Rating: 
Summary: Most Practical J2EE Book I've Read Yet...
Review: I never taken the time to write a book review on Amazon.Com before, but after purchasing this book, I thought I should. This is the most practical book I've read yet on developing J2EE applications. As a J2EE application architect, I must say it addresses all the issues I've encountered over the past several years. I wish this book would have existed a couple of years ago (so I wouldn't have had to learn the hard way). The book really focuses on doing what's practical and discourages over engineering due to J2EE hype. The book is very current and discusses many of the widely used open-source products -- something I'm a big proponent of. In my mind, this book should be considered the "J2EE Bible". Lastly, you don't have to be an application architect to understand this book. It's very easy to read -- obviously intended for J2EE developers at all levels. I'd give this book 6 stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: Not you average J2EE book
Review: I would rank this book with a select few of the many Java books I have read over the last 5 years. Rod does a unique job of presenting an opiniated view of many J2EE technologies (which is a welcome view to say the least). Unlike many other J2EE books, this book does not get bogged down in specification details or go through the boring details that every java developer (with even very little experience) already knows. It's very nice to have a book detailing someone's real world experience with J2EE development while building applications that are not just for reference. Thanks Rod.
Rating:
Summary: Unique in niche filled. Solid in approach
Review: I've read allot of books based on languages, Java and J2EE. Most follow the standard format(s) of API's explained or focus, in detail, on one particular aspect or approach; say patterns. What's unique about this book is that it seems to fill all the cracks left between the "generalist" and the "specialist" books.Almost with an odd supernatural poetry Rod has managed to slip into most the holes left by the trail of Authors before him. With a welcomed, in-your-face honesty, the author explains where certain aspects of the J2EE architacture work, and where its wasted techno-flex; I've EJB'ed, therefore I am. Refreshing. You will leave wiser for the walk-of-words, but keep a reference handy as this book isn't meant to be one. It's meant to be in all the places a reference just doesn't manage to go.
Rating:
Summary: Java Developer
Review: In my opinion, this is a very practical, resourceful and insightful guide -- as it explains J2EE Technologies from the point of view of their applicability.
It discusses the issue, proposes a solution and also provides alternative approaches to solving a given design problem.
This book provides vital information for J2EE Architects and Lead Developers by showing how to avoid making mistakes that have critical impact on design and implementation of enterprise Java software.
Rod Johnson writes in a clear style, which makes this book very interesting and inspiring to read.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best J2EE book
Review: It's not an average J2EE book . Rod discussed a lot of framework design issues. He also criticized some J2EE flaws and told us how to avoid them. You will learn a LOT of design techniques from this book. Every J2EE developers should have this book ! The words and phases in this book is easy to understand , even for me , a Taiwanese , can comprehend easily.
Rating:
Summary: Just buy it
Review: Rod Johnson is one of the few technical authors with whom I can almost never disagree. A quick read indicates clearly that his technical insight, which ranges from architectural to low-level coding best practices, are not born of some academic exercise...they are the fruit of actual production J2EE experience...not an academic blueprint. At times, I felt like I was reading my own words. Over the years, I began to wonder if I was the only J2EE developer who was not "drinking all the kool aid." My experience with over a dozen high-volume production applications moved me away from the pure party line. Now, I realize that my religion has a leader. Don't get me wrong, I learned a significant amount from this book. Rod's experience is daunting and even an experienced J2EE developer will glean countless insights from this well-written text.
So what's not to like? Well, frankly, I was disappointed that security got the same level as attention in this book as it does in most - especially since there has yet to be an excellent J2EE text produced on the topic. While I didn't expect Rod to write the definitive tome on authentication and authorization, I expected more than two pages with a collection of URLs for more info. In fact, I loved the fact that he led off the text with testing and was shocked that he didn't follow immediately with security - another system aspect that is frequently relegated to the margins...and often implemented poorly. So how does that influence my review? Well, on Amazon's five star scale, I am taking away one star....but I also started by awarding him ten stars for the rest of the text.
final static int MAX_RATING = 5;
final int rating = Math.min(MAX_RATING, (10-1));
if (rating == 5) {
you.buyNow();
}
Rock on Rod. Can't wait for the "Developing without EJBs" text.
Rating:
Summary: A book on solutions, not specifications
Review: The real differentiator of this book is that its focus is on how to use J2EE to solve real-world problems, rather than providing an overview of the J2EE specification itself. As such, it's a much more pragmatic approach to using J2EE than the other books I've read on the subject. The author starts by taking high-level perspective on the subject, showing the different design considerations that need to be applied when choosing which J2EE technologies to use. A case study (a ticket booking system) is described and elaborated on throughout the book, showing how these design considerations affect a real-world solution. The book also provides a load of coding tips I found useful, from better use of reflection, to judicious use of design patterns, to how to minimise your refactoring. The author assumes the reader is an experienced developer, so doesn't focus on rudimentary Java and architecture. I found this useful, but it means the book is more focussed to a specific audience. Amazingly, the book also provides an entire framework based on J2EE on which you can put your application logic. My only complaint is that this is not included in a companion CD - you have to download it. Overall, the book works because it shows you how build solutions, not just understand the technology.
Rating:
Summary: Buy It. Read It. Repeat.
Review: The sad thing is that there isn't really another book that compares with Expert One-On-One J2EE Design and Development other than the newer second edition. Flat out, this is the best book (and really the only one) that describes the trade-offs involved in implementing enterprise class j2ee solutions.
The strength of Rod's approach is its practicality. Rod doesn't feel pressured to use all of J2EE all of the time. He rightly discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the specs and reasonable tradeoffs in architecture, design, and implementation. This is a real world book on architecture and implementation that reflects Rod's own approach and biases to looking at building scalable enterprise systems.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful in many ways, but left me hanging
Review: There's no doubt that Rod knows what he's talking about. Much of the book contained best practices that were incredibly valuable, and he seemed to have a focused direction that he wanted to take us in - not just re-hash the J2EE specification. However, I felt like was left hanging at the end of the book. He talks about a sample application throughout his discussions on design and the source code for the application is available from wrox's (the publisher) website. But after downloading and compiling the application, I discovered that most of the web tier was left incomplete. Apparently, he leaves us to make our own decision about implementing the web-tier, but it would be nice to see at least one option illustrated completely. All that talk about this sample application and I couldn't even run it and play with it to reinforce what I learned.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful in many ways, but left me hanging
Review: There's no doubt that Rod knows what he's talking about. Much of the book contained best practices that were incredibly valuable, and he seemed to have a focused direction that he wanted to take us in - not just re-hash the J2EE specification. However, I felt like was left hanging at the end of the book. He talks about a sample application throughout his discussions on design and the source code for the application is available from wrox's (the publisher) website. But after downloading and compiling the application, I discovered that most of the web tier was left incomplete. Apparently, he leaves us to make our own decision about implementing the web-tier, but it would be nice to see at least one option illustrated completely. All that talk about this sample application and I couldn't even run it and play with it to reinforce what I learned.
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