J2EE 1.4 Essentials

Rating:
Summary: Great for getting started with J2EE but not for Java newbies
Review: I think this is a great book for experienced Java developers who are getting started with J2EE but would not recommend it if you don't already have a fair amount of Java programming experience (you should probably wait for a "Dummies" book on J2EE or some book like that if you are not good at Java already). I liked the no-nonsense approach to the J2EE 1.4 platform that this book takes since I did not need a lot of help on basic Java concepts, only J2EE, and I really like all of the online resources that come with each chapter since I can followup on topics that I want more details about. Almost every chapter had half a donzen or more extra online resources which is more than I'll probably ever have time to read but its nice to have them anyway.

Before reading this book I used mainly Java servlets and JSPs but didn't really understand how these technologies fit into the J2EE "platform" even though I bought a few other J2EE books for this. Now that the work I'm doing on the server side is more complex I had to come up to speed on the J2EE "platform" fast and also had to learn what the pros/cons of J2EE 1.4 are and this is the book I have been waiting for. I had bought Sun's J2EE Tutorial thinking it was "from the source" and would be what I needed but it was no good other than to get you familiar with Sun's own J2EE tools (so no good for me). In comparison J2EE 1.4 Essentials gives a wider view of the J2EE platform and also is excellent at showing what's important and new with 1.4 (it is is not a step by step "how to" book like the tutorial... it is overview perfect for learning about the J2EE platform and 1.4 features so I highly recommend it for this). I am also impressed that this book covers version 1.4 since I thought I would have to wait for a long time to get a good overvew book on J2EE 1.4.

I only wish this book had a companion volume of related sub-books so that I could get more coverage of each topic in print (bound hard copy) but the extra online chapters and materials do a good job if you don't mind reading them online or printing yourself. I would highly recommend this book to Java developers who need to get started with J2EE or who need to get a well rounded understanding of the platform in general with an eye on what's really important with J2EE 1.4.

Rating:
Summary: A decent overview, but lacking in detail.
Review: J2EE 1.4 Essentials by Aaron E Walsh gives a very high level overview of the entire J2EE platform. First of all, let me explain what this book does and what it doesn't do. This book does provide a very high level overview of the wide spectrum of technologies involved in the J2EE platform. However, it doesn't go into depth in any of them. As a developer, I felt I was given just enough information to get me interested, but not enough information to accomplish anything. In addition, I found that the writing was remarkably accurate, albeit quite dry in style. Coupled with the amazing number of acronyms used to describe the various technologies involved, the writing style doesn't lend itself to easy reading. In fact, I found that I needed to be fairly familiar with the technologies or I'd end up rereading large sections. As this book is to be an introduction to J2EE technologies, the excessive use of acronyms is very awkward. Some of the redeeming qualities of the book, however, include accuracy of content and very few editing errors. Also, throughout the book, there are a great number of references to web sites for more information and even extra material available via the Internet. All in all, if you're looking for a brief overview of J2EE technologies, this book isn't bad, but if you're looking to do something with J2EE, you'll probably find yourself looking for another book soon.