3 comments about Advanced Programming for the Java 2 Platform.

1. This book does a good job to show how different technologies are used in the auction application. I would advise the readers to go through a little bit of JDBC and EJB on the web at the sun website and also this book is available on the web. The site also has pointers to RMI-IIOP etc.



2. There are lots of books on enterprise applications but this book has lots of information that I haven't found in any others.

   The chapters on CORBA, printing, security and debugging are excellent and I like the way it covers one application throughout the book.




3. I like the content on Chapter 2 and 3 with good examples on EJBs, especially on CMP and BMP EntityBeans. It also has good coverage on the use of transaction management in both CMP and BMP environment. If you have fundamental JDBC/EJBs knowledge, you will enjoy reading this book.

   Chapter 4 has good introduction on distributed computing regarding RMI/IIOP/Corba plus the JNDI object lookup and the sub-system data marshaling mechanism.

   Finally, Chapter 7 and 8 provides some insight with regard to debugging and performance tuning that is quite helpful in Java programming.

2 comments about WebSphere 4.0 AEs Workbook for Enterprise JavaBeans (3rd Edition).

1. Unlike the Weblogic workbook by Nyberg, which has excellent EJB 2.0 exercises, this one only covers EJB 1.1 stuff, perhaps because the Websphere is slow in supporting EJB 2.0 ? It claims not to cover 2.0, but still rather dissapointing.



2. Had the previous reviewer actually READ the book he would have noticed (on the second page of the preface, page xvi) that it says not once but TWICE that the book contains the EJB 1.1 exercises only because WAS 4.0 does not support EJB 2.0. Good night -- did this guy review it after just looking at the back of the book in the bookstore?

3 comments about The Object of Java: Introduction to Programming Using Software Engineering Principles, JavaPlace Edition.

1. Java and OOP is a concept and practice which not many mainframe programmers have had much exposure to. The languages which I have utilized were: Machine Language, Assembler, Basic, Cobol, Fortran and Pascal. This book made the task of orienting myself with Java very effortless. The book is designed for the college classroom audience and is structured in a way which immediately exposes the reader to the concepts of OOP and UML. It gradually builds on past lessons so each section reinforces and reviews the prior ones. Other books jump from one topic to another which forces the reader to constantly flip the pages back to review the past lessons. This is an exceptional book which is definitely worth reviewing. After passing through the sections, Java is not intimidating at all. After all, if a PC programmer can handle this language, how hard can it really be?



2. Can't excuse not discussing threading in this book. 3 STARS.



3. This book provides the most clear explanation of OOP I've ever seen. I've got my BS in computer science and I was still confused with much of the OO terminology. Decided to give this book a shot and it was great. It takes a completely differnt approach to teaching OOP. It concentrates on OO part and then adds the programming. For example, the arrays are not discussed until chapter 13 I believe! Makes a lot more sense to me than the other gadzillion Java/C++ books I've gone through in the last few years.
   True, it does not discuss any threading, but that it is not for novice programmers. You would have to take an operating systems class first! This book is a GREAT intro to OO book and a decent intro to programming book.

5 comments about Java Gently: Programming Principles Explained (3rd Edition) (International Computer Science Series).

1. I have recently being appointed to teach Java and Object oriented programming to a class in my Institute. Upon poor advice from one of my colleagues, i recommended this book to my class. However i have found it to be a totally frustrating experience using this book as a class text. It is structured very poorly and the author seems to jump all over the place. she introduces complex examples early on the book without any proper explanation of the underlying concepts. She leaves the proper discussion of objects too late in the book and the object and class design methodologies are unclear and poorly explained. an awful book i have now switched to another book by Morelli called Java Java Java which is structured much more cleverly.



2. If you take a look at the reviews so far, you will see one common denominator: those who have little programming experience are greatly frustrated with this book. But programmers who need to learn a new language, seem to think that it is quite OK. I would have to place myself in the first category. I read the first couple of chapters as part of a university course, but soon abandoned the book. The learning curve is way too steep for beginners. The progression of themes bears witness of limited pedagogical insight. But I still believe that folks with plenty of programming experience may enjoy this book. I give it two stars, though, primarily because of the inappropriate title. This is NOT a 'gentle' introduction to Java. Maybe the third edition has improved in this respect (published December 2000)?



