Note on the cover design

The cover of Thinking in Java is inspired by the American Arts & Crafts Movement, which
began near the turn of the century and reached its zenith between 1900 and 1920. It began
in England as a reaction to both the machine production of the Industrial Revolution and the
highly ornamental style of the Victorian era. Arts & Crafts emphasized spare design, the
forms of nature as seen in the art nouveau movement, hand-crafting, and the importance of
38 Thinking in Java www.BruceEckel.com
the individual craftsperson, and yet it did not eschew the use of modern tools. There are
many echoes with the situation we have today: the impending turn of the century, the
evolution from the raw beginnings of the computer revolution to something more refined
and meaningful to individual persons, and the emphasis on software craftsmanship rather
than just manufacturing code.
I see Java in this same way: as an attempt to elevate the programmer away from an
operating-system mechanic and towards being a “software craftsman.”
Both the author and the book/cover designer (who have been friends since childhood) find
inspiration in this movement, and both own furniture, lamps and other pieces that are either
original or inspired by this period.
The other theme in this cover suggests a collection box that a naturalist might use to display
the insect specimens that he or she has preserved. These insects are objects, placed within the
box objects which are themselves placed within the “cover object,” which illustrates the
fundamental concept of aggregation in object-oriented programming. Of course, a
programmer cannot help but make the association with “bugs,” and here the bugs have been
captured and presumably killed in a specimen jar, and finally confined within a small display
box, as if to imply Java’s ability to find, display and subdue bugs (which is truly one of its
most powerful attributes).