5 comments about J2EE Applications and BEA WebLogic Server (2nd Edition).

1. A great way to learn J2EE if you are looking to use Weblogic as your application server. Most of the examples are clear easy to follow. I definitely recommend it.



2. This book is an excellent survey of WebLogic Server 8.1 and, more generally, building applications with J2EE. It describes each of the functional areas of the server - JSP and servlets, EJBs, JMS, JDBC, security, administration, etc. It also reviews other technologies, such as web services, XML, and SOA, and how they relate to J2EE. The example application is thorough and useful. This is an excellent book for someone new to WebLogic Server and J2EE or an expert looking to polish skills.



3. This book might be a good book for beginner/intermediate programmers but it does little for intermediate/advance programmers who want to learn about weblogic. Advanced users will easily get bored with its simplicity and lack of detail on critical topics such as command line depoyment or even console for that matter (not practical). Their are a lot of things that are assumed in this book and really just scratches the surface of weblogic. Just when topics get interesting, the authors refer the reader to weblogic's online edocs.
   
   If you have understanding of j2ee and need to get upto date with weblogic , this is not the book for you. The examples in this book are very simple, with probably a hello world example for each chapter. You can see this as either good or bad. warning: Some beginners to j2ee will find some difficulty understanding deployment without previous knowledge in j2ee, The book is not very PRACTICAL. It would have been prefaired if the examples in each chapter continued on to the following chapter, this way the reader could learn how the different components in j2ee work together and more prefairably in a weblogic environment.
   
   Overall I didnt enjoy reading this book very much, some chapters are really well done while others are not, I give this book a 3 only because this book would serve well for a beginner in j2ee and not weblogic.



4. While I have found this book useful, it also has some obvious errors that should have been caught. The explanation of how to use many of the examples on the CD-ROM is either poor, or non-existent in some cases. All in all it is an ok book, but I think I will need to find a better book and buy it before I will feel I really understand Weblogic. Cannot fully recommend this book. If you can buy it cheap as a used book then maybe it might be worth your money.



5. This book provides comprehensive coverage on J2EE architecture, key concepts, and elements (Servlets, EJBs, JNDI, JDBC, JMS, and JSP) using WebLogic application server 8 as a platform. In later chapters, the book also covers practical topics such as WebLogic administration, security, design and product deployment processes, clustering, and capacity planning. It provides insightful design methodologies that have quality production systems as an end goal.
   
   This book can serves as a good reference book for reviewing key J2EE concepts. I highly recommend this book to software architects and senior J2EE developers.

5 comments about Beginning JSP Web Development.

1. I found this book to be very useful. I have been developing we applications now for 4 years using ASP, and I still found this book useful. I have been trying to find a good book about developing we apps, especially in JSP. It has great examples for developing the JSP page and the presentation is also excellent.The one star missing due to lack of robust code in some sections.Nevertheless,a must have book for all.



2. This book is a solid introduction that covers all the key basics. Be aware that over half the book is spent teaching Java, not JSP. Since I already know the basics of java, the numerous Java chapters were a distraction to the main point of JSP/Servlet programming. Also, being a beginner to JSP, I have to agree with an earlier reviewer that the book hurries on to each next chapter with only the barest of examples to illustrate the topic, and usually the examples are just "toys". You have to wait until the end of the book where two chapters are devoted to developing a realistic web application. The result is that you don't get a chance, as you go along, to really practice a concept and see it in various contexts. Also, I like to get into database access early in a book, since using a database is the main point of a web application. In this one, you have to wait until near the end before you learn how. Aside from these caveats, the book is clearly written, the concepts are well explained, and it covers the subject quite well.



3. Thanks to everyone who mentioned the numerous errors in this book in their reviews. I only wish I had read them before buying the book. Not only is it full of every type of error you can think of, it is also poorly organized with a heavy-duty chapter on tag libraries sandwiched between otherwise introductory material. Also, the last half of the book is meant to be a case study but the sections are pasted together with little or no indication as to what is part of the case study and what is an overall observation making it impossible to follow along. If you do buy the book (and I recommend you don't) print out the errata list from their website -- it'll save you hours of frustration. However, don't expect it to be complete.



