on topics like JDBC...

Answer 3

Check out Head First Java.

Answer 4

Like Jon Skeets recommendation "Effective Java" this book is a must read too:

Java Concurrency in Practice http://www.javaconcurrencyinpractice.com/

Answer 5

I'd like to add Robert C. Martins book Clean Code to the recommendations. It really changed my way of thinking in Java software development.

Answer 6

No matter, what introductory book you'd like the most, Java Platform SDK is a must! :-)