iBatis in Action [Paperback]

Clinton Begin (Author), Brandon Goodin (Author), Larry Meadors (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2007

iBATIS in Action teaches Java developers and architects how to use the iBATIS framework to map relational databases to object-oriented programs. Written by the creator of iBATIS, this practical book presents patterns and solutions that readers can apply immediately.

iBATIS in Action shows Java developers how to tackle the problem of data persistence using the elegant iBATIS framework. iBATIS helps developers solve the problem of connecting- or mapping- relational databases to object-oriented code. An extensive running example presents reusable iBATIS patterns and common solutions. The sample application shows where iBATIS fits in a typical web application as well as how iBATIS integrates with other popular frameworks like Struts. iBATIS in Action focuses on solving existing problems without introducing new ones.

In addition to showing what iBATIS does, iBATIS in Action also shows how iBATIS solves problems. Readers explore the driving design philosophy behind iBATIS as presented by iBATIS creator Clinton Begin.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Clinton Begin is the creator of iBATIS. Clinton has been a professional software developer for eight years and currently works for ThoughtWorks. He is an active mentor, trainer, and public speaker in the IT industry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Manning Publications; 1 edition (January 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932394826
• ISBN-13: 978-1932394825
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #982,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start but the book badly needs a 2nd edition, April 3, 2007

By 

Robert D. Glover Jr. "robert-g-near-nyc" (Linden, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: iBatis in Action (Paperback)

I am now using iBatis on my fifth project (as of Sept 2007). In the first project I was content to use plain iBatis with Spring, but on the second project and all subsequent projects I would not even think of using iBatis without Abator (and Spring).

I think this book needs a second edition. In the second edition an entire chapter should be devoted to Abator. (The current edition has nothing about Abator). Also, the section on Spring in the second edition should be lengthened as well as simplified. I found the explanation in the book of using iBatis with Spring too complicated to be useful and ended up using the simple, easy to understand examples of iBatis usage in Spring provided by section 4.6 of the book "Spring in Action" by Craig Walls and Ryan Breidenbach.

Another weakness of this book is that it does not give enough real world examples and explanations on using iBatis with binary files (BLOBS). There should be more examples of writing a custom type handlers. Similarly, the book's coverage of record insertions would benefit tremendously from more examples. As well, stored procedures are such a tremendously important part of using a database professionally that it would have been much better if the authors had given an example of using a stored procedure to return multiple rows of data. It's really a shame that the book only devotes 5 pages to stored procedures. Twice that many pages are merited.


That having been said, I still like the first edition of this book, primarily because I had found the online iBatis documentation so confusing that I had given up on iBatis until this book came along and provided enough breadcrumbs to actually use iBatis in a real project.

Hopefully a second edition will also have a better index with improved cross-referencing and cross-indexing.

iBatis and Abator (I cannot imagine using iBatis without also using Abator) are so incredibly good that it is a wonder why Hibernate is more popular. People in the know, for examples the people who wrote the Spring framework, recommend iBatis over Hibernate. Let's hope more books on iBatis come along and that this particular iBatis book evolves and improves with future editions.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great refference book, April 18, 2007

By 

Levan Dvalishvili - See all my reviews
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This review is from: iBatis in Action (Paperback)

As Authors mentioned and I totally agree, IBATIS is relatively small framework that does what it says it does very well, I have used it before and the only reason I bought this book was to have a reference guide. and it does exactly that very very well, IBATIS is not complicated concept it does not need 800 pages, this book is something One can look over and over again for techniques and ways to use for example dynamic SQL appenders etc
no more digging through Google or through, not so clear, official IBATIS reference guide.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great reference for a great product, August 27, 2007

By 

Richard J. Starr (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: iBatis in Action (Paperback)

I now have a much better insight into iBatis because the authors provided both background design and detailed information about the product. It was much better than the documentation I found via the web (there's lots to be said for technical and editorial review of a book).

The setup and code examples are excellent. I also like the writing style and structure of the book. Clear and logical.

However, I would like an expanded section on using the Spring DAO with iBatis, as this is now the recommended approach over the iBatis DAO.

Although I was already using iBatis, this book is a welcome addition to my library.