To get the most out of this book

This book can be read without a computer or laptop at hand, in which case you need nothing more than the book itself. Although to follow the examples in the book, you need Java 8, which you can download from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html. You will also need your favorite IDE for the examples, but I have used the Software Spring Tool Suite; download the latest version of Spring Tool Suite (STS) from https://spring.io/tools/sts/all according to your system OS. The Java 8 and STS work on a variety of platforms--Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Other software components required are as follows: