Customer Reviews

Java and SOAP

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

 

 

I'm a java programmer and I've started learning Web services. I've already read Building Web services with Java. That book gives a good introduction to SOAP, WSDL and UDDI, but does not cover them in enough details. Java and SOAP coverage of Soap is very extensive. I've found many things that were not covered in Building web services for Java. For exemple, the fact that when you deploy a web service, you can specify the scope for the service (will one instance of the class be used for all calls or each call create a new object). The author also uses two different servers for implementation, Apache SOAP and GLUE. This allows us to see how implementations may differ.

But one thing to know is that the book covers _only_ SOAP. There is one chapter about WSDL and no UDDI.
There is no mention of EJB, JMS, and only a very light introduction to JAX-RPC.
An exemple of how to call a .NET service is given, but no exemple of how to build a service that will be compatible with .NET clients.

But personally, I prefer a book that covers only one subject, but covers it toroughly.

The only thing I found lacking was the coverage of Message style web services. There is only a small 10 pages about the subject.

If you are new to web services, I would recommend buying first a book like Building web services for Java to get a good idea of all pieces, and then this one to get all the details you will need about SOAP when you put your knowledge to work.

Now is there a good book that covers JAX-RPC and JAXM??

If you are a Java developer and are wondering what all the hype is about surrounding web services and SOAP, you owe it to yourself to get this book. Robert Englander doesn't waste time trying to teach you Java first. He dives right in to what SOAP is, what the different related technologies are surrounding SOAP, and explanations on two different implementations of SOAP (Apache SOAP and GLUE). Once the introductions are complete, he starts with basic examples in both Apache and GLUE. Each chapter then builds upon those examples to cover more complex examples and situations. The examples are very well detailed, and the explanations are easy to understand. In addition, he covers how to write Java code to both call web services and expose your own Java code to be used as a web service. By the time you're done, you should have a good grasp on how it all works. The Apache implementation of SOAP is free for downloading at www.apache.org, so you can get all the tools you need to become proficient at this technology.

This book was very valuable to me as I was working on a project involving web services. I was writing Java code on a platform that would allow for a user to enter a command and get information back from the server. The concept of web services was intriguing as it opened up a large set of possibilities for features I could implement. By using the information in this book, I was able to quickly get up to speed with a functional example that worked. I was then able to fill in gaps in my knowledge and expand my examples to connect with additional sources of data. Without the information in this book, it would have taken me a whole lot longer to figure it all out.

For Notes/Domino 5 developers, you may not see a use for this information (at least at this level of detail) at this time. It's possible that you may want to write a Java agent for a Notes application that uses SOAP to get some data from a web service. I would encourage you to try that if possible. This would be much more applicable for someone who has started working with Websphere and is trying to build or consume web services. In my case, I was using it to allow Sametime to interact with web services. Some very cool stuff...

Conclusion
If you're ready to branch out into the world of web services and want to write and/or use one, you should seriously consider getting this book. If you work through the examples and material, I am confident that you will end up being very successful in getting results in a short time frame.

Overview -
SOAP is what makes the Web Services clock go around. In fact, SOAP can easily be used as a stand-alone channel without incurring the overheads of publish-find-and-bind cycle apparent in Web Services. Java's ever growing XML support makes it a language of choice for anyone considering implementing SOAP.

Why you should read this book -
Whether you are writing a new SOAP service or simply using an existing one, understanding what happens under the bonnet helps make your system more robust.

What this book covers -
This book covers almost everything you have to know about how Java supports the technology - core APIs, SOAP encoding, structure of SOAP messages, attachments, platform interoperability issues and some nice guidelines. It also includes some getting-started examples with two different SOAP servers- Apache and GLUE ? to help the reader understand how SOAP implementation differs. There is some introductory material covering JAX-RPC, JAXM, Apache Axis and WSDL. The chapters are well organized although the writing lacks reader-friendly approach.

Cons -
The book came out in May 2002 and hence a few things are out of date including SOAP spec and Apache implementation. Examples seem rather trivial and lack depth. Advanced SOAP programmers or those considering enterprise integration will be disappointed. Coverage on .NET interoperability is a far cry from even being introductory. I hope the next version of the book will adequately address real integration issues such as performance, transactions, and security.