3. This book was used in one of my freshman classes as an introduction to Java programming. The book was fairly easy to understand and did a decent job of explaining things.

   I think my biggest complaint is the use of the javagently text class. The way the book is written made the reader/user too dependent on it, and at a loss for what to do if/when the class wasn't present.

   While using JavaGently I found myself frequenting the API's at java.sun.com. I have since used it for reference, but the lack of detail on material covered by the javagently text class has had a negative impact on this book.




4. ...>I really like what the author and publishers have achieved with the third edition, especially in augmenting the material with modern programming aids to be found in similar books. The book helps students with far more than just Java programming. It has syntax and semantic forms, UML diagrams, several indices into Java APIs, classes, methods, example programs, a ten page general index (double columned), over 50 full examples and case studies, and a more sound object-oriented introduction than in many comparable books. It also has the most active and appreciated website we have ever seen.



5. This book was required reading for my graduate-level foundation Java class. Having no previous experience in object-oriented programming, I was reassured by the title that Java Gently would ease me into the programming world. While the road wasn't as "gentle" as I had hoped, the book does provide readers with practical examples for implementing Java 2 and explains how concepts used in introductory programs can be applied to more complex ones. Although Java Gently is an introductory book, it would be more useful for someone who has programming experience in another language. Perhaps then the learning curve would be a bit more "gentle."

5 comments about AJAX and Flash Development with OpenLaszlo: A Tutorial (A Tutorial series).

1. The online documentation for openlaszo is very good, especially the interactive examples, where you can try out what you just learnt. I spent quite some time reading tutorials and writing some of my own laszlo code.
   
   The reason I bought this book, is because I expected to get a deeper understanding on openlaszlo, and an easier to follow description of more advanced concepts, than the one provided on the online documentation.
   
   I got the book about an hour ago, I browsed thru it, but I have to say I am disappointed: off the 300+ pages about a half are API's, which you can get online easily. The page numbers on the Table of contents are messed up: All references from Chap 11 thru the index are page 197 ! (Please next time: somebody look at the table of contents before printing the book !
   
   If you did not look into openlaszo yet, and you are just interested in how you can make great looking UI's using open source technologies, I still think this book is worth reading, but if you already spend a fair amount reading thru the online docu, this book is probably not for you.
   
   Actually, the book says it is a tutorial .. probably I just need to wait for a reference book, so I still give it three stars.



2. I ordered this book using 2nd day shipping. I need to evaluate whether openlaszlo is a replacement for flex. I am not expecting a lot except that I can get a little bit more than the online documentation.
   
   The books is just a reprint of online documentation. Each chapter just reprints the tag/attributes/methods. The examples the author gives are so simple that they don't teach me anything more than the documentation.
   
   Then finally comes the last chapter that teaches how to integrate google map. The author thanks to Manabu Togawa for allowing him to reprint it on the book. He did just reprint the code and didn't give any explanation of the code.
   
   The only thing intuitive I found in this book is the appendix A: Introduction to XML and appendix B:Introduction to JavaScript. If you don't know these two, you may want to buy this book?
   
   I doubt that author has done anything in OpenLaszlo himself.



3. The online documentation for Laszlo is pretty good, and has the advantage of interactive examples. But there are a huge number of tricks and undocumented details that can be very frustrating to figure out. My hope was that this book would help in those areas. Unfortunately this was not the case.
   
   As others have mentioned, this book is just a rewrite of the online reference manual, and not a very good one at that. In most cases the online docs are more complete and easier to follow. The "A Tutorial" subtitle is not accurate, as the book is almost entirely reference material. Only the two pretty good appendixes on XML and JavaScript basics are anything resembling a tutorial.
   
   Unfortunately, errors in the book make it more of a liability than an advantage to own this book. The inaccurate contents, index, and typesetting errors are mostly just annoying, but it is shocking a publisher would let such blantant errors get through. Far more problematic for a professional programmer are the errors in the content. We thought we had actually found some valuable information in the book regarding working with data, that was not in the online documentation. After wasting a day of programming, we discovered the reason the feature wasn't in the online docs is that it was never in Laszlo to start with.
   
   I strongly recommend sticking with the online documentation, user forums, etc. and not bother with this book.



