Review by Billy Barron

"Not Just Java" by Peter van der Linden (Prentice Hall; ISBN 0-13-864638-4) is a unique book in the marketplace. The title is a play off of Peter's previous "Just Java", which I highly recommend. In this book, Peter talks about Java, all associated technologies, and all its major competitors.

Instead of a lot of technical facts, Peter analyzes the history of computing and what he thinks will happen in the future. Sometimes I agree with Peter and at other times I don't. However, unlike most authors I disagree with, Peter has my upmost respect because he fully explains why he came to the conclusion he reached and they are always reasonably valid.

As usual, Peter's writing style is extremely readable and fun. You shouldn't fall asleep reading this book.

This book is for anyone who is thinking about using Java, is using Java and wants to know how it may affect computing in the future, or the person who is anti-Java to gain insight into what they are missing. The book is pro-Java, but admits that Java is not the be-all, end-all of computing. I recommend this book highly.