You can use Hardcore Java as a guide for the transition from novice Java programmer to day laborers, or as a map to the parts of the language you have not explored (or explored adequately) in your development work to date. If there are no surprises in your book, you may be very experienced with Java. In addition to this book's tutorial function, Hardcore Java puts forth and defend a number of opinions about design and style of Java software. One example: After explaining how bit fields work - bit fields are not widely used in Java programming, and the benefits they might be interesting to some programmers - Robert Simmons indicated that they are inherently limited in their ability to contain data, and that this could cause problem. This is the kind of design tradeoff that more advanced Java programmers have to consider, and Simmons if the Java community service by showing programmers how to think critically about their language abilities.