4. First off, this book wasn't put together well at all. What I mean by that is the index and Table of Contents page numbers rarely match. How this got past the publishers is beyond me but it makes this book really difficult to use as a reference. I bought this book in hopes for more of a tutorial than what was available online but alas it's mostly a reiteration and provides very little value. If you can get over the fact that the page numbers don't match the TOC and index then it's a decent reference but really no better than the docs that come in the openlaszlo.war and at least those links work ;).



5. What I am looking for is how openlaszlo integrated with Ajax.
   
   And ajax is in the title of this book.
   
   But after I got the book, it just metioned what is ajax (I know that very well) . There is nothing about AJAX in openLaszlo( I am eager to know).
   
   What in it is all about the tag description from openlaszlo.
   
   I felt that I was misleaded and lied by the auther.

No comments about A Laboratory Course for Programming in Java (Jones and Bartlett Books in Computer Science.) (Jones and Bartlett Books in Computer Science.).

5 comments about Conducting the Java Job Interview: IT Manager Guide for Java with Interview Questions (IT Job Interview series).

1. I used this book to prepare for an interview. Although I consider myself a fairly decent Java developer, I was amazed at some of the topics I had to further research. I felt that this book gave me what I needed to know and expect during an interview.



2. This is my second book from Rampant (Oracle Utilities being the first). Extremely well written with in-depth coverage of the language. I am a web developer moving from Perl to Java and glad to have so many questions and answers in my hands. Nice job!



3. I am a manager (and still developing, however as little as possible) for a group of developers working with Oracle Apps 11i and a custom integrated web application for our sales and manufacturing department. I own both the Java and the J2EE version of this book and will be cross posting my comments to both of them. The comments below are both mine and senior members of my staff that have gone through both books.
   
   Both books contain very similar information with regards to the interview process - proper dress code when showing up for an interview, assessing job skills, the values of certification and formal education requirements.
   
   The heart of both the Java and J2EE books, however, is the Q/A section. Both are filled with well written and insightful questions that could be used for many J2EE or Java candidate positions.
   
   With regards to the Java book, I feel that there was fantastic coverage on key features of the language (threads, security, and collections) including basic object oriented design. I did find a few errors, some of which looked like typographical errors, but was able to located the errata on the publisher's site.
   
   Generally speaking, both books are well worth the $$$ and I was very impressed by the quality (and quantity) of the Q/A section. I do see this book as an extremely helpful resource to any candidate preparing for an interview. Hopefully a newer version of this book will address some of the new features found in J2SE 1.4 and 1.5.



4. I was happy to have this book to serve as a guide during my interview process for a Java apps programmer position. It was well written with an insightful assortment of interview questions - both technical and non-technical. The questions on Java are relevant to all releases of Java 2, but would like to see an update that includes new features found in release 5.0. Other than that, a well written guide.



5. There is something fishy about this book. Some of the answers given for proposed interview questions are just plain wrong. The description of the author says he has some kind of Java developer certification but it doesn't use the right terminology for the Sun Certified Java Developer(SCJD). If he had the SCJD then he would also have the Sun Certified Java Programmer certification but they don't mention that one. Hey author, what's your SCJD certification number so we can look it up?
   
   At one point the author cautions against hiring anyone 60 years or older because if the company provides full retirement benefits at 70, the company would only get 10 years work before paying for a full pension. Is that blatantly discriminatory or what? No wonder it's tough to get a decent job if you're over 50!

2 comments about Practical DWR 2 Projects (Expert's Voice in Java).

1. Very informative book and helped me with many of my general questions/interests about Direct Web Remoting. Great examples as well as great comic relief from Frank. You did well buddy.



2. DWR has a highly specific function and at 521 pages the reader could expect a thorough book on the subject, but I think you will be disappointed. This is really a 1-star book, however I gave it 2 stars because the author has gone to the trouble of putting this book together for what is a narrow readership segment within the software developer community.
   
   Pages 129 through to the end of the book are a compendium of projects that illustrate the use of DWR. I don't like having to read through illustrated projects to discover general techniques. For example the first coverage of DWR configuration via annotations is buried in one such project near the end. You might strike lucky and find one of these projects gives your in-house project a head start but as a structured introduction to DWR this main bulk of the book fails.
   
   So that leaves 128 pages for detailed DWR coverage? Unfortunately there is further disappointing news, pages 1 to 38 are just an elementary introduction to AJAX augmented with plenty of cartoons. DWR gets it first mention on page 39!
   
