What if you could condense Java down to its very best features and build better applications with that simpler version? In this book, veteran Sun Labs engineer Jim Waldo reveals which parts of Java are most useful, and why those features make Java among the best programming languages available.Every language eventually builds up crud, Java included. The core language has become increasingly large and complex, and the libraries associated with it have grown even more. Learn how to take advantage of Java's best features by working with an example application throughout the book. You may not like some of the features Jim Waldo considers good, but they'll actually help you write better code.Learn how the type system and packages help you build large-scale softwareUse exceptions to make code more reliable and easier to maintainManage memory automatically with garbage collectionDiscover how the JVM provides portability, security, and nearly bug-free codeUse Javadoc to embed documentation within the codeTake advantage of reusable data structures in the collections libraryUse Java RMI to move code and data in a distributed networkLearn how Java concurrency constructs let you exploit multicore processors