5 comments about J2EE Platform Web Services (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition Series).

1. When I obtained this book, I would looking for some in the trenches guidence on how to code web services using Apache Axis. The table of contents suggested that this might be an appropriate book for my needs.
   
   I should have read the Amazon reviews first. This is not a programmers guide, but a guide for architects and managers.
   
   This was a huge disappointment for me.



2. Have a look at the code snippet on pages 138-139. It's terrible. I've let go of a couple of coders over the years on the basis of their poor coding practices, and this reminds me of their stuff. Yeah, I know... the thrust of the book is big-picture high-level architecture, so nit-picking on coding style may be missing the point, but in the design and architecture area as well, I'm seeing impressive-looking diagrams and hifalutin claims of superior insights that, on closer examination, reveal a disorganized and indiscrimate jumble. Right now, I'm inclined to return the book. This book might impress your managers, but it shouldn't impress you.



3. I have bought 50+ java books and this is probably the only one that will survive the bookshelf. This book is to J2EE/Webservices what Kernigan and Ritchie is to C and Bjorn Stoustroup is to C++.
   
   Unlike the other java book Ray Lai blends the Enterprise Architect point of view with the technology. This is especially important in an organization such as the one I work for where java and webservices are new. I've cited Mr. Lai's section "Establishing a Business Case" and and the chapter "Web Services Architecture and Best Practices" in peer reviews and the subsequent white paper which I've written.
   
   There's also something in the book for the code warriors. An unexpected gem from trying the coding examples was the discovery of sun/server included with the java webservices developers kit (JWSDP). This java server from Sun is the most lightweight and administrator friendly java server that is freely available. If you're simply wrapping a java class with webservices, you're repeating this on multiple computers/platforms and you are inside the firewall this is the perfect technology choice. Unlike other application servers like jboss, weblogic and websphere, it is lightweight (doesn't hog cpu bandwidth and memory) and administrator friendly (works with other apps and quick/easy to install).



4. I agree with the previous reviewer of the book - This is a classic. If I go by other reviewers' comments, I may probably buy not buy this book but I read the book at a local bookstore for almost an hour. From the writing, one can tell that the book is written from an experience author with hands on experience in web services.
   
   This book has a lot of practical insights and not about theory of web services. It also covers areas such as how to integrate with legacy applications. This book is definitely written by experienced author. This is not just a book for ordinary Java programmer but a Solution Architect.



5. If you are Java developer, don't get carried away by this book title. This book has no conceptual relevance to j2ee or jwsdp. The book is also poorly written and the code examples are completely not usable at anyform. I did a big mistake picking this title.

5 comments about J2EE Developer's Handbook (Developer's Library).

1. This book fails to actually teach anything. The author goes into long drawn out paragraphs and fails to say much. If you don't know J2EE, stay away from this book! If you are not great at J2EE and want to get better, don't buy this book! Only buy this if you want a refrence book, but it's not even good for that, IMO.



2. This is my reference book that I liked most for J2EE. It describes all of the J2EE parts in alot of detail. It is different by having UML diagrams that describe each J2EE part then the author describes the J2EE part that the diagram shows. This makes it easy to understand that J2EE part. Also has code examples to run and in the book. Every J2EE part is covered like EJb, sevlets, Web services, JAXR, JMS, and on. They are able to cover this because the book is biggest one I have with almost 1500 pages. It is organized too. Parts are described in all in good sequence.



3. This book covers a large number of j2ee apis in a coherent manner. It is a good reference book for every day use.
   Some parts of the book out dated with respected to technologies progress from it's publishing. The real life examples with oracle, weblogic, j2ee RI server is great help.



4. The book is excellent for J2EE fundamentals and hands-on learning. It goes beyond just the basics and gives details about every thing you need to know about the J2EE specifications.
   
   My only concern is whom you buy it from.
   
   Please do NOT buy it from goodtimemobilebookfair and other rogue sellers who claim to be big shots in the e-market. After I received my book for mr. goodtimemobilebookfair, i noticed it did not have appendices as mentioned in the table of contents. The pages were blank, about 20 of them and I was never informed of the abnormality ever.
   
   So you see my point, the book is good but some lame sellers just want to rid you of your money and not provide the service this online marketplace holds them under oath to provide.



5. It worth as an overview of J2EE. But people who want to first step the product should try other stuff. The book is poor about examples and verbosy about business.

5 comments about Tapestry in Action (In Action series).

