Yes, it is possible to be all things to all people, if you're talking about the Emacs editor. As a user, you can make any kind of customization you want, from choosing the keystrokes that invoke your favorite commands to creating a whole new work environment that looks like nothing ever developed before. It's all in Emacs Lisp -- and in this short but fast-paced book.

GNU Emacs is more than an editor; it's a programming environment, a communications package, and many other things. To provide such a broad range of functions, it offers a full version of the Lisp programming language -- something much more powerful than the little macro languages provided in other editors (including older versions of Emacs). GNU Emacs is a framework in which you can create whole new kinds of editors or just alter aspects of the many functions it already provides.

In this book, Bob Glickstein delves deep into the features that permit far-reaching Emacs customizations. He teaches you the Lisp language and discusses Emacs topics (such as syntax tables and macro templates) in easy-to-digest portions. Examples progress in complexity from simple customizations to extensive major modes.

You will learn how to write interactive commands, use hooks and advice, perform error recovery, manipulate windows, buffers, and keymaps, exploit and alter Emacs's main loop, and more. Each topic is explored through realistic examples and a series of successive refinements that illustrate not only the Emacs Lisp language, but the development process as well, making learning pleasant and natural.

Steve Perry has spent his time "in the trenches". "I've been paged at 3:00 am to provide support because the system wasn't doing what it should and no one had a clue how to figure out why. I've scrolled through endless logfiles to decipher system problems, when a management solution could have presented an operator with a warning message hours earlier!" Wanting other developers to be able to learn from his experiences, Steve wroteJava Management Extensions.

Java Management Extensionsis a practical, hands-on guide to using the JMX APIs, Sun Microsystem's new Java-based tool for managing enterprise applications. This one-of-a kind book is a complete treatment of the JMX architecture (both the instrumentation level and the agent level), and it's loaded with real-world examples for implementing Management Extensions. It also contains useful information at the higher level about JMX (the "big picture") to help technical managers and architects who are evaluating various application management approaches and are considering JMX.

The JMX technology is very new, and according to Steve, still has a few "potholes" in it. This book takes developers through it step by step, pointing out the "gotchas" before they have a chance to trip up smooth operation of the application. The author, a member of the expert group developing the JMX specification, points out that as J2EE becomes more widely adopted, the Java standard for management (JMX) becomes more and more crucial to avoid "splinter standards" where each vendor has their own distinct, arguably successful, way of doing things. "In my own company we have already identified and are tackling the problem of managing our Java applications. It's my belief that other companies will follow, as they come to realize the power that a standard manageability solution (ie, JMX) gives them."

The book is divided into the following sections:

Part I:
• Introduction and overview
Part II:
• the JMX Instrumentation Level
• Standard MBeans
• Dynamic MBeans
• Model Mbeans
Part III:
• The JMX Agent Level
• The Mbean Server
• The JMX Notification Model
• Dynamic Loading
• Monitors
• Timer Services
• Relation Services
Appendix:
• Related Technologies
Index