Java is currently a "must-have" skill but its object-oriented concepts may be unfamiliar to COBOL programmers. COBOL examples are used throughout this book to explain Java's object-oriented principles and syntax. Step-by-step procedures are used to walk the user through the process of converting COBOL's structured programming oncepts into object-oriented ones. This book does not assume knowledge of C or C++ programming techniques. The text uses coding techniques familiar to COBOL programmers when presenting Java concepts and takes the COBOL viewpoint throughout (for example, it defines a Class and how it is similar to a COBOL subroutine, and so on). Step-by-step examples using Sun's Java2 DK and Microsoft J++ Development Environments are included and XML concepts are introduced from the COBOL Perspective. The companion CD-ROM include Sun's Java 2 SDK, and Microsoft Visual J++ Directories and Project Definition Files. It also contains various COBOL to Java conversion tool demonstration versions including: PERCOBOL from LegacyJ; RescueWare from Relativity Technologies; and CORECT from ACM, Ltd. Information and files from the IBM San Francisco Project, XML document definitions and samples, and all the code and exercises from the book can also be found on the accompanying CD.