Customer Reviews

Advanced Java(TM) 2 Platform How to Program

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I was very disappointed in this book after having looked forward to its publication. The book seems to have been hurriedly put together and shipped before it was completed.

Example 1: Page 898. The book refers to Appendix E which is supposed to be on the CD - it isn't.

Example 2: Page 898. The book says the transcations.sql file, used to set up the database required to run the example is on the CD - it isn't.

Example 3: Pages 1165. The authors attempt to show how to set up Bea WebLogic server to run an EJB example. The instructions are incomplete. The authors end the section with the statement "you are almost ready to deploy".

I could go on but I think you get the idea. I would have preferred a book that was more focused, with complete examples, and a book that was *finished* when it went to press.

Unfortunately it seems the Deitel and Deitel folks are more interested in creating many titles with many pages while letting quality slip (...).

Check out the new book by Gittleman entitled Advanced Java: Internet Applications and published by Scott/Jones. In about half the pages, Gittleman covers many of the same topics as Deitel and Deitel. I really like Gittleman's style.

I (...)have (...) decided to publish the complete review I did for the JavaRanch.

(...)If you feel you want to comment on my review post them in our Book Review Forum at the JavaRanch.

Each chapter briefly explains the Java technology it covers and then shows you how it is used. Every listing is explained in detail. I find the explanations clear and easy to understand. I however hated having to page back and forth in the book to see the explained code in context. Separate listings book ?

Their case studies are relevant and can be used as a great resource for your own projects at home and at work. It would have been nice if Class Diagram's were added. This would have helped one to understand the solutions better.

Considering the pure volume of the example code you will forgive me that I did not install and try it all. But what I've played around with compiled and worked perfectly.

The accompanying CD is a gem. Other authors should use it as an example to see how it should be done. I was especially impressed by the installation instructions for the accompanying software; clear, precise and accurate.

Yep I have to say something about it. I love the color they use extensively in the book. It makes the reading of listings especially easy.

This book must be one of the most complete Java books available at the moment. I highly recommend it.

A note of caution, don't expect in depth coverage on each subject. There simply is no space. They however provide extensive resources for further studies.

This book was the required text for a graduate class in Java servlets, JSP, and J2EE.

The book attempts to cover all aspects of J2EE technology and in the process doesn't cover any aspect very well.

Topics are covered in a highly condensed, concentrated manner. Unless you already know something about the particular technology, you're not going to get a good grounding in a topic.

Most of the students in my class had problems making the examples work. (To be fair, the authors used a J2EE 1.2.1 while the class used J2EE 1.3.1.) Nevertheless, I think Deitel and company should have done more work on the examples.

The typographical layout of the text makes it hard to read. Lots of paper is used to reprint source code in a mis-mash of color. The overuse of bold text makes the reading painful. The book weights a ton.

For the topics we studied, the O'Reilly books Java Servlet Programming (Hunter & Crawford) and Enterprise Java Beans (Monson-Haefel) would have served much better and cost about the same.

This book was a text book for one of my advanced java classes. Unfortunately, there is very little to learn from this book. Filling the book up with pages of examples without sufficient explaination of concepts makes this book a complete waste of money. Most of the chapters were rushed, students will have a tough time grasping important concepts unless they buy some good books as well (OReilly, Addison-Wesley). I will not recommend it to anybody.

I am a big advocate of the HTP series. I've been reading this series since your 2nd Edition of the Java SE. I've also owned the HTP Visual Basic books when I first started programming. I don't think I have seen a better programming textbox on how to learn any language the "proper" way. It is because of the HTP series that with just an A.S. CIS degree, I am currently in a 6 month internship with IBM Global Services as a Java Web developer. The task given to me has been challenging. I'm responsible for migrating an ASP application to JSP and also developing another JSP application from the ground up.

Having had to buy this book for a programming class, I thought it would be a good tool to use to learn the advance java stuff. Well, there was only perhaps 1 or 2 chapters that were written well. The rest of the chapters were not good. Examples are buggy and most don't work without modification. I find the book terrible and anyone wanting to learn java, go else where. The book feeled rush and unpolished.

I love the Deitel books. They are very thorough in their explanation on how to produce working code in the software. Their examples are well explained and documented. Plus, the CD that comes with the book has the examples available so you can copy and run the code to can see the it perform.

I've purchase C++ and now two Java books from Deitel. I will continue to purchase other topics because of their quality.

Before I decided to buy this book I spent a number of hours in Borders going thru all books on Java available. I was looking for a good reference on Swing features. When I stumbled across Deitel's book it captivated my attention right away.
I agree now that the book is not for a newbie. I am Java Certified programmer, maybe that's why I haven't had any difficulties understanding the code or explanations.
My opinion - the book is great if you have some programming background in Java, and want to learn more ( or use it as a reference). Besides it covers almost all aspects of Java usage, like JSP, serlets, JDBC, etc.

This book is worth buying! Loaded tons of useful code. I improved my JAVA programming by leaps and bounds. This book is not for a beginner. A good prerequisite is JAVA How to Program Fourth Edition. Both books are good!!

This book was very helpful. I also bought Java, How to program. I had never written a program using Java. I do have a lot of experience with object oriented programing. There were a number of examples that need to be modified so that they would compile. This is because the industry has changed some requirements. Nevertheless the information was very valuable. Deitel does a great job in explaining what is going on. That is very helpful. There were a few places that I have not yet conquered, but expect to shortly. The book also goes deeply into areas that I knew nothing about. I am definitely glad that I bought this book.