1. This book describes Tapestry 3, while Tapestry 4 will be hopefully released soon, in some aspects quite different from it's predecessor. But still, I would recommend this book to everyone who is going to use Tapestry and who wants to understand the framework. Because Howard, being the creator of Tapestry, shows the main ideas and principles around which the framework was built, and the most important of them do not change with a next release. They only become more efficiently expressed.
   
   Having said that, I should warn that this isn't the best book for the complete Tapestry beginners. In a number of cases the author tries to speak at a beginner's level, but he obviously knows too much :) and cares too much for this.
   
   However, there is a number of Tapestry tutorials available in the Web, and having started with them, you will definitely want to read this book.



2. this book is not well written. Tapestry is a new way of developing web applications and the author glance through way too many concepts that are essential to understand tapestry web development. For instance, OGNL is havily used by tapestry, but the author does not even bother to spend a little time explaining how it's been used by tapestry. I was left with a lot more questions on tapestry after reading this book. This book only serves as an introduction to tapestry and lacks full coverage. If you buy this book, you will have to spend a lot of time researching the net to find answers to basic question that (I think) should have been addressed by the book. Especially since the author is also the lead developer of Tapestry.
   
   Also be aware that this book only covers Tapestry 3.0 and not 4.0



3. I am learning Tapestry to use it in a project. True the learning curve is high, but with this book you not only learned how to use Tapestry but also the why's and how's behind its design. Chapter 7 (under the hood) and 10 (Implementing a sample application) are particularly good. In all a very dense and clear book suitable for intermediate to advanced readers.



4. The book seems to be well written and very fine IF AND ONLY IF you are using version 3 and have no plans to upgrade any time soon. If you are using version 4 or plan to any time soon, trying to follow along with this book will send you on a series of wild-goose chases trying to figure out why none of the examples work. Instead I recommend Kent Tong's book, which has been revised to reflect Tapestry 4.
   
   All of the sample code and concepts are based on version 3, and I could not get a single example to work (e.g., the Authentication example relies on the Visit class, which is deprecated. The banner ad example relies on the AbstractService class, which is gone in version 4 - the upgrade guide says simply "that class has been removed so you will have significant rewrites." Not exactly helpful in the "how to" department.)



5. This books is just no longer relevant. Even when it was relevant (back in 2004), it was not a good way to start learning Tapestry. I would have preferred more barebones examples, rather than jumbling a bunch of stuff into a kitchen-sink "workbench".
   
   There is no Manning book for Tapestry 4.x, which for a long while was the way to go. "Enjoying Web Development with Tapestry" is a good book, which is like set of heavy duty tutorials with mini-evolutions of the project during the chapter. It happens to mimic the way I learn things.
   
   Now, Tapestry 5 is on the horizon, and it looks really good so far. Hopefully someone will release a book for entry-level Tapestry adopters, especially since Tapestry 5 is radically different than/incompatible with version 3 or 4.
   
   The Tapestry mailing list is the best replacement for this book. You may also want to search the net for a free book on Apache Maven, which is the preferred method of building applications that use developmental versions of Tapestry 5.

1 comments about Java Software Structures for AP Computer Science (for the AB Exam).

1. As a Java programmer, I was interested to see from Lewis' text that Java is now in the syllabus for Advanced Placement Computer Science. Bespeaks a good future for the language.
   
   The book is not strictly confined to explaining Java. It starts with a chapter on the general methodologies of software engineering. Giving the spiral model for software development, for instance. And also briefly introducing UML, which is now a standard for describing software functionality.
   
   On Java itself, Lewis jumps immediately into the key object oriented concepts. Like polymorphism and inheritance. Explaining that Java, unlike C++, does not allow multiple inheritance. You should be aware that Lewis does not (much) go over the basic syntax of Java, unlike full texts on Java. The emphasis here is given in the book's title - software structures. So you need some prior acquaintance with elementary Java.
   
   Most of the chapters then flesh out what Java provides for you in various useful classes that are part of the default package for the language. Collections are an important part of this. Crucial concepts like what is an iterator, and how to use this to step through the members of a collection. Plus the idea of interfaces. A very nice and powerful attribute of Java. Interfaces are vital in building complex programs, where you can cleanly separate implementation from a class's API.
   
   Other chapters delve into useful tools (for that is what these are) like HashMap and Hashtable. And you can see how common computing ideas like queues, stacks and trees are implemented in Java. Hopefully, you will appreciate how much you get for free in this language. These classes have been thoroughly debugged and are so useful to the professional programmer that you might become.
   
