Customer Reviews

Eclipse: Step by Step (Step-by-Step series)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

So you download Eclipse and start it up and stare at the screen in confusion. Or maybe you haven't even figured out how to start it up. Don't worry. Just get a copy of this book and you will be using Eclipse like an old ranch hand in no time. Many books for the novice claim that they will teach you something but they hit "magic happens here" moments that leave you lost. You won't find any of that in this book. The title of this book is "Step By Step" and that is exactly how this book teaches the subject.

The book assumes that you know nothing about the subject. After showing how to download, install, and start up Eclipse, the book takes a tour of the basic features that every programmer will need to know in order to code, test, and debug their programs. It starts by explaining what a "perspective" is in Eclipse terms and examining three of the most commonly used ones. The book then takes a look at a few simple Java programs, showing how to code and debug them. The programs let you take a look at the SWT (Eclipse's client interface) and JDBC. By the end of the book, even the complete novice developer will be using Eclipse without any trouble.

This book is geared for novice users and is not meant as a reference. The book does not cover any of the Eclipse plug-ins. If you are familiar with IDEs and don't feel lost when using them then this book is probably going to be too basic for you. But if you are new to IDEs and like a lot of hand holding then this book will help you to work comfortably with the product.

When we first envisioned this book, there was a specific target audience: successful IBM midrange programmers who needed to move from their comfortable environment of RPG and green screens to the brave new world of Eclipse and Java. And so I wrote the book with the idea that you might not know much more about Windows than how to turn your machine on. It may surprise people brought up with IDEs and the Internet, but there are thousands of programmers out there who have never heard of Open Source. To these people, the idea of downloading an IDE and installing it (not to mention Java itself!) is a potentially daunting task. And even if they buy an introductory book, the introductory books are written by people who don't know about life before the Internet, and who take things like WinZip for granted.

We wanted this book to allow ANYONE, regardless of their Java or PC knowledge, to be able to take advanatge of Eclipse. It's not a reference manual or an in-depth guide to Java architecture; the book description clearly says that. In fact, the description states in no uncertain terms: "training wheels for Eclipse".

And yet, unfortunately people still buy the book expecting something more, and get upset when it doesn't have it. I feel badly for their disappointment, but at the same time, I can't help but think they might have missed the point. I'm amazed that the phrase "broad overview" is used negatively, when that's exactly what the book is designed to be.

So I just wanted to be clear: this book is NOT for Eclipse experts. It is for people who want to learn about Eclipse in the quickest, least intimidating way possible. It was meant for professional programmers with years or decades of experience that just doesn't happen to include Windows and Java. You shouldn't feel inferior for not knowing the latest buzzwords, or for not having taken Java in college. It's a new world, and it's hard to get started. But with this book, you will.

Joe Pluta

As an profession software engineer for 15 years, I feel the need to update my review for new comers to the programming side of engineering... Learning is an long and expensive process, but no one should pay high price (this book is an example) to learn basics of installations, the meaning of menus and how a particular dialog box works, how to right click to bring up a context menus. These type of operations are everywhere on your computer, that you don't need to pay again to learn it. Just read the 'help' and following the tutorial should work for a programmer, or a programmer to be.

To get experience, one has to learn the proper way. One can't simply appreciate 'Agile software process' at the time beginning studying data structure, network theory and begain to use one of the major programming language. You learn step by step, but the meaning of 'step by step' doesn't mean you read such a book for using an IDE.

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totally unbelivable for such a book to be published and sold at this price. I am not sure what kind of programmer will need such a tutorial book for eclipse, had he/she ever learned how to program in school. But if you do buy it to get started, I doubt if you could ever get a programmer job.

For such a book, it may take a few Computer Science students a week from start to finish. If you need 3 pages of screen shot to tell you exactly how to click on a menu item, this is the book for you, and I'd suggest just read it at bookstore; you can finish reading in an hour and shop for a real Eclipse book.

As part of my preparation for an Eclipse presentation later this month, I reviewed Eclipse Step-By-Step by Joe Pluta (MC Press). For someone with absolutely no exposure to the package, this will help you get started.

Chapter list: Welcome to Eclipse!; Installing Eclipse; Introducing the Workbench; The Resource Perspective; The Java Perspective; The Debug Perspective; A Simple Program; Running and Debugging; The User Interface; Adding the Database; Install a Java Runtime; Install Winzip; Download Eclipse; On Things GUI; Start Your SQL Engines; Index

I think to understand this book's style, you have to know the target audience of the author. He wants to show working code and examples that are well commented, and he wants to walk you through the steps involved in a task. He also wanted to show how Eclipse works from a Java perspective, even if the reader doesn't know Java. That's why you can type in the code he provides, or you can import it from the CD. The steps are very detailed with tons of screen shots to show you what each step should look like. Things are taken in bite-size chunks, so that really *anyone* could understand and use Eclipse by the time you get done with this book. If you have any experience with Eclipse already, you probably won't get much out of this book that you don't already know. But the beginner will be able to work through this material with no problem.

