Thousands of programmers want to learn Java fast, hands-on -- with as little complexity and theory as possible. For them, Essentials of the Java "TM" Programming Language is the perfect starting point. Based on Monica Pawlan's wildly-popular web tutorial, this accessible, "learn-by-doing" guide covers all the fundamentals by walking through a simple program that gradually grows into a full-fledged eCommerce application which illustrates Java 2's most important programming techniques and concepts. In the first half of the book, developers master key essentials such as: building basic user interfaces; reading and writing data to files and databases; sending and receiving data across networks via RMI and sockets; compiling and running programs; and the differences between applications, applets, servlets, and JavaServer Pages. Next, Pawlan introduces more advanced concepts. In just 300 pages, developers get a complete, accurate, real-world grounding in Java -- all they need to get results fast, and shorten their learning curve as they move into more sophisticated Java development. For every programmer seeking to learn Java quickly and easily.