Customer Reviews

Service Oriented Java Business Integration: Enterprise Service Bus integration solutions for Java developers

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Read the introductory texts on Service Oriented Architecture and Web Services Description Language? Perhaps you've noticed that those sometimes frustratingly refer to more elaborate business processes that can be built atop them. How to do this? Now SOA and WSDL are strictly independent of an implementing programming language. But just suppose that you're willing to pick Java.

One result is that you can turn to this book. It shows recent, state of the art, Java packages and standards, that use SOA and WSDL. Java Business Integration is still fairly new and the text gives its basics. The applications are manifold. One major case is to extend or incorporate EJBs across a set of WSDL machines. If you recall, EJBs predate WSDL by several years. And most books on EJB talk about using it within a system of computers run by the same company. The blending of existing EJBs with a WSDL setup is otherwise awkward, without JBI.

You might even consider JBI as a successor to EJB, in the Web Services environment. JBI proponents would argue it's much more than that. But in terms of explaining JBI, especially to people who've invested time in coding EJBs, it's a useful concept.

The book also talks about existing ways to learn and build JBI components. Foremost amongst these is the use of the Service Mix container. It holds JBI components. That is its task. Just like EJBs need an EJB container. But Service Mix is also a JBI component in its own right. For Java programmers, the analogy is to something like a JPanel that is a container for Swing widgets, but which is also a widget. Hence, Service Mix has a nice modular design that makes it interoperable with other JBI containers that might be developed.

I was hoping to simply learn more about Java Business Integration. The first 70 pages are a decent start on this. Following that, however, ServiceMix component tutorials abound, and not in an entertaining cover-to-cover read kind of way.

The writing is often wordy and grammar and spelling slips are fairly common. Most books I set down to thoughtfully consider interesting points but more often I wondered why the author boasted working with many desperate systems (later I realized the author meant disparate) or if wetting my hands with code was anything like getting them dirty.

There isn't much of a practical flow from chapter to chapter, the "Use Cases" never really explain the problems that the samples solve, and seeing my console's output match the book's screenshots after running the code (which is completely downloadable) isn't particularly gratifying.

If you're working with ServiceMix but frustrated by a lack of documentation, then this book might be the right fit for you. Otherwise I recommend you save your money for something else.

Service Oriented Java Business Integration is a well structured and well written book targeted at Java developers and integration architects.

The most attractive feature of this book is the hands-on approach it takes. Each and every concept is dealt with in detail with the aid of a sample use case, sequence diagrams and explanations for the same, complete code listing, instructions on packaging, deploying and running the sample. The author also goes on to explain what happens when the code is run. This book can even be a very good companion on long flights. Even without a computer to try out what is explained, the reader will be able to grasp a great deal with the help of the code listings and the instructions. Most problems addressed by the author in the book are those integration architects face on a daily basis.

The book has some good introductory sections on ESB, JBI, the open source ESB ServiceMix, XPath and XFire. Exposing EJB services and annotated POJO as ESB services, binding web services with the ServiceMix ESB, accessing web services using the JMS channel etc. are all explained with the help of detailed examples. There are some good sections on developing custom JBI components and packaging and deploying JBI components. The highlights of the book are the chapters on versioning of services and EAI patterns. Each EAI pattern is explained with a use case and code listing. QoS features are also dealt upon briefly.

There are some chapters and sections in the book that look a bit out of place, like a chapter on binding without ESB or JBI, after ESB and JBI are introduced.

All in all, a very good practical reference and guidelines book on Service Oriented Java Business Integration from the point of view of a developer/architect.

I took some time to read this book and I do not think I lost my so "precious" time. I would say that the book is not intended for Java beginners but more for people with a good technical background and especially with at least, some knowledge of the Java Enterprise world. Never the less, if you are not a specialist, just like I am not one, you could still read the book and you could learn a lot of new stuff.

Indeed, the book is taking you from the beginning and tries to lead you through different technologies like Java Messaging service (JMS), Enterprise Java Beans (EJB), WebServices (WS) and a few more. The author is clearly explaining how to use those different technologies within an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and how to implement it using the Java Business Integration (JBI) specification. The aim is to make you understand of how you could use any technology to achieve the Service Oriented Architecture.

A good point is that the theory is accompanied with a lot of examples based on Service Mix, which is an Apache JBI implementation. Those samples are insisting on EJB and WS, I would qualify them as realistic or real world samples. My opinion is that it could help a lot of people and companies not to rewrite their existing code but to rather reuse the code they already have and to make it working within a JBI container. You could find some explanations on how to make a real enterprise application using Service Mix and a huge assortment of useful packages like XStream or Axis. Also, on how to expose your EJBs as WSDL, which I find interesting. The samples provided in the book are accompanied with a lot of code and the whole build process. Thus even if you are not familiar with all those technologies you will be able to test and see the samples running.

All that is strengthen by the link to the Java Connector Architecture and to the point on how to exchange the information between all those different/heterogeneous systems.

While the book is correctly explaining the point of JBI, I would really appreciate to hear some words about the Service Component Architecture (SCA) and to see something about REST, but not only about WS. There are also a couple of references to VoIP and probably that a parallel could be shown with the SLEE (or JAIN SLEE) specification.

I also think there should be less explanation about WebServices and especially about the WS versioning, but some more words about XA transactions and services orchestration.

Finally, I really do recommend the book to those who are not familiar with ESBs or SOA and that want to learn something without investigating a lot on the web alone. Also, as I already mentioned to those who want to use a JBI container but have a lot of EJB and WS implementations around.

