If you're just starting out in
Java, it might not be clear just how much J2SE 5 (JDK 5) has reshaped Java programming. (Especially if you are learning from a pre-J2SE 5 book.) Simply put, the impact of J2SE 5 is nothing short of revolutionary. The future belongs to those programmers who can master its many new features.
An overview of the new features in J2SE 5 can be found in my article
The Tiger Awakes. As you will see, some of the new features of J2SE 5, such as generics, are quite advanced. Others, such as the "for-each" style
for loop are quite easy to put into practice.