If you are a new programmer or a Java programmer moving to Java 2 then this is the book for you! It offers: a complete introduction to Java 2; describes the language and many of its class libraries; shows how they are used; describes the key concepts of object orientation with lots of examples of how to apply the theory. This book will show you how to take advantage of Java 2's new features (such as the abstract windowing toolkit and the Swing classes) for creating graphical user interfaces. John Cowell explains how to use Swing components to change the look and feel of your Java applications so that they look like Windows, Mac or Motif applications. Sun Microsystems Java 2 (formerly called the Java Development Kit 1.2 - JDK 1.2) is a major step forward in the growth of Java into a powerful mature language for writing both applications and applets. Topics covered in this book include: the Java language; the abstract windowing toolkit; the new Java Swing components; handling component, keyboard and mouse events; polymorphism and inheritance; animation and multithreading; handling exceptions; using files. Essential Java 2 - fast is designed for professional developers or students who need to learn the maximum in the minimum time. You'll develop applications and applets fast, learning everything you need to write Java applications and applets quickly with Java.