14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best J2EE book around, great for new or experienced coders, August 21, 2003
This review is from: J2EE Developer's Handbook (Developer's Library) (Paperback)
First off, at the time I bought it, this was the only book on J2EE 1.4 published. I don't know if that's still the case, and it doesn't matter to me, because this is without a doubt the only book I would need.
I was kind of skeptical about it, because it promised to cover so many topics, but I was told where I bought it that I could return it within 60 days if I wasn't satisfied. So I figured it was worth a shot.
It covers everything about J2EE, and unlike the vast majority of other books, isn't a simple regurgitation of the numerous APIs. The best part is that it starts off with the core information you need, and then builds upon it. If you know a previous version of J2EE, you can easily skip to any chapter you want and learn what you need, because the core is the same, but if you're new to J2EE, you can just read it right through. Most books will discuss a topic, make a reference to another one, and give a brief explanation of the referenced topic. This makes readers, me at least, feeling a little lost, wondering exactly what's going on. Then that topic is covered 20 chapters later. This book, however, starts with the fundamentals and builds upon it. There's never a "which will be covered later" in the book.
I was afraid that the book would only skim over some topics, because it does cover the entire J2EE. However, due to the sheer size of the book (1350 content pages and another 300 pages on CD) it covers everything in detail. The only exception I think is EJBs, however anyone programming EJBs ought to pick up the O'Reilly Enterprise JavaBeans book anyway. This book covers it in enough detail that you can write and use EJBs, and gives a very thorough discussion of the lifecycle, process, and purpose, but is somewhat lacking on the configuration and advanced features of EJBs. However, like I said, it's such an extensive topic that any J2EE programmer should have the O'Reilly book in his library anyway.
The only downside to this book is that there isn't much information that an experienced Java programmer wouldn't know. This is because the enhancements to J2EE, while numerous, are not in fact new. The inclusion of web services is new to J2EE 1.4, and so is not covered in older books, but it's been so common in use that many programmers already know quite a bit about web services. Still, it gives very good information on proper usage and the interactions between web services and the other components of J2EE.
Coming away from reading this book, you're left not only with the ability to use the features of J2EE, but a solid understanding of how the components interact, what the purpose of various features are, and an incredibly thorough understanding of the workings of J2EE, something which most other books lack. The companion CD does not have any J2EE specific content, containing tools and information that further enhances your understanding of webapps (TCP/IP, HTTP, etc). I'd say this book is essential for any programmer learning J2EE 1.4, whether just new to J2EE or coming from a previous version. You're left with the ability to effectively use it, along with a thorough understanding of what's actually happening. Definitely the most used book on my shelf now.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Favorite J2EE book, April 15, 2004
This review is from: J2EE Developer's Handbook (Developer's Library) (Paperback)
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.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
J2EE 1.4 Erupted!, August 21, 2003
This review is from: J2EE Developer's Handbook (Developer's Library) (Paperback)
I've been very pleased with this book. The authors have done a very good job at jumping into the details of J2EE 1.4 early on in the book and continuing with that level of detail throughout all 1500 some pages! I admit to not having read the whole book yet, but the chapters on EJB, SOAP, and XML have been excellent.
I particularly like the use of UML class diagrams to present an API. It is simply much easier to understand an API by looking at a sexy picture showing relationships rather than staring at a JavaDoc page. The writing is good, the examples work, and the coverage is thorough and in great depth. All in one book! I'm quite pleased and have been recommending it to my mates interested in J2EE and Web Services.
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