Many serious Java programmers, especially enterprise Java programmers, consider the new I/O API--called NIO for New Input/Output--the most important feature in the 1.4 version of the Java 2 Standard Edition. The NIO package includes many things that have been missing from previous editions of Java that are critical to writing high-performance, large-scale applications: improvements in the areas of buffer management, scalable network and file I/O, character-set support, and regular expression matching. Most of all, it boosts performance and speed dramatically. Java NIO explores the new I/O capabilities of version 1.4 in detail and shows you how to put these features to work to greatly improve the efficiency of the Java code you write. This compact volume examines the typical challenges that Java programmers face with I/O and shows you how to take advantage of the capabilities of the new I/O features. You?ll learn how to put these tools to work using examples of common, real-world I/O problems and see how the new features have a direct impact on responsiveness, scalability, and reliability. The book includes:

• A rundown of the new features in NIO

• Basic and advanced I/O Concepts

• Binary I/O and the new buffer classes

• Memory mapped files and file locking

• Character I/O: encoding, decoding and transforming character data

• Regular Expressions and the new java.util.regex package

• Muliplexing with java.nio

Because the NIO APIs supplement the I/O features of version 1.3, rather than replace them, you'll also learn when to use new APIs and when the older 1.3 I/O APIs are better suited to your particular application. Java NIO is for any Java programmer who is interested in learning how to boost I/O performance, but if you're developing applications where performance is critical, such as game computing or large-scale enterprise applications, you'll want to give this book a permanent spot on your bookshelf. With the NIO APIs, Java no longer takes a backseat to any language when it comes to performance. Java NIO will help you realize the benefits of these exciting new features.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 15 Ratings

Pretty good overview but consider using a framework. - 2004-10-30
Reviewer Rating:
This is a pretty good overview, particularly for those who have no previous experience with non-blocking IO. The author explains the concept of buffers very well, with useful diagrams illustrating the differences between position, limit, etc.

The material on selectors and readiness selection is also strong.

The problem is, there are idiosyncracies to NIO that make it difficult to use effectively for large-scale, high-performance applications without some in-depth knowledge.

If you're really looking to architect a substantial NIO server or client, read this book for the overview, but also be sure to take a look at the open source Netty framework by Trustin Lee, or Ember IO by Mike Spille to see good NIO implementations that you can use as a building block.

A book by RonF Hitchens - 2006-11-17
Reviewer Rating:
No, that's not a mistake the F in the RonF, I really meant it.. in italian "ronf ronf" stands for the sleeping snore, and that's what you will be doing if you try to read this book. I had to struggle with myself real hard to force my way through this book, and trust me, I am used to reading books that are not exactly pure entertainment. The material presented is actually quite accurate and useful, only the presentation style is abysmally boring, arid and schematic. Even the table of contents reflects that, it goes: Buffer - Channel - Selectors - Regexp - Charsets. Every subject is explained pretty much in isolation of each other. How can you possibly put together anything even remotely engaging and conving with a style like that? It's like trying to teach you the english language using a dictionary, first learn all the words that start with A, then let's go to the B...
The irony is that in the intro to chap 1, the author even makes jokes about IO not being so dull as usually believed. Well I agree with him , but he certainly managed to make an outstanding contribution to the dullness of IO. Should he be congratulated?

Excellent book on Java NIO - 2009-09-14
Reviewer Rating:
I really enjoyed this book, and found it very helpful in learning about Java NIO. All of the code I tried worked, and I was able to improve my older Java IO-based code quickly as a result. Excellent book!

Great book for a very overlooked subject - 2009-04-13
Reviewer Rating:
This is a great book on a subject that seems to get swept under the covers alot. NIO is very powerful but very confusing and this book really helps. the examples are very good and actually useful.

Ok, but no great. - 2004-01-18
Reviewer Rating:
I am not sure what else is out there? The book ok, but not really remarkable in any way.

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