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Summary: Great intro to the Eclipse platform
Review: This is a great introduction to the Eclipse platform. It's oriented towards someone who is new or moderately comfortable with java, but hasn't spent time in Eclipse. It provides good step-by-step (hence the title) tutorials in how to navigate the Eclipse environment, compile a few simple programs, and even write a small database application. I would recommend this book for an application programmer who is about to start working with Eclipse or IBM's Websphere Studio Client product line (WSAD, WSSD, WDSC, etc).
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Summary: Eclipse: step-by-step!
Review: When I started to learn my first computer language, I was provided with a tome of technical documentation, where all the operators were listed in the alphabetic order with all the intricacies of their working explained. I wouldn't probably be as much lost if I were brought on another planet -- there I would at least know where is the left and where the right. Then some kind soul lent me a book written in more human style, so I could begin to orient myself along the four sides of the world... I wish my early days I had a book like this! If you are confident in your learning abilities, and prefer to find your own path, there are books about Eclipse that you will enjoy more. But if you feel lost and looking for help, you will find it in this book. You will get your personal guide, who will never let you get lost, but will walk you through the foreign planet explaining what is this or that thing you are passing. The book covers all the basic tasks: starting a project, editing/importing programs, compiling, debugging and troubleshooting. Each example is provided with a program on CD, so you do not have to type your own if you do not want to, and you can learn how to use Eclipse even if you know no Java at all. Each step you need to make is listed, explained, and for each step there are screenshots that illustrate what your screen should look like. If you installed Eclipse from CD, you will never have to wonder why your screen doesn't look like it is supposed to. In "Agile Software Development" Alistair Cockburn defines three stages of learning. In the *following* stage learners need one procedure that work, "they copy it, they learn it", and they need a very detailed description of this procedure. In the next, *detaching* stage, people learn several ways to do the job along with advantages and shortcomings of each. In the third, *fluent* stage, they forget about procedures, as they do not need them. This book is determinately and rigorously written for the first group of learners, and it should be appreciated as such.
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Summary: From the horse's mouth, so to speak
Review: When we first envisioned this book, there was a specific target audience: successful IBM midrange programmers who needed to move from their comfortable environment of RPG and green screens to the brave new world of Eclipse and Java. And so I wrote the book with the idea that you might not know much more about Windows than how to turn your machine on. It may surprise people brought up with IDEs and the Internet, but there are thousands of programmers out there who have never heard of Open Source. To these people, the idea of downloading an IDE and installing it (not to mention Java itself!) is a potentially daunting task. And even if they buy an introductory book, the introductory books are written by people who don't know about life before the Internet, and who take things like WinZip for granted.
We wanted this book to allow ANYONE, regardless of their Java or PC knowledge, to be able to take advanatge of Eclipse. It's not a reference manual or an in-depth guide to Java architecture; the book description clearly says that. In fact, the description states in no uncertain terms: "training wheels for Eclipse".
And yet, unfortunately people still buy the book expecting something more, and get upset when it doesn't have it. I feel badly for their disappointment, but at the same time, I can't help but think they might have missed the point. I'm amazed that the phrase "broad overview" is used negatively, when that's exactly what the book is designed to be.
So I just wanted to be clear: this book is NOT for Eclipse experts. It is for people who want to learn about Eclipse in the quickest, least intimidating way possible. It was meant for professional programmers with years or decades of experience that just doesn't happen to include Windows and Java. You shouldn't feel inferior for not knowing the latest buzzwords, or for not having taken Java in college. It's a new world, and it's hard to get started. But with this book, you will.
Joe Pluta
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