   In a way, it is too limited to think of the book as being restricted to studying for the AP computer science exam. The scope is broader. The book is useful to anyone who wants or needs to study these aspects of Java.

1 comments about Professional Apache Geronimo (Wrox Professional Guides).

1. I purchased this reference to be the authoritative reference for deploying web-based J2EE applications on IBM's Websphere Community Edition, which is based on Geronimo. Specifically, I was looking for examples of the deployment descriptors which allow a web application to reference a remote EJB - a fairly basic requirement - but after several hours of reading found only a single incomplete example in the text. The book is replete with xml examples such as:
   .... link to ejb .... leaving the reader unsure of the format and content of the indicated parameter. I expect a technical reference book to not leave me guessing as to what the "link to ejb" should specify.

5 comments about Beginning Java Databases: JDBC, SQL, J2EE, EJB, JSP, XML.

1. I'm using this book as my text book for my independent study of database programming with Java. This book is the tops! The primary focus is programming with the Cloudscape database, but it does give you code snippets to use if you're using Oracle or one of the Microsoft databases (like SQL Server). What impresses me about the book is it's one of the few instructional books that teaches a programmer how to wade in the water before it teaches the programmer how to dive in 20-ft deep water and swim.

   Although the book is HUGE, it really explains in detail why the programmer is writing the particular code.

   I also liked the idea that it dedicates a few chapters on SQL and database concepts. Although this may appear to be a rehash for experienced database programmers, it's still good to review, since it covers the topics from a Java perspective.

   I teach at a college part-time. If the college decides to offer a third-level Java programming course to its students, then I would highly recommend this book for the class.

   Excellent job again, WROX Press!




2. I thought that this book was quite good at explaining Java programming of databases. Many of the examples in the book, though, use the Oracle personal edition database. This is a 600MB file that you download from Oracle. Or, you can pay them [money] to send it to you on CD-ROM. Alternatively, you can use another database - like SQL Server - and modify the examples to work with that database.



3. Having read over two-thirds of this huge volume, I am now of the opinion that it probably is not the best place to begin exploring Java database development. The word "Beginning" in the title is a bit misleading: you shouldn't approach this book without a solid grounding in Java and databases in general. True, the introductory chapters cover essential SQL and other database concepts, but there is a steady ramping-up in the difficulty level as the book progresses, and it doesn't ever really level off. For example, Lauinger's treatment of his own Java Layered Frameworks open-source project in Chapter 16 is long-winded and daunting. And the later chapters assume complete familiarity with XML, JavaBeans, Servlets, and other more "advanced" topics. So, all in all, for the JDBC beginner I think that this is not the best book to begin your explorations of JDBC.

   On the other hand, this is an exceptionally thorough book, very well written and with few typos. The authors are likeable, the price is affordable, the presentation and the coding are laid out well, the printing and binding excellent. So it may be just the book for you if you have the patience to plod through its 900 pages. Certainly, the book makes an excellent reference. However, it only covers the business logic of Java database applications. Most of the examples in the book are console-based programs for testing the business logic. There is no coverage of GUI-related topics, for example how to present data in a grid. As one of the authors remarks somewhere, their purpose in writing the book was not to present "pretty GUI's" but rather to concentrate on the internals, the business logic. While I can understand the importance of business logic, I also would have liked these experts to have given me some good pointers on how to present data in various data-aware controls in a GUI. After 600+ pages, I'm still waiting....




4. This book is not very good. The numerous authors attempt to cover too much in this book and as a result don't cover anything worthwhile. The book isn't well focused and has lots of mistakes.



5. This book is somewhat dated. It still is a GREAT book for someone who knows how to compile java programs with packages and who wants to get a solid introduction to database programming, including some good chapters on how to create a good logical model, before you create the physical model. If this were 2002, I would give it 5 stars for what it is. I am a database administrator by profession. If it covered Hibernate, I'd still give it 5 stars, although they present the idea of using a JDBC framework predecessor to Hibernate in the book. Good CD includes a Java database to play with, including ODBC drivers. For advanced ideas, they switch to how to program to Oracle JDBC drivers.

5 comments about Digital Audio with Java.

1. While some the the awt gui stuff in the first part of the book may or may not apply to your needs (but it's easily adapted to swing if needed), Part II of the book provides excellent examples of digital signal processing in Java. The book also explains a flexible software architecture for plugging in effects at runtime. Code examples are nicely modular and can be easily adapted to more specific tasks. JMF examples are still very useful even after a number of updates to the Java Media Framework from Sun. Writing style is very straight forward and enjoyable. All around, a good read!



