Enterprise Java(TM) Programming with IBM(R) WebSphere(R) (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

~ Kyle Brown (Author), Gary Craig (Author), Greg Hester (Author), David Pitt (Author), Russell Stinehour (Author), Mark Weitzel (Author), Jim Amsden (Author), Peter M. Jakab (Author), Daniel Berg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Suitable for intermediate to advanced Java programmers, Enterprise Java Programming with IBM WebSphere is an up-to-the-minute guide to creating server software using the latest Java standards. It's a perfect one-volume resource for getting on board with some of the best ideas on the Java platform for building enterprise software.

While most books focus on Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) and related standards without looking at particular Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) tools, this title zeros in on IBM's popular VisualAge and WebSphere products for building and deploying Java software. The book does a good job of explaining the higher-level principles when it comes to Java standards like Servlets, JSP, and EJB. The more abstract material on the best ways to combine these front-end and back-end technologies is anchored by chapters that show how to use the real IBM tools.

Sections on modeling EJBs, for example, show you how to build real EJBs in VisualAge (including some fine material on associations that will let you model even complex database schemas with Java components). Another plus is material on the specifics of deploying Beans on the WebSphere platform, including tips on editing XML descriptor data. With today's J2EE standards, the genius is in the details. This book strikes a good balance between theory and practical advice. It gives you some of Sun's current best practices, like the Model-View-Controller (MVC). With fast-moving and useful tutorials on Servlet JSP and EJB standards, the authors also discuss layering of components on the server to achieve the separation of presentation and business logic, a must for today's Java Web applications. Patterns and other strategies for making sure you separate the tiers are also introduced.

By anchoring a state-of-the-art tour of Java with samples using real IBM tools, this title provides what Java developers need to use JSPs and EJBs effectively in real projects to solve real business problems. It's quite simply one of the best available tutorials for learning how to build successful Web applications in Java. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Survey of e-commerce for business
• Review of computer architecture (from client/server to Web-based multitiered systems)
• Introduction to the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB)
• The Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern (including layered applications)
• HTTP and Servlet basics
• Introduction to IBM VisualAge for EJB development
• The IBM WebSphere Test Environment (WTE)
• IBM WebSphere Application Server for EJBs (installing and configuration hints and using XMLConfig)
• Managing session state
• IBM WebSphere Studio tutorial (including JSP development with Page Designer)
• Servlet design guidelines (including patterns, exception handling, Servlet chaining, and filtering)
• JSP tutorial (including expressions and directives)
• Direct and indirect models for JSPs
• Using Beans with JSPs
• Testing and deploying JSPs
• Custom tag libraries
• Case study for an employee timesheet Web application (including use cases and class diagrams)
• EJB tutorial (including session and entity Beans)
• How to use VisualAge to build EJBs (including object-relational mapping tools)
• Testing and debugging EJBs
• EJB clients
• Container-managed and Bean-managed persistence
• EJB transactions
• Advanced CMP mapping techniques (including associations)
• Techniques for layered applications in EJBs (using facade and factory classes)
• Deploying EJBs in WebSphere

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: IBM Press; 2 edition (December 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 032118579X
• ISBN-13: 978-0321185792
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #383,038 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good description of how to use WebSphere and J2EE, March 3, 2004

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In the race to make legacy technologies and data accessible on the Web, J2EE has emerged as an industry standard. Vendors like Sun, IBM and BEA differentiate themselves in offering containers of varying functionality in which these can be implemented.

This book explains the approach taken by IBM, which uses WebSphere. A very powerful container, whose scope is so extensive that it is reflected in the heft of the book.

Several chapters give good generic descriptions of J2EE, Model-View-Container, Enterprise Java Beans, JSPs and Servlets. These are generic in that little here is IBM specific. Concise. But if you are new to these subjects, you may want to search for books dedicated to those, rather than turn here as a first resort.

The core chapters show how to use WebSphere to implement and host the above items. This, after all, is the emphasis of the book. Especially comprehensive descriptions are presented of Container Managed Persistence and Bean Managed Persistence and Message Driven Beans. And, most importantly, because this is central to commercial applications, how WebSphere rigourously handles transactions. Two-phase commit, rollback etc. These MUST work, and Chapter 28 explains how.

Throughout all this, the authors provide many screen captures of the WebSphere UI, as useful guides. Even just at this level, you can see the tremendous effort that IBM has put into making it as useful as possible. I do not say "easy", please note. WebSphere is highly intricate, and the book will give you an understanding of why this has to be so.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive reference on J2EE development with WebSphere, June 2, 2004

By	Bill Higgins (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, in the spirit of full disclosure and honesty: I know Kyle professionally as we are colleagues at IBM. However this isn't what causes me to pick up this book several times a week; it's the quality of the content of the book that makes it a frequent reference and source of learning.

J2EE was created to provide a standard framework to create complex, distributed, enterprise applications. Therefore I must take exception with the reader below who complains that this book is "not for a beginner". To enjoy this book in its entirety it is necessary that you are at least aware of the problems of distributed computing (concurrency, data synchronization, connecting to disparate data sources, etc.) and want to learn how to optimally use the IBM WebSphere implementation of J2EE to deal with these problems.

This book is the definitive reference to J2EE application development with IBM WebSphere Application Server and IBM WebSphere Studio Application Developer. Kyle and the other authors do an admirable job of "condensing" a vast body of knowledge and associated best practices into "only" 900 pages. This is the only book I know that covers all of the key topics of J2EE to a satisfactory level of detail within one book.

The thing that makes this book great is its combination of comprehensiveness and guidance towards using the platform correctly. As the saying goes, "a fool with a tool is still a fool", and J2EE's complexity in the hands of an untrained development team can have disastrous consequences. Therefore it is vitally important that you first understand the forces you are fighting against (i.e. the challenges of distributed computing) and then understand which J2EE technologies address these problems. Once you understand which problems you are trying to solve and which technologies help you solve these problems, it is necessary to understand how to optimally use these technologies. This book does an excellent job of explaining the problems, the applicable technologies, and best practices for applying the technologies.

Another excellent thing about this book is that the authors are obviously passionate about the technologies involved but they are not victims of hype. For instance, the first section of the first chapter on web services (ch. 32) is titled "If Web Services Is the Solution, What's the Problem?" It provides an excellent dose of pragmatism by taking a step back and answering the question, "What problems do the Web Services technologies help me solve, and what problems will they not help me solve?" Many other books simply treat Web Services as a panacea for all technological problems.

If you're developing with WebSphere you need to read this book. If you're developing with a J2EE platform other than WebSphere (shame on you), you will likely still find this book useful for the J2EE best practices it conveys that are not specific to WebSphere.

PS - If you are new to distributed computing and want to use J2EE, the best place to start is by creating a simple J2EE web application. Chapters 6 and 7 of this book provide a good introduction to doing this.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Java programmer should read this, January 10, 2004

By A Customer

The design advice contained in this book in invaluable for anyone building Enterprise Java applications. It's not just about programming but about architecture and design. The forward by Martin Fowler says it all: "If you're a WebSphere developer, buy this book for its tutorial on WebSphere, but treasure it for its design advice. If you don't develop in WebSphere, or even J2EE, get this book for its design advice anyway." The book is well organized, has great examples, and is easy to use as either a text-book or "how to" and as a reference for more experienced readers. The chapters on "developing and testing" (servlets, JSPs, domain models) are practical, comprehensive and easy to follow. This book isn't just theoretical - it really takes you through having something up and running on your machine. Buy this book and keep it on your desk.