Jakarta Pitfalls: Time-Saving Solutions for Struts, Ant, JUnit, and Cactus (Java Open Source Library) [Paperback]

Bill Dudney (Author), Jonathan Lehr (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471449156 | ISBN-13: 978-0471449157 | Publication Date: July 25, 2003 | Edition: 1

• Ideal intermediate-level book for programmers to turn to once they have read the introductory books.
• Identifies what can go wrong and provides refactored solutions for each pitfall complete with code.
• All of the pitfalls are cross-referenced within the text as well as outlined in a summary table in the back of the book.
• Includes background information and troubleshooting tips so programmers can avoid other errors that may also occur.
• The Web site contains all of the refactored code solutions and links to appropriate tool downloads.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Escape from common coding pitfalls with this detailed book of proven Jakarta missteps and solutions

The dangers of Jakarta pitfalls are everywhere and countless developers have already been trapped. These mistakes have delayed schedules, allowed major bugs to get into the users’ hands, or led to numerous rewrites in maintenance. Luckily, you don’t have to be the next victim. This comprehensive book captures some of the most common pitfalls that occur with Jakarta and provides you with the solutions to escape them. Focusing on Struts, Ant, Cactus, and JUnit, the authors describe each pitfall in detail, explain how developers have walked into the trap, and discuss the common symptoms and consequences.

They then arm you with a proven solution for each pitfall and take you step-by-step through the process of converting from error-ridden to pitfall-free code. In the end, the pitfalls and solutions presented inside will help you build superior applications that are easier to maintain.

This book will save you from the frustration of having to spend hours working your way out of pitfalls such as:

• Failing to isolate tests or subjects in Cactus and JUnit
• Overloading Struts ActionMappings
• Calculating derived values in JSPs
• Duplicating formatting and type conversion code in Struts Action Forms
• Building subprojects
• Performing business logic in Struts ActionForms

The companion Web site contains all the code examples and solutions in the book.

About the Author

BILL DUDNEY is a Java architect with Object Systems Group. He has been building J2EE™ applications and software for five years and has been doing distributed computing for almost fourteen years. He is the coauthor of J2EE AntiPatterns (from Wiley).

JONATHAN LEHR is an independent consultant with more than twenty years of experience in software development and training. He has designed e-commerce applications for Fortune 100 companies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (July 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471449156
• ISBN-13: 978-0471449157
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,379,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Dudney is a software developer and entrepreneur currently building software for the Mac. Bill started his computing career on a NeXT cube with a magneto-optical drive running NeXTStep 0.9. He's the author of iPhone SDK Development and Core Animation for OS X and the iPhone for the Pragmatic Programmers, as well as a series of iPhone development screencasts. He has several iPhone applications currently selling on the App Store from his company Gala Factory Software.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Using Struts? Buy this book!, October 4, 2003

By 

Thomas Paul (Plainview, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jakarta Pitfalls: Time-Saving Solutions for Struts, Ant, JUnit, and Cactus (Java Open Source Library) (Paperback)

I have to admit that I am a big fan of antipattern books. There are many ways to code an application but a few of those ways will cause problems in the long run both in debugging and maintenance. This book looks at four of the most popular Jakarta applications, JUnit, Cactus, Struts, and Ant, and shows the most common problems that you encounter when using these applications. The book gives a chapter each to Ant and the two testing applications JUnit and Cactus but the majority of the book is dedicated to Struts.

Each chapter looks at several programming mistakes and then discusses ways to revise your code to fix these mistakes and make your code more robust. The problems with certain coding styles are well explained with clear reasoning as to why you don't want to code a particular way. Corrective solutions are well documented with plenty of code samples to show both before and after images.

Although the chapters on testing and Ant are good, the heart of the book is the chapters on Struts. The authors discuss potential problems using Actions, ActionForms, and the Struts tag library. Some problems can just make your code more difficult to maintain while others can introduce intermittent bugs that are very difficult to diagnose. Anyone who is using Struts should absolutely read these chapters, as it will save you from making some simple mistakes that could cause a lot of long-term pain in your development.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The synopsis in the back is the entire book, December 18, 2003

By 

M. R. Harrah - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jakarta Pitfalls: Time-Saving Solutions for Struts, Ant, JUnit, and Cactus (Java Open Source Library) (Paperback)

The book is fine, but it in the back is a boiled down synopsis, about 5 pages, that suffices for the entire book. The rest of the book doesn't really add that much. The material here is good, but is available by reading a few white papers and faq's on the web. I didn't dislike the book, I just wish I hadn't spent the money.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars easy to read and useful, November 20, 2004

By 

ZhongDan LAN (Newark, New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jakarta Pitfalls: Time-Saving Solutions for Struts, Ant, JUnit, and Cactus (Java Open Source Library) (Paperback)

If you are working with Struts, Ant, or automated unit testing into your development process,
then this is a book for you.
This book looks at the popular Jakarta applications as
JUnit/Cactus, Struts, and Ant, and shows the most common pitfalls when using
these applications. The book gives
a chapter to Ant and one chapter to JUnit/Cactus and rest to Struts.
Most part of the book is on Struts. The authors discuss potential
problems using Actions, ActionForms, and Struts tag library.

Each pitfall has its own section and is formatted the same as the others.
You get a description of each pitfall, an example of the pitfall in action,
and steps for refactoring it. Corrective solutions are well documented with plenty of code samples
to show both before and after images.

This is a good book on anti-patterns and refactoruing, very good companion of the book <<Rafactorying>> (by Martin Fowler)
and
<<Java Tools for Extreme Programming: Mastering Open Source Tools Including Ant, JUnit, and Cactus>>
(this one covers ant and junit/cactus but not struts)

This book is very readable, some may think it just covers obvious problems, actually, it coveres common pitfalls
that most people forget to escape. It's not a difficult book, but very practical.