4. The book says that the source code can be downloaded from wrox.com. But that is not true. The book does not have a CD nor does it have source code at wrox.com. Beaware of it.



5. This book presents ideas from top-down. They show you something and then explain the pieces that they think are important. They are fairly good at this but the problem is they don't explain everything in detail. They tell you just enough about a subject to make you think you understand it but gloss over pitfalls. They keep telling you not to worry about certain parts of the code - they will explain them later. I think learning a language from the bottom up is better. That way one understands all the pieces that are being assembled. This book is getting the job done but I'm often confused about what code (explained in later chapters) is doing. Maybe I should read the book in reverse order...

5 comments about Mastering Enterprise JavaBeans, 3rd Edition.

1. This is a good book for a newbie with loads of theories though this book stays far behind the enterprise level computing and on implementation of EJB driven applications. There's a huge gap between what this book describes and the real development environment of EJBs.
   
   Never rely on the sample codes and the methodologies have been used in this book for those are not the best development approaches. This book consists of several pitfalls and not suitable to be used as an EJB development guideline (e:g: this doesn't solve the importance of PK classes and creating composite primary keys). Also never assume that this book describes the best EJB development methodologies just by fantasized by the way that the theories on EJB are presented.
   
   If you seek more adventure on EJB this is probably not the best of books for this lacks some depth to the topics included. Apart from that, this book is quite ok for a newbie to get dirt with EJB and to understand the basics with the theories and fundamentals. If you like some fine grained info and you're a newbie, I'd suggest Applied Enterprise JavaBeans by Kevin Boone to brush up with what's missing here



2. This is an excellent and complete book on EJB. I read 1st and 2nd edition of the O'Reilly EJB book based on recommendations; I have to say the Ed Roman book is far superior - he covers every detail, including peripheral considerations, and has complete and numerous examples. 1 downside - many typos - but thankfully they are so obvious, it doesn't detract from comprehension.



3. I have the two earlier editions of this book, but this book hardly added any value or did anything better than those earlier editions. The new chapters does not meet the expectations - I suspect the new authors messed up quality of the book. The new examples on EJB Web services is nothing but a hello world and I even doubt the new authors had any expertise to test those examples. Now I find this book does'nt make any help to me and it is no longer fit to call it as a Mastering EJB book. Now this book would collect dust in my shelf, because I find better examples in the Java web site and also at theserverside.com itself.



4. The title says mastering EJB...which is ok for a title but this book lacks in content that is needed for a beginner. This book claims that it's audience will be a beginner or an advanced guy and I feel that it is oriented more towards the experienced reader. The first 3 chapters explains the basics of Enterprise computing using J2EE environment and a simple example of the Hello Bean EJB, which is good for a beginner. But once you start delving into chapters 4, 5 and furthur in, you will happen to see things for which you might ask yourself the question "Why have I got to do this?".
   I'd recommed this book for a guy who already has a fair understanding of EJB and wants to get a through understanding of the concepts. For the rest of us, I'd recommend Head First as the starting point.



5. This book is truly the complete book on EJB Specification 2.1 and more. By more I mean to say that not only does it focus on EJB and their real life implementations but also on the underlying technologies of distributed programming like RMI-IIOP and JNDI. It talks about the best practices and performance optimization techniques that can be used while working on EJBs. For me this book the holy book on EJBs.
   
   This for people who do not know about EJB much and for those who are already grandmasters on them. For beginners, this book might look very heavy initially but slowly and slowly as you try to sink into the chapters you will get excellent conceptual knowledge about what EJBs are and how they are used. For masters, this offers the best reference manual available in the market.

No comments about An Invitation to Computer Science: Laboratory Manual, Java Edition.

5 comments about Professional Java Programming.

1. Great clear and practical advice for the aspiring or even the professional java programmer.



2. As an intermediate-level Java programmer, this book has helped me tremendously. Reading it from front to back like a novel, I was able to immediately apply almost every lesson learned. Brett Spell has a wonderfully readable writing style and does a fantastic job of explaining a wide array of sticky topics that apply to almost every Java programmer. The book's diagrams and example code are also excellent. I highly recommend this book.