   The final and only 80 pages of true DWR tutorial disappointed me further. The first 5 star book review here compliments the jocular style of the prose, unfortunately when you are looking for the few pieces of substance in this book these jokes only serve to annoy.

No comments about Java Student Solutions Manual to accompany Java How to Program (5th Edition).

5 comments about Professional Hibernate (Programmer to Programmer).

1. I'm a fan of a lot of Wrox books - I probably own 15-20 of them. This is the wost one I have ever bought.
   
   When learning a new technology with a book, I like to start with an overview, then some simple examples. I read the chapters that cover those start to finish. I then selectively read other parts of the book where I need more detailed knowledge, and save the rest of the book for reference on an as-needed basis. This book was laid out (if you simply look at the Table of Contents) as if I could do that - so I bought it.
   
   The introduction was ok. I've used some object-relational tools before and I wasn't quite sure why Hibernate was special or different. The key thing that it took me WAY too long to figure out was that with Hibernate you're thinking Java-centric and are persisting objects to a database, whereas with other tools you're thinking database-centric and generating a layer of Java objects to access that database. I had to read an awful lot to figure that out.
   
   As others have said, this book is FULL of typos. Among my favorites is the one on page 20 where they introduce the SessionFactory and in the huge diagram they call it "SessionFactor." Glaring and disappointing, but technically it doesn't hinder the learning process (aside from being distracting). On page 28 they give an example where they basically say (paraphrasing) "lets pretend you have a server with an IP address of 192.168.1.55 and a user named 'readwrite'..." they then show the hibernate configuration file right after it and the server's address is 'localhost' and the username is 'sa'. In the following sentence they say to replace localhost with your actual server address, apparently having forgotten all about the 192.168.1.55 address that they started the paragraph with. Awful, and now potentially confusing to people.
   
   Where I really gave up all hope on this book was the first example where they took a program and gave it the ability to persist data with Hibernate. First off, a good demo program should be DEAD simple, so you focus your time reading the code that has to change (Hibernate-related), rather than reading all the code that has to run the demo. Their demo code literally runs from page 33-38, and uses a Swing UI. 5 pages of code for the example, only a small fraction of which the reader should really be focusing on. Now the WORST part. They say that they're going to take this program and step through how to make it persist ("That is the goal of the remainder of this section" they say). The problem is - the example code *already has* all of the hibernate code in it. They go on to step through how to take an example and make it work for hibernate, but never showed you the code BEFORE hibernate was in it.
   
   At this point, after a little more browsing around, I gave up on this book. I should have read the Amazon reviews first. Do yourself a favor and buy a different book based on what the other reviewers have read - that's what I'm going to do.



2. If I were the publisher I'd have this book yanked. What an embarrassment. This book gives a very basic understanding of Hibernate and leaves all of the important details out.
   
   Perfect example: at the bottom page 205
   We'll discuss each of the joins in detail....
   Chapter ends on page 206. Hardly any information whatsoever on a topic that is key to using a database.
   
   For the love of God please take this joke off the shelves. I've never felt so cheated on a tech book in my life. I want my money back!



3. This book was/is badly written and provides erroneous examples... I can't say that I am an expert in Hibernate(far from it), but I found several mistakes in this book. For anyone who is looking to get familiar with the powers of Hibernate don't look here. PLEASE DO NOT LOOK HERE!



4. Total waste of money. As I started reading it, I started to notice coding mistakes everywhere. I thought I was just misunderstanding the topic but then it became clear that these are really mistakes! It is obvious that the code examples were never compiled and tested! Just incredible. Hibernate isn't an easy topic when first encountered, but even a Struts code example has a glaring error!
   
   Any book with code examples should have zero errors in the code - we have had the technology to compile and test every code example in a text since K&R's C book and the Software Tools books in the late 70s. Typically you'll find maybe one typo or error in the prose per chapter in a decent book. I stopped counting and marking within two hours of reading in this book.
   
   This book should be pulled by the publisher and everyone who bought a copy should be offered a written apology and their money back. My copy went out in the weekly paper recycling - I can't afford the chance that any of my engineers might borrow it from my office. I can't imagine how the authors would have put their names on this, let alone their photographs on the front cover.
   
   I confess that I will probably never buy a book from WROX publishers again.



5. The source code was obviously not proofread. Beyond that, the book is quite readable.