Java Data Objects [Paperback]

Robin M. Roos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2002

Java Data Objects is a standardized Java API for object persistence. It facilitates the storage and retrieval of complex object models with various storage mechanisms, including both object and relational databases. This book is suitable for final year undergraduate students on courses that address Java in database applications. Prior knowledge of JDBC and J2EE is not specifically required, but would help to accelerate the student's understanding of JDO's relationships with these technologies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Java Data Objects is a standardized Java API for object persistence. It facilitates the storage and retrieval of complex object models with various storage mechanisms, including both object and relational databases. Analysts agree that JDO's transparent persistence will accelerate software development and yield more flexible applications and object models.

According to Infoworld, "The JDO standard promises to be a winner for business leaders and corporate developers alike. Unifying data access--that is, using familiar Java constructs to access information housed in relational databases, object databases, file systems, or even flash RAM--means that corporate applications will experience an increase in usability, portability and integration".

This book is for Java developers, designers and architects with a good understanding of the Java language who wish to write applications that use JDO for persistence. Prior knowledge of JDBC and J2EE is not specifically required, but would help to accelerate the reader's understanding of JDO's relationship with these technologies.

The companion CD-ROM includes the following JDO implementations:FastObjects, Kodo JDO, LiDO and OpenFusion JDO.

0321123808B08192002

About the Author

Robin Roos is an experienced Java/J2EE object modeler, consultant and trainer, and is a member of the JDO Expert Group. His company, Ogilvie Partners Ltd, delivers vendor-independent training, consultancy and object-modelling services centered on JDO. Robin's writings and worldwide presentations about JDO have received widespread acclaim.

0321123808AB08192002

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education (October 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321123808
• ISBN-13: 978-0321123800
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,992,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to JDO, January 19, 2003

By 

Damon Clinkscales "i'm a shepherd." (Austin,TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Java Data Objects (Paperback)

Java Data Objects by Robin M. Roos is one of the first books
available on the subject of JDO. The author does a good job of
explaining the impetus for the creation of JDO and the concept
of transparent persistence. The first 200 pages of the book are
effective at presenting the meat of what JDO is about in a way
that is more readable than the JDO specification of about equal
length. If you like reading specifications, then you probably
wouldn't buy this book anyway. For Java architects, designers,
and programmers looking to understand JDO, this book is a good
start. It is assumed that the reader has a background with Java
development, but not necessarily persistence methods. Of course,
Chapter 11's discussion of JDO and J2EE will make more sense if
you are familiar with the J2EE.

The book has a good flow and an easy to read style (I love the
occasional use of "whilst", but maybe that's just me). Java Data
Objects succeeds for the most part in not relying on any forward
references. The only one I remember was the concept of "fetch
groups", which isn't defined until pg. 156. It also does a good
job of staying vendor neutral and presenting the technology as
defined by the spec. The author was careful to point out vendor-
dependent features. I enjoyed the careful use of UML, state
transition, and object interaction diagrams in the text to explain
key concepts. Particularly, chapters 4's explanation of an
object's lifecycle and chapter 5's description of the persistent
object model. Chapter 6 is a walkthrough of the most commonly
used JDO classes and interfaces.

The book is well written and easy to follow. For the architect,
designer, or developer considering new ways to persist objects
(in a relational or object db), JDO is definitely an interesting
new alternative to consider. I had a few issues with the
examples and the CD, but frankly I didn't want to spend a lot
of time learning different product environments at the time I
was experimenting with the examples. Here's a suggestion: why
not include the JDO RI from Sun on the CD? It might be nice to
provide a set of scripts which use the reference implementation
as an alternative to the commercial offerings.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good introduction to JDO, December 16, 2002

By 

J. David Beutel (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Java Data Objects (Paperback)

I just started using JDO. This book was a good introduction. Altho it lacks some of the details of the specification, it was much easier to understand. At just over 200 pages of text, it was easy to read cover to cover.

Some books elaborate beyond their relevant specification, e.g., The Java Class Libraries series. That's fine for a reference book, but I wouldn't want to read the whole thing all at once. Robin Roos' book abstracts some of the complexity from JDO to explain it in a way that I think a lot of people will find easier to understand.

Coming from a JDBC and home-grown persistence layer background, I can appreciate how complex the issues are. So I was impressed with how simple Robin's explanations were. I doubt it will be the last JDO book that I buy, but I'm glad that it was the first.

This book is not a big comparison of the major persistence layer technology choices today, nor an analysis of the application of JDO to a major project. If you're trying to evaluate JDO against the other technologies, then you'll need to look at the online debates. But if you want to try JDO for yourself, then this is a good start.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage with relevant examples, December 11, 2002

By 

Michael Bowler (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Java Data Objects (Paperback)

I hesitated before buying this book because of its first review here at [Amazon.com], but now I'm glad bought it. Roos introduces the subject well and with enthusiasm. A fairly compelling case is made for JDO. And that includes some forthright but well supported comments on JDO vs Entity Beans. No punches pulled!

The examples are relevant but not unnecessarily complex. The usage of JDO and the underlying theme of "transparent persistence" both come through clearly. The book seems fair and points out some weaknesses in JDO (eg interface extents). Getting a heads-up on likely problems is important when starting out with something new.

I particularly enjoyed the J2EE chapter. We write web apps where JDO really might be a winner.

Object/Relational mapping? Roos points out that JDO is not an object/relational mapping standard. Although most implementations work against relational databases JDO does not standardize the mapping representation which remains vendor-proprietary. Instead JDO is an API for object persistence. It standardizes how persistent objects behave and how applications should use them. The final chapter looks ahead to anticipate future JDO refinements which include a standardized O/R mapping.

I'm docking one star because the source code was not immediately available, but I have downloaded it now.