3. This book certainly covers many important topics in a clear and well written manner. You will find excellent and very clear advice to follow. My only gripe with this book is its rather lengthy treatment of Swing. Swing is covered in enough detail to give you a flavor, but that's all. In total the coverage of swing takes up a lot of pages, and makes the book a bit too thick to read comfortably in bed. Without the Swing part I think it would have been possible to have this book as a bedside companion.



4. I've had this book since it was first printed, and I find myself coming back to it time and again. I've gotten great value from the printing, drag and drop, internationalization....you get the idea. There is a lot of info here that you just don't find in most Java books (and I've read quite a few).

   Highly recomended.




5. I have already owned this book for more than four years and could not be happier with it. I have used it extensively mainly as a reference for the uncovered/undocumented topics in Swing, Concurrency and JDBC programming; and I must say it has always surprised me by providing sound information to complex concepts covered only in a very shallow way by other Java books. I keep up to date by buying the latest books in Java JSE and J2EE programming but still, it is only with Brett's book that I end up finding the best answers. It is very compelling its excellent coverage of good OO design in Java and programming style guidelines.
   
   Please do not fool yourself as I almost did when I was quickly browsing through its pages before deciding to buy. My first impression was that this book wasn't going to be very deep, while covering so many different topics e.g. Java Architecture, Swing, Javadoc, JDBC, Remote, Concurrency, etc. but Brett's nail hitting approach is to leave out the trivialities and get to the core complex issues that make all the difference developing real-life complex Java applications.
   
   e.g. today sunday 29.10.2006 I just could not take anymore not fully understanding how GridBagLayout works. I needed the added flexibility over the other simpler but very limited Layout managers. After my frustrated attempt of reviewing other three Java Swing-only up-to-date books, voila! there was Brett's in my bookshelf as always waiting to provide me with the best explanation and examples.
   
   I very much look forward his updated new edition of this excellent almost never outdated resource.
   
   The title of the book is very well honoured. It is IMHO a must have for any serious professional Java developer.

5 comments about Enterprise Java(TM) Programming with IBM(R) WebSphere(R) (2nd Edition).

1. Firstly I'm surprised at the rave-reviews that this book has got on amazon. The great reviews drove me to actually use this book to learn websphere. Sadly, I'm very disappointed with the book. (I have previously developed J2EE apps on JBoss, and WebLogic so I was not reading it as a novice reader). Also a disclaimer: I have read the book through online subscription at SafariBooksOnline, some of my criticism may not be applicable to the printed version.

   The begin my critique, the book attempts too much while accomplishing very litte. This is a book about J2EE programming with WebSphere, it should have been kept that way. Instead the authors try to provide introduction (at times having errors) for the J2EE technologies and make a complete mess of it. It takes great effort on the part of the reader to gather the core information that relates to programming/configuring WSAD. The book could have been much better if it included more hands-on exercises and cut out the crappy introduction to "enterprise concepts".

   Secondly, about the examples. The examples are not complete (they often refer to the CD-ROM and I was reading the book on SafariBooksOnline, so this may not be the case when you buy the printed book). Moreover the explanation is in very high-sounding terms at times which makes it difficult to focus on the point that is being made.

   This is definitely not a book for novice; and for the experienced it is a waste of time to sift through loads of nonsense before making any sense of whats written.

   I have given it 2 stars because some of the hands-on stuff sections actually worked when I tried them, and the GUI snapshots were helpful.




2. OK, so this isn't a beginner's text. It has literally thousands (yes, thousands) of typos. Why 5 stars? This is simply the best book on explaining and demonstrating J2EE concepts that I've read, and I've read many.

   It's virtually impossible to find this much valuable info in one place. And please, don't bash this book until you've read the whole thing (which you may need to do more than once!).

   The code on the CD works. As far as showing incomplete printed examples, do you really want every line of code printed in the book? Given the level of developer this book targets, they strike a fine balance of what goes on the existing 900 pages and what can be browsed on the CD. The only topic I had trouble digesting was their discussion on Mapper Objects (Ch. 16), but it's easy enough to understand the code.

