Customer Reviews

Developing J2EE Applications with WebSphere Studio: IBM Certified Enterprise Developer (IBM Certification Study Guides)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I initially got this book mainly as a prep for the IBM Cert exam but then discovered that there's tons of great stuff for development and testing. I've usually had to dig into a number of sources for this stuff, if I could even find the info. It's all here in this book. I especially found the profling chapter informative. I'd wondered about WSAD's profiler and usefulness but couldn't find much info on it. This book's got tons in it. Worth getting if you're doing any serious dev in WSAD 5.

This book is written to serve two goals. First, it is a guide for anyone using WebSphere Studio to develop enterprise applications. Second, it is a study guide for those intending on taking IBM Certification Test 287. Due to the dual nature of these goals there may be certain parts of the book that someone studying for the certification test is already familiar with especially when it comes to knowledge of the basics of WebSphere Studio. However, the excellent coverage of the test objectives makes this a minor issue.

For the person looking for a guide to enterprise development using WebSphere, this book will get them quickly up to speed. The various pieces of J2EE are explained briefly while how they are programmed using WebSphere Studio is very well explained. The book does not serve as a complete primer on Servlets, JSPs, EJBs, etc but it does serve as an excellent guide to programming these in WebSphere Studio and installing them in WebSphere Application Server. For the person looking to study for the IBM certification exam, they will find an excellent guide that clearly identifies each objective of the test and points to which chapter covers which objectives. The one thing missing however is sample test questions. Although some sample questions are available on the IBM web site, additional questions and study advice would have been helpful.

Overall, I can recommend this book for either those using WebSphere Studio for development or those intending on taking the certification exam.

Not only is this a great study guide for the 287 test, it can also help you prepare for the 484 (chapters 3-10). I am also finding this book indespensible as a reference for making performance tweaks and profiling applications. I'm not so sure as a graduate level course book. Being M.S. grad. in comp. sci., the focus is more towards the theory and much more pedantic than what this book, which is much more PRACTICAL!!

One distracting factor was there were a ton of typos in the book -- it was like it was never spell checked. Howard, really nail down the publisher on this one next time around. Other than that you should be about 70% there with this book. But I'll warn you, these tests are fairly difficult and nothing prepares as well as some real world application development. Use the book as intended...a study guide!

Best of luck!

I've found this book very useful as a way to get to know my way around the WebSphere Studio V5 tools. I especially valued the treatment of EJB transactions and guidance on using the Java Profiler. If you need to make good use of the tool and you could do with a brush up on key J2EE concepts then this book is for you.

I just wanted you shoppers here at Amazon.com to know that the strength of the book lies, in part, in it's dual nature. It atempts to fulfill two distinct roles. The first is as a certification study guide for a highly advanced certification exam, and it really does cover everything you need to know in order to pass the IBM 287 test. The second is as a graduate level text for universities, so we have attempted to present a logical flow throughout book as a whole.

The team of authors I selected are highly respected among their peers as authorities in their individual areas, and their contributions are, in my opinion, second to none. The individual chapters do more that just cover the certification objectives. They provide true, in depth explanations of things you need to know as an enterprise developer. My team has worked with Websphere for years and their collective experience is now available to you, courtesy of Amazon.com and my publisher.

I can't give out my email address here, but I can tell you that I am frequently lurking at www.JavaRanch.com, in the Product and Other Certifications forum (and other as well), and am known to reply to posts there.

Target Audience
Developers who are looking to learn how to build J2EE applications using Websphere Studio Application Developer and obtain certification on the tool.

Contents
This book is a tutorial towards learning how to develop J2EE applications using the WebSphere Studio Application Developer (WSAD) product with an eye towards passing certification test #287.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

Introduction To IBM WebSphere; Developing Enterprise Applications With WebSphere Studio; Servlets; JavaServer Pages (JSP); Developing EJBs - Session Beans And The EJB Architecture; Developing Entity EJBs With Websphere Studio; Message-Driven Beans; Transactions; Security; JCA Tools And Supports; Profiling Analysis Tools In WebSphere Studio; Implementing Clients; Packaging And Deployment; WebSphere Administration; Remote Debugger And Java Component Test Tools In WebSphere Studio; CD Instructions; End Of Chapter Questions And Answers; Index

Review
IBM offers a number of certifications that revolve around the WebSphere Studio product. The top end certification in this track is the IBM Certified Enterprise Developer, also known as test 287. If you want some help in focusing your study, take a look at this book.

The author lists each certification objective to start the chapter, and then does an introduction of the subject matter, like security. From there, the topic is covered with text, diagrams where needed, and how it relates specifically to the WebSphere Studio package. This last part is where you'll get the most value. There are a number of books that can teach you about JavaServer Pages or servlets. Very few will make the connection to allow you to use WebSphere Studio to create those design elements. To wrap up each chapter, there are a number of questions you can use to assess your knowledge of the topic in preparation for the test.

This book does assume that you already know the J2EE technologies that are being covered. While the author does attempt to provide background material on each topic, you really do need to know it before you get to this point. The focus is on how each technology works with WebSphere for the purpose of passing the test.

In addition to using this book, I would also recommend getting a sample test from a test vendor. Between that and the book, you will stand a very good chance of passing the test.

Conclusion
If your goal is to pass test 287 in the IBM certification track, this is a good choice to focus your study time.

I like this book much because it covers almost all the concepts and even handson for enterprise development with WebSphere Studio, especially the transaction and security chapters save us much development time.

Please don't buy this book. Material is no longer pertinent nor supported. IBM Press has a more applicable book for the renamed WebSphere Studio...

The book has absolutely NO source code provision and you cannot just decipher the code from the steps outlined in the book.

Then when I tried to go to the mcpressonline.com site to contact the authors I was unable to do so and I was unable to even post a review of the book over there (DESPITE spending 15 minutes registering).

If you just want to read what the people are writing without testing out the sample code then this is the book for you... but then you might as well read anything ... and it would be a little more entertaining.

Mr. Craig's book is a little better but both these books however lack support and detail. Its excruciating to go through the book when you know some of the steps have been skipped (reminded me of the assumptions made by authors when I was reading an awful math book). So you just wanted to get published, guys? Congrats you can now put that on your resume!

Spelling errors, wrong figures, inadequate examples, chapters not in order and more! CAUTION: the trial version of Websphere will STOP working after Dec 31, 2005 and is good only for 60 days! Unacceptable. I just bought the book in Nov 2005. No errata on the publisher's web site either. I have never seen such a useless certification book. Buy "Enterprise Java Programming with IBM WebSphere" (unfortunately from IBM Press as well). Be also wary of a good review written by the editor himself!