The Service Oriented Java Business Integration has an organized structure, and is very well written overall. It is specifically targeted towards Java developers, as well as professionals who are integration architects. One of the best features of this book is the hands on method that it uses. Every concept is handled with detail, and it also provides aids for sample uses. It offers both diagrams and explanations for them, and it has a total list of code and instructions for deploying the samples, as well as running them.

The author also takes the time to explain what will happen when the code is processed. This book is excellent for times when you need to wait for something, such as when you're on a flight, and there is little to do. Even if you don't have a computer handy to try out the things that the author talks about, a reader can understand a lot with the code listings, as well as the instructions. Many problems which are noted by the author are things which many integration architects have to deal with on a daily basis.

The book has a number of good sections which are related to JBI, ESB, along with XPath, XFire, and ServiceMix. All these things are explained with examples that are highly detailed. There are excellent sections which show you how to properly develop customized JBI components, as well as packaging and deploying them. The chapters in this book which I enjoyed the most are the ones for EAI patterns, as well as the ones which explained the versioning for services. I highly recommend this book for those who are beginners of either SOA or JBI.

One thing that you have to keep in mind is that this book is quite hands on. Any Manager or Architect who must understand ESB, particularly at the strategy or conceptual level, would gain a lot from this book, especially if they aren't big fans of code samples. I found this book to be ideal if you're looking to learn the buzz words, along with a little bit of code(low level). This is a book of concepts, and those who are looking for a more conceptual guide will be enthralled with this book.

Books around SOA and associated topics are in plenty these days. A few common shortcomings in them are [1] being too abstract [2] being too light on real life models [3] assuming too deep domain specific knowledge [4] cannot decide whether to stick to the fundamentals or go really deep.

This book is somewhat of an exception. It does not pretend to be a deep dive technical exposition into SOA and especially Java Business Integration. Rather, it provides overview from a strategic architecture level by using the building blocks of JBI. Which is good because by sticking to the fundamentals it provides a solid foundation of the things to keep in mind when building stuff using Service Mix container.

Therein lies a small failure though. The strong focus on Service Mix takes the focus away from providing either an extensive overview or a small deep dive of Java Business Integration. The examples of Service Mix kind of make up for this shortcoming but a book like this should have put some focus on the "architect" vision of the framework. It is fairly obvious that the author has taken trouble to explain concepts of EAI patterns.

There is something to be said about the editorial control though. The language is tedious, which is a deviation from the standard PacktPub books. There are spelling errors and sections where the formatting does not follow the standards established before hand. It does prove a point about not trusting the spellchecker too much.

It is a good book to have at hand for a beginner in the realm of JBI and SOA. I would not recommend it strongly for a developer-architect since there are better books and the examples and UseCases would seem jaded. An addition to the book could be a wiki / blog which would serve as a live extension to the book content (which would get out of date fairly rapidly) and provide the basis of a conversation and possibly a new edition.

If you are an Architect or Manager and need to understand ESB only at a strategy and conceptual level and you very much hate code samples, then this is not the right book to purchase. If you need just ESB theory, you can look at the book "Enterprise Service Bus". And if you want all nifty gritty details of JBI, the specification from Sun should help you. But if you want to understand those buzz words and also like to see some low level code, this book is something which you cannot ignore.

This is a book of concepts and code that clearly explains what JBI and ESB is. If you need a technical book with how-to approaches on ESB, this is the only book available today. Few other books are available with low level code, but you will never end up running the samples due to the requirements of heavy IDEs and/or Workshops. But using this book even a less experienced developer will be able to run the samples in day 1.

Anyone can understand the need to use a suitable runtime or framework, if you have to understand any concepts in code. The author has done enough justice there by selecting Apache Open source ServiceMix which is freely downloadable. Even though the code samples are run using this framework, the concepts and integration tricks used here are reusable and extendable to any other ESB runtime. This is something the other reviewer has missed, it seems.

The author balance complex message exchange patterns with a large number of visuals. I spotted few minor editing typos, but they don't get in the way of the material.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs to understand JBI, ESB and Web Service integration.

This is an excelent book covering the SOA/JBI topics and it is really clear. I like the part where the author talks about the JBI and its nomenclature. The book covers extensively the bases of JBI technology (Service Engine, Binding Component, NMR and so on) using Apache Service Mix. The book is rich of example that helps the reader to understand what is behind the scenes.
The book is not intended for Java beginners and to understand completely the technologies covered the reader must have a good technical background expecially in J2EE. The author uses an "how-to" approach to explain JBI and SOA technologies.
The aspect i like more is the fact that this book isn't an "abstract" book talking only about technologies but it is clear the author's effort to add examples to clarify the topics covered.

This is an excellent book; not only from the way the author has approached it, but from the patience and preparation he has shown in developing the examples given and the method of approaching the examples.

The author has taken a deliberate view that if you have bought this book, you want a systematic approach so that you can not only quickly grasp the JBI technology but to apply it. This is where the applications, presented within the ServiceMix framework provide an excellent context to how to apply apply JBI to exploiting the standard ESB patterns.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

While not for the beginner, "Service-Oriented Java Business Integration" is an excellent reference for anyone looking to implement SOA-based solutions in their organization. Chapter 9, "POJO Binding Using JSR-181" is an excellent reference for those developers looking to implement complex solutions using POJOs - the best reference for JSR-181 I've seen so far and Chapter 15, "Enterprise Integration Patterns in ESB" is a must-read for all SOA architects.