Java Technology Home Page
Downloads, APIs, Documentation
Java Developer Connection
Docs, Tutorials, Tech Articles, Training
Online Support
Community Discussion
News & Events from Everywhere
Products from Everywhere
How Java Technology is Used Worldwide

A-Z Index

The Source for Java Technology

THE JAVA LANGUAGE SPECIFICATION

Written by the inventors of the technology, The JavaTM Language Specification, Second Edition is the definitive technical reference for the JavaTM programming language. If you want to know the premise meaning of the language's constructs, this is the source for you.

The book provides complete, accurate, and detailed coverage of the syntax and semantics of the Java programming language. It describes all aspects of the language, including the semantics of all types, statements, and expressions, as well as threads and binary compatibility.

James Gosling is a Fellow and Vice President at Sun Microsystems, the creator of the Java programming language, and one of the computer industry's most noted programmers. He is the 1996 recipient of Software Development's "Programming Excellence Award." He previously developed NeWS, Sun's network-extensible window system, and was a principal in the Andrew project at Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science.

Bill Joy is founder and Vice President of Research at Sun Microsystems, where he has led the company's technical strategy, working on both hardware and software architecture. He is well known as the creator of the Berkeley version of the UNIX operating system, for which he received a lifetime achievement award from the USENIX Association in 1993. He received the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award in 1986. Joy has had a central role in shaping the Java programming language.

Guy L. Steele Jr. is a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems, where he is responsible for the specification of the Java programming language as well as research in parallel algorithms. He is well known as the co-creator of the Scheme programming language and for his reference books for the C programming language (with Samuel Harbison) and for the Common Lisp programming language. Steele received the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award in 1988 and was named an ACM Fellow in 1994.

Gilad Bracha is Computational Theologist at Sun Microsystems, and a researcher in the area of object-oriented programming languages. Prior to joining Sun, he worked on StrongtalkTM, the Animorphic Smalltalk System. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Ben Gurion University in Israel and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Utah.

View HTML
Download HTML (tar.Z, ~573K)
Download HTML (zip, ~409K)
Order this book through
DigitalGuru
amazon.com

With the publication of The Java Language Specification, James Gosling, Bill Joy, and Guy Steele provide the definitive technical reference for the Java programming language. It provides complete, accurate, and detailed coverage of the entire language and its syntax. If you want to know the precise meaning of Java's constructs, this is the source.

Book Description
Table of Contents
Order this book through
DigitalGuru
amazon.com

Comments and errata to jls@java.sun.com.

You may print this book once. The printed version of this draft book may not be photocopied without the express written permission of Sun. For the complete copyright notice, see Copyright.

The following is The Java Language Specification, version 1.0, by James Gosling, Bill Joy, and Guy Steele. The printed book is published by Addison-Wesley and is currently available in booksto res. The online version is available below.

This book contains the most definitive specification of the syntax and semantics of the Java language and core packages java.lang, java.io and java.util of its Application Programming Interface. The intention is that the behavior of every language construct is specified here, so that all implementations of Java will accept the same programs.

View HTML
Download HTML (tar.Z, ~865K)
Download HTML (zip, ~600K)
Download PDF (~3706K)
Download PostScript (tar.Z, ~1765K)
Download PostScript (zip, ~1267K)

Changes for Java 1.1 - Originally published as Appendix D from The Java Programming Language by Ken Arnold.

Clarifications and Amendments to The Java Language Specification.

The Java Language Specification maintenance information.


[ This page was updated: Thursday, 27-Jul-2000 15:32:39 MDT ]

Products & APIs | Developer Connection | Docs & Training | Support
Community Discussion | Industry News | Solutions Marketplace | Case Studies
Glossary - Feedback - A-Z Index

For more information on Java technology
and other software from Sun Microsystems, call:
(800) 786-7638
Outside the U.S. and Canada, dial your country's AT&T Direct Access Number first.
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Copyright © 1995-2000 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use. Privacy Policy.