The argument could be made that there is too much handholding and screen shots of things that people have seen millions of times already. In addition, the screen shots are large. They take up a lot of space and make the book larger than it probably deserves to be. For a $60 book, I think I would have tried for smaller images and more content to make up the 362 pages. Experienced IT professionals might think it's too much step-by-step detail, but then again the hard-core IT person probably isn't the target audience. Finally, once you work through this material, you'll want to get a more detailed book on Eclipse to learn how to use the tool with all the whistles and bells. But at least you'll have the basics down before you get there.

So do I recommend it? If you want a no-threat introduction to Eclipse that assumes very little, yes. If you're looking for a single reference volume that will give you all the finely detailed minutiae of the platform, no. It all depends on where you're at and what you want.

This book is feeble. It is 3 hundred something pages, filled front to end with single *whole* pages filled with one large useless screen shot. To make matters worse, these screen shot pages are reprinted over and over, so you get to view the same useless "Eclipse IDE" shot at [many] times before you make it through the most simplistic of tutorials. The book glosses over *Java*, and then continues on to gloss over SWT and JDBC; even though it purports to focus on these elements. This book was written for an audience with very little to no programming experience whatever, as it gives to the reader nothing more than a broad overview of the Eclipse IDE (nothing more than the IDE), which honestly, is not much of a leap from any other current IDE on the market.

I'd give it zero stars if i could, don't get duped into thinking you'll learn something from this book.

I appreciate books like this that assume you know nothing about the subject. I know something about IDE's but not about IDE's that incorporate database connections into them. I have some experience using PHP and MySQL, and it was a pleasant surprise that the second half of this book made adding the .jar for MySQL JDBC connnection much easier. Not because Mr. Pluta showed step by step how to incorporate a MySQL database into the IDE, but because he included step by step instructions to include another database. I feel confident now that I can use Java directly to write code to communicate with my database. Thanks for the 7 hour tour!

This book aims to provide a step by step guide to using Eclipse, IBM's new Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It covers the "basic" Eclipse product, as it is shipped. Sample programs are written in Java and the book shows the use of IBM's Software Widget Toolkit (SWT) and JDBC.

I went through the book, cover to cover in about 4 hours. This included installing Eclipse, which is included, and keying in the programs, as opposed to importing them from the CD.

The style of the book makes it VERY easy to follow. It provides step by step instructions, with a checklist. There are plenty of screen captures to show you what you should be doing and, for once, the pictures actually match the text! Instructions are repeated, as opposed to "instructions are the same as page xxx, simply change the class name".

I quiet liked the sample Java programs that are used. After the traditional "Hello World" program, to get you going, the programs have a bit of meat to them:- they handle a GUI interface and accessing a database (also included on the CD). Not too challenging for the Java newbie and not too simple for those with more Java under their belt.

My only criticisms would be that a couple of spots (towards the beginning) were closer to an introduction to using Windows as opposed to Eclipse (right click for context etc.) and I think I would have preferred the use of Windows Explorer, as opposed to using a DOS window.

The book achieved it's aim of de-mystifying Eclipse in one go. It covers enough of the basics to enable the reader to start using Eclipse productively.

If you just want to try out Eclipse but don't know where to start and what to do, this is a perfect book for you. Don't expect to see much information on the Eclipse platform, plug-in concept, and architecture overview as the typical topics found in other Eclipse reference books. Instead, it leads you through a truly crispy clear "Step-By-Step" approach to experience Eclipse. All hands-on materials make you to try out Eclispe, taste it and feel it. From installation, workbrench elements, creating projects, to debugging a simple SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit) program, you will enjoy the easy-to-follow instructions. Although the book avoids the Eclipse architecture and plug-in concepts, it's indeed a very good introduction for any users including business and technical readers.

(Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 15-Dec-2004)

This is a great introduction to the Eclipse platform. It's oriented towards someone who is new or moderately comfortable with java, but hasn't spent time in Eclipse.

It provides good step-by-step (hence the title) tutorials in how to navigate the Eclipse environment, compile a few simple programs, and even write a small database application.

I would recommend this book for an application programmer who is about to start working with Eclipse or IBM's Websphere Studio Client product line (WSAD, WSSD, WDSC, etc).

I have always been a command line and vi kind of guy and usually eschew IDEs. All of the buzz surrounding Eclipse has caused me to investigate it further. What I learned is that Eclipse is a very powerful, extensible IDE that can be quite daunting to set up and master. Joe's book provides a great guide, suitable for anyone from a rank beginner to someone like myself, with over twenty five years of programming experience. It is not a book on Java programming, which makes sense since Eclipse is capable of more than being a Java IDE. Instead, consider it a user manual for a programming tool.

I have read the other reviewers' comments and have seen some that were rather unkind and caustic, most citing what they deem to gratuitous screen shots. Okay, I found some content too simplistic for my needs. But I wouldn't presume to condemn the book because of this. This guide has been crafted to be of value to people in any level of sophistication -- kind of like the manuals that come with any electronic equipment. Everything is there, from "hooking it up" to learning more advanced features.
Thus, I would suggest that you treat it as a user guide... skim the material with which you already have familiarity (since you may still pick up some nuggets) and scan the material that is new to you.

In short, I think this is a well written, well edited book that deserves to be on the bookshelf of anyone wanting to learn how to use the Eclipse IDE. The cost of the book will be easily recovered just with the time it will save you getting up to speed.