Exploring Java is a comprehensive introduction to a new tool for building the next generation of network-capable applications. The ability to create animated World Wide Web pages with Java has sparked its popularity. But Java is also important because it's truly portable. The code runs on all systems that provide a Java interpreter, whether Windows 95, Windows NT, Macintosh, or UNIX. Java's most dramatic claim concerns safety; its design makes it difficult to write viruses and other hostile software.

Therefore it's an ideal language for writing software that travels across the Internet.

With a practical, hands-on approach, Exploring Java shows how to write Java applets and create dynamic Web pages. But that's only the beginning. This book shows you how to get up to speed writing advanced applications like networking programs, content and protocol handlers, and security managers. Exploring Java is the first book in a Java documentation series from O'Reilly that will keep pace with rapid Java developments.