Product Description

This book is an essential quick reference for the QuickTime and Java programmer. It provides the reader with a wealth of programming examples as well as a handy reference that provides an in-depth, class-by-class description of the API. The authors are part of the original QuickTime engineering team that pioneered and developed QuickTime for Java. A CD-ROM at the back of the book provides the reader with working sample code and other resources, so you can get started right away building your own Java applications and applets.

Apple's QuickTime technology has set the industry standard for developing and distributing multimedia content over the Web and on CD-ROMs. QuickTime's powerful, extensible software toolkit enables programmers, Web content developers, and multimedia producers to deliver state-of-the-art digital content---movies, audio, and music. Using Java, the same application can be deployed on any platform that supports QuickTime.

If you know Java, you'll want to tap into the power and extensibility of QuickTime. If you know C or C++, this book will introduce you to the core QuickTime technologies and their usage from Java. Each chapter is designed to bring you rapidly up to speed in particular areas of QuickTime usage with neatly explained and commented sample code and tutorials.

* Offers an overview of the QuickTime architecture
* Presents an inside look at the QuickTime for Java programming model and architecture
* Includes programming examples and tutorials that demonstrate key features
* Serves as a comprehensive quick reference of all classes and methods, interfaces and fields in the core QuickTime for Java 1.0 API

* Offers an overview of the QuickTime architecture
* Presents an inside look at the QuickTime for Java programming model and architecture
* Includes programming examples and tutorials that demonstrate key features
* Serves as a comprehensive quick reference of all classes and methods, interfaces and fields in the core QuickTime for Java 1.0 API

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1856664 in Books
• Published on: 1999-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 655 pages

Amazon.com Review
The selling slogan for Java is "write once, run anywhere," meaning programmers only have to write a program once and then compile it for whatever their target platform happens to be without worrying about modification. The problem with systems like this is harnessing the power of complicated components like QuickTime from within such a high level and abstract layer as Java. QuickTime for Java opens the doors to integrating the Java programming language with Apple's premiere multimedia streaming software by introducing the QuickTime for Java API.

The book's first half explores the relationship between QuickTime and Java, and how to make QuickTime function calls from within Java code. Both the book and the CD-ROM are filled with coding examples, ranging from the most basic--opening and playing a QuickTime movie--to the more complex, like embedding different media types and streaming movies.

The second half of the book, "QuickTime for Java Reference," probably contains the most valuable part if you already have some experience coding QuickTime procedures in Java. In over 300 pages, it catalogues library calls and functions for each of the QuickTime for Java packages: quicktime.app.actions, quicktime.app.audio, quicktime.app.players, and so on.

Both authors work at Apple--one is a senior writer and the other is the chief architect of QuickTime for Java--so it's not surprising to see their experience and knowledge brought to bear in clear and concise examples throughout the book. This is an excellent and detailed reference volume for anyone coding in Java, or anyone programming multimedia applications and looking to migrate to Java. --Mike Caputo

From the Back Cover
This book is an essential quick reference for the QuickTime and Java programmer. It provides the reader with a wealth of programming examples as well as a handy reference that provides an in-depth, class-by-class description of the API. The authors are part of the original QuickTime engineering team that pioneered and developed QuickTime for Java. A CD-ROM at the back of the book provides the reader with working sample code and other resources, so you can get started right away building your own Java applications and applets.

Apple's QuickTime technology has set the industry standard for developing and distributing multimedia content over the Web and on CD-ROMs. QuickTime's powerful, extensible software toolkit enables programmers, Web content developers, and multimedia producers to deliver state-of-the-art digital content---movies, audio, and music. Using Java, the same application can be deployed on any platform that supports QuickTime.

If you know Java, you'll want to tap into the power and extensibility of QuickTime. If you know C or C++, this book will introduce you to the core QuickTime technologies and their usage from Java. Each chapter is designed to bring you rapidly up to speed in particular areas of QuickTime usage with neatly explained and commented sample code and tutorials.

* Offers an overview of the QuickTime architecture
* Presents an inside look at the QuickTime for Java programming model and architecture
* Includes programming examples and tutorials that demonstrate key features
* Serves as a comprehensive quick reference of all classes and methods, interfaces and fields in the core QuickTime for Java 1.0 API

About the Author
Tom Maremaa is on Apple's QuickTime technical writing team and the author of numerous computer books. William Stewart is the Chief Architect of QuickTime for Java at Apple Computer and an established authority in the field of Java software development.

Customer Reviews

Lacking....
I do not recommend this book to those of you who are looking into developing any Quicktime application with Java. The authors have most blindly left out one important element while writing this "reference" book - the reference indeces lack what most API reference books contain - descriptions. As whimsical as it is, the reference section lists the methods per package, but there is no documentation describing what they do, and NO analysis of what the arguments represent or expect ! I look at these signatures, and have absolutely NO CLUE how to implement them ! The rest of the book suffers more or less the same sorts of ailments, lack of information. The authors are so wrapped up their GUI descriptions, that the object model (which is so much adored by the creators and writers) is not documented near to completion. For my sake and yours, please turn your head (from this book) while shopping for Quicktime for Java reference books.

Java & Quicktime programming... no help from here.
If you want to learn how to program Quicktime using java, this is the only book on the market that I am aware of. That's the good news.

The BAD news is: this is a [stinky] book so don't buy this book using your own $$$. Like a previous reviewer says, half the book is just a listing of the Java Quicktime API 4.0 which is by now outdated. Go to the Apple/Quicktime website & download the Quicktime Java SDK 6.0 using the custom download, this will give you the entire kit plus the needed .dlls required to run Quicktime Java applic on the PC.

The 1st half of the book is mostly a direct copy of the "Summary of Quicktime for Java" published by Apple. The so called authors just lifted entire passage from the above publication. They've added virtually nothing to it.

All the critisms listed by previous reviewers are valid. Do not use your own $money to buy this book !

If you want to learn how to do video/audio streaming, I would recommend Windows Media Player due to their much better documentation/support.

Most of Quicktime's documentation are for the C language & have not been updated for Java. Learn how to program with Quicktime, you don't have a bloody chance .... at least not with Mr. Maremaa's book...

Useless
Absolutely useless. More then half of the book is QT Java API Reference just printed out. Thanx, I have a printer and I could do it myself, no need to buy the book.

All code samples are poorly explained. If you're not an experienced QuickTime C++ developer you don't have a chance.