Java Threads, 3rd Edition

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects.

The animal on the cover of Java Threads, Third Edition is a marine invertebrate. Invertebrates, or animals without backbones, make up over 97 percent of all animal species on the planet. Marine invertebrates are abundant in every ocean, and include such diverse species as crabs, sea cucumbers, jellyfish, starfish, urchins, anemones, and shrimps. One of the most intelligent animals in the sea, the octopus, is also an invertebrate.

Many invertebrates have protective shells to shield them from hungry, razor-toothed predators. You may think that invertebrates without shells would be particularly vulnerable, but many have developed some effective defenses. Sea anemones brandish tentacles that sting their enemies, urchins have sharp spikes that cover their entire bodies, and sea slugs just don’t taste very good.

Though you may not realize it, marine invertebrates are quite beneficial to humans. For one, they constitute a huge food source. Shrimps, crabs, octopuses, clams, oysters, squids, lobsters, scallops, and crayfish are all tasty delicacies. Invertebrates are also nature’s vacuum cleaners, taking in dead and discarded material and recycling it through the food chain. And after millions of years, the bodies of invertebrates settle on ...