   I have yet to find a large technical book without lots of errors. I would rate the editing job on this book as 1.5 stars because of the abundance of seemingly careless typos. However, they're minor annoyances that don't detract from this technically correct marvel of a book. As developers, we need useful information. This book more than delivers and is worth every penny.




3. The quality of the content is awesome. I am looking forward to the Third Edition.



4. The title is "Enterprise Java Programming with IBM WebSphere" but the book does not teach you how to programm with IBM WebSphere. The book covers very high level and briefly leaving you in the dark.



5. The WSAD included is out of date and when I installed the application it would not run. But don't take my word for it. Search the internet for, "The license could not be found. websphere studio application developer 5.0 can not start". (The current version is 5.1.1.)
   
   The IBM web site says to change the date on your PC to May 1, 2005 then install. It does install and will run, but when you reset the date on your PC the license has expired!
   
   Instructions to configure a working database are inaccurate and do not work when followed verbatim. Some of the illustrations and step-by-step instructions no not match the actual screens displayed. The design information is good, but if you are looking for a book to learn how to start using WSAD, this is not the answer.

1 comments about Fundamentals of Programming using Java (Fasttrack).

1. This is a good book for those who want to learn how to program. Many Java books begin with an obligatory chapter on a stand alone program. Then, these other texts switch gears to applets and drawing graphics like ovals, rectangles, and arcs. While that type of approach can be a good introduction, it misses an important aspect of programming - "logic". This book spends time on the basics. These basics are necessary for writing programs that perform tasks. The explanations of code are clear and precise. It is what every person interested in programming needs as a foundation.

No comments about JAVA Programming With the SAP Web Application Server.

5 comments about java(TM).rmi: The Remote Method Invocation Guide.

1. When first looking at the book, I was a bit disappointed from its small size. However, after reading just a couple of pages, I immediately realized that this book is excellent.

   I had some prior experience with rmi and this book has certainly improved my understanding of it. It also covers the serialization and I gained much knowledge from it.

   The only downside is the lack of full code samples.
   Thus beginners to rmi might find it a little annoying.




2. I have several books on RMI and looking for more. This is one in my collection and my least favorite. It is too reference-like, which you can find enough of on the developer's networks. Most notably it lacks continuity; it is basically a huge outline where each paragraph is the most concise definition for that topic. It makes a great reference for the experienced.



3. This is the best book on RMI that I have come across and I personally own 4 RMI books (about 10 if you count books that aren't solely on RMI). Contrary to a previous reviewer, this is NOT a beginners book. Beginners should get a more verbose RMI tutorial-like book. This is an advanced reference with very few examples, but it covers topics that you just can't find anywhere else, and furthermore, presents the topics in a detailed, to the point, lucid manner.

   There is no better RMI book for the advanced RMI developer who is wishing to learn the "under the hood" workings of RMI.




4. This is the best and the most advanced book on java rmi PERIOD.IMO this should be your second book on rmi.



5. I bought this book because of its high rating among RMI developers. I was disappointed, becuase the book doesn't contain a single comprehensive example. I found it hard to learn without example.

1 comments about Beginning Spring 2: From Novice to Professional (Beginning from Novice to Professional).

1. How can this be the first & only Spring authorized book?
   
   When I brought this book I was totally new to Spring but I needed to learn it since our project was mandated to use it. Even after reading the first three chapters (which the author states is required reading), I still couldn't quite get it. First, the author spends too much time in chapters 1 and 2 singing the praises of Spring and doesn't even present a standard "Hello World" solution. Finally in chapter 3 he does start getting into code but its rather convoluted and is only meant to show how/why the Spring Framework saves time versus doing things the usual way.
   
   I finally gave up and went and purchased the "Spring in Action" book by Craig Walls which is excellent for the beginner and even presents a relevent & simple code example from the get-go in Chapter 1. The Walls book is what the beginner needs ad explains every concept from both a historical and relevant use point-of-view.
   
   Now that I've been using Spring for a while, I can say that Minter's book is appropriate only if you already know the fundamentals and want to use it for quick reference (which I do) in its later chapters. But don't buy it expecting any "hand-holding" on your journey to master the Spring Framework.