2. Primitive and, as far as Java goes, really outdated.



3. This is a very good book for java programmers who want to try digital audio processing. The book presents the ideas very precisely and all of the source code for the programs are on the accompanying CD.



4. I have huge experiences treating many digital sound software, I think this book could be helpful to whom want to
   try to develop digital music software.
   Good book.



5. This book's title is a little misleading. The lion's share of this book is actually about writing a Cakewalk-like interface in Java for controlling digital audio production rather than a treatise on digital audio effects themselves. In fact, the first seven chapters of the book is solely about writing code for such controls. Only chapter thirteen talks about specific audio effects such as chorus, flanging, reverb, etc. Even in this chapter I do not believe that there is enough information independent of the author's code to lift filter algorithms from the book and simply port them to your application. Where the book does excel is in the details of what it takes to write a good user interface for a digital audio application. This is an important aspect of audio signal processing and it is ignored in all other books on this subject. The author has updated his code, since the book and CD predate the current release of JMF which is 2.0. Also, the details for the filters can be found in the code itself which is both well organized and well commented. For a book that is much more focused on the algorithms of filters for digital audio processing itself and not on a complete application and its user interface, try "Digital Audio Signal Processing" By Zolzer.

No comments about Object-Oriented Programming featuring Graphical Applications in Java.

5 comments about Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSP).

1. I started a new job 9 months ago, the assignment was to write several large scale web applications in JSP. I am an older female with a new computer science degree in a world of 20 something peers. They refused to give me ANY tips about JSP configuration or Tomcat...heck, they even put a few obsticles in my way in hopes of watching me fail. I HAD java experience, I Had perl experience I HAD HTML web develoment experience and I had a strong desire to suceed. I hit amazon and purchased a few books one of which was this one.

   9 months later my applications are center stage and receiving RAVE review and this book played a huge part in that success. No, it doesn't take you by the hand if you're not already fluent in programming of some sort, but if you already know how to build websites and program in java, this book is a great tool. It doesn't force you to use some preconceived bean idea to build a cookie cutter application, it just gives pertinent examples and comprehensive explination of the most important and frequently used parts of JSP programming.

   The index could be better, but over all it's a great book for new JSP programmers!!




2. the first edition of this book is available as a free download from http://pdf.coreservlets.com/. I have not read this book but heard it is good. I gave it 3 stars since it is an older version



3. I've found this book great for getting a quick grasp of JSP and Java Servlets. While I had a little bugger of a time setting the development environment setup, I was breezing through using this book. I'd highly recommend it for beginner to intermediate programmers. I used a coupon from UnderTag.com, so it was almost free for me too.



4. overall good ref book.. but is not real interesting to read!!!



5. muy basico pero claro en los conceptos y los ejemplos, una buena herramienta para empezar con la tecnología en ese momento

4 comments about Programming with Java w/ CD-ROM.

1. This book really reinforces your learning of the Java programming language as it uses easy, simple and concise language in a straightfoward manner unlike other programming books.It teaches on the programming concepts and reinforce your learning by inclusing a programming project at the end of each chapter making it the best Java beginner's programmer book available.I highly recommend every programming student to get this book as it touches on both theory as well as includes a real hands on Java application program exercise to apply your knowledge on this subject.



2. I'm using this book to teach an Interterm course -- Java in just 14 3-hour classes. That requires a book with some unique characteristics. This book is 1) Clear, 2) has progressive code examples, 3) Hands-on projects at the end of each chapter, and 4) source code listings for the projects so you can approach it by either a) code and compare, or b) type in the code and see it run. For instructors there are good support materials so this is win win all the way. I like this book a lot and my students do as well.



3. This book is not for some one just learning Java. If You are not
   use to the Java Interface you will be lost and left very angry. Save your money and find a user friendly book. just not this one



4. I was handed the text to pickup teaching an existing Java class. The book does a good job helping a student get going early with objects and graphics, and has good setup instructions for the four Java IDEs suggested. It was impressed by the step-by-step instructions to "dumb-down" JBuilder5 (provided on CD) for use by students new to Java.
   
   Unfortunately, JBuilder5 is quite outdated, and the free version doesn't like the newer JDKs. But the main issue I have with the book is the use of AWT for graphics examples. Other books of even earlier vintages converted to Swing, but not this one.
   
   Hope there's an update soon!