Ajith Kallambella
[...]

1. Good coverage of SOAP
2. Uses GLUE (acquired by webMethods since acquired Software AG), which
is no longer available. As a result, when it's time to test your
Web Services, you are on your own.
3. Author's web site is non-existent, so you can't email him to find
errata/ work arounds.

My suggestion, buy a dfferent book (or if you like O'Reilly as I do,
buy it used. At least you won't pay as much). I am using
another O' Reilly book for SOAP Programming with Java.

This book came out from O'Reilly in Spring of 2002 about the same time they published Java Web Services. If these had been combined and editing together, they would have had a star book on their hands instead of two average books. I can't say anything particularly bad about this book, but nothing particularly good either. If you're getting started with Web Services using Java, this and the title above are both decent sources to get you going.

Overview -
SOAP is what makes the Web Services clock go around. In fact, SOAP can easily be used as a stand-alone channel without incurring the overheads of publish-find-and-bind cycle apparent in Web Services. Java's ever growing XML support makes it a language of choice for anyone considering implementing SOAP.

Why you should read this book -
Whether you are writing a new SOAP service or simply using an existing one, understanding what happens under the bonnet helps make your system more robust.

What this book covers -
This book covers almost everything you have to know about how Java supports the technology - core APIs, SOAP encoding, structure of SOAP messages, attachments, platform interoperability issues and some nice guidelines. It also includes some getting-started examples with two different SOAP servers- Apache and GLUE - to help the reader understand how SOAP implementation differs. There is some introductory material covering JAX-RPC, JAXM, Apache Axis and WSDL. The chapters are well organized although the writing lacks reader-friendly approach.

Cons -
The book came out in May 2002 and hence a few things are out of date including SOAP spec and Apache implementation. Examples seem rather trivial and lack depth. Advanced SOAP programmers or those considering enterprise integration will be disappointed. Coverage on .NET interoperability is a far cry from even being introductory. I hope the next version of the book will adequately address real integration issues such as performance, transactions, and security...

This book provides just what an experienced Java developer needs to know to hit the ground running developing Java SOAP clients and/or servers. A very efficient introduction. I highly recommend this book.

This is a well written book that is organized in a logical fashion.

The author uses a conversational style which is easy to read. It is assumed that you already have an understanding of Java.

Code samples start early in the book and continue throughout.

I consider this book to be clear and concise. I prefer this style to the 400 - 500 page technical books.

If you want t o start using Java and SOAP, this book should jump start your efforts.

It's OK... it's nothing informative. I'd recommend buying some of the books that thoroughly cover SOAP and books that thoroughly cover Java + Web Services. This is nice and all but it just doesn't pack a meaningful punch.

The SOAP protocol is relatively new, as is the software that
supports Java servers and SOAP. Not wanting to install
Apache, I installed Resin as my HTTP server and AXIS for
my SOAP protocol support. I've also installed Apache's
SOAP GUI.

I got everything running to the point where I could run
sevlets. But attempting to run the SOAP remote procedure
call examples given in the book has been very frustrating.
In what directory should I install my servlet that provides
the functions that are called via SOAP/RPC? How can I
diagnose failures when things go wrong? This book is not
much help.

Since no single software base exists to support HTTP, a Java
server and SOAP the author faces a difficult problem. This
problem could have been addressed by picking a software base
and then providing examples in terms of this base. I
recommend Resin (because it is easy to install and is light
weight), Axis (because it is standard) and the Apache SOAP
GUI (which the author does cover). The author also covers
a product called GLUE. As an Axis/Apache SOAP user I skipped
all the GLUE examples, so I think that the book would be better
without them (of course a GLUE user probably feels that way
about Apache).

While this book provides a decent introduction on what SOAP is
and how it functions under Java, it is very frustrating that
simple examples are so difficult to run. The book would have
been much better if the author had stuck to a single platform
and then provided the necessary detail. This would frustrate
users who are not using the platform chosen in the book, but
as it is, the book is little help in the nuts and bolts of
Java/SOAP execution.