Client/Server Programming with Java and CORBA, 2nd Edition

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Summary: response to [e-mail] from Wauwatosa, WI
Review: Bill, I regret that you had problems with the first example. The commands were intended to be run with Visual Cafe. I believe you were using the JDK. There is a Web site listed in the front matter and on the CD-ROM packaged with the book. On the Web site is a FAQ and a link for sending an email message with your questions to us.

Best regards,
Dan Harkey
[e-mail]

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Summary: Heads up for future readers
Review: This is an FYI for future readers. I spent some effort trying to get the chapter 4 example to work and would like to see others avoid wasting time on the same problem. This may not be the place to present this information, but none of the web sights associated with the book offer a way to pass this type of thing on. On page 79 execute VBJC instead of JAVAC to compile the programs and on page 80 execute VBJ instead of java for the steps that run CountServer and CountClient. As to the book, so far it's really great. I do wish there was a way to communicate these types of problems and get a response. I did a bit of digging I'd rather not of done to resolve this. Ignore the rating, there was no way to exclude it. If there is a way communicate this type of information to the author that I've not found, please advise. Bill Magee :) execpc.com

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Summary: The best CORBA book for the starters so far
Review: I believe it's the best down-to-earth book so far for anyone who wants to start learning CORBA. Don't expect anything fancy from this book, but once you're done reading - you may start actually looking into vendors documentation.

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Summary: Good technical detail on CORBA if you already know Java.
Review: While the cartoon martians are a bit over the top, the rest of the book is right on target. I sure wish the authors would have come up with something with a little more meat than the "Count" object they seem so infatuated with, but I give them credit for getting all the mileage anyone could out of it. This is an excellent technical book on the subject of Distributed Object Computing (especially using CORBA) if you already are comfortable with Java. I didn't wait for the second "release" of this book (we had to get started right away) and immediately found that none of the examples work directly with the new downloads of OrbixWeb or Visigenic, although most of the fixes you need are obvious enough to work out. I assume the next "release" of the book will fix that problem. In all, the level of detail on CORBA was excellent and there was even a good section for comparison with other competing technologies (although I felt comparing CORBA with Java sockets was a waste of space).

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Summary: well done
Review: If you want to find out what CORBA is all about buy the book. Don't worry about the first chapter, maybe skip it. The book is written by somebody who has really dealt with the stuff!
Robert (http://home.t-online.de/home/Schreiber.Robert)

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Summary: The best Java/Corba book
Review: This is the best book which gives you a vision of current web technology: past, current and future. It not only gives a clear architecture level description of popular web technology, but also the programming level idea by using Java. No other books give such nice comparison between CORBA and its Competitors: HTTP/CGI, RMI, Sockets and DCOM.

The book uses VisiBroker Orb in its examples. That does not mean other Orb, say OrbixWeb, developers could not benefit from reading this book. OrbixWeb developer should also definitely read this book too!

If you are a Java and/or client/server developer, this is the #1 book I would suggest you to read.

Jiangang Yao
Web Developer
[e-mail]


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Summary: Annoying but it will get you there like no-one else
Review: The cliche-ridden, self-promoting, overoptimistic writing style will induce convulsions in those who know better. The code examples exhibit some bad design, and there is precious little explanation of how to integrate the ORB and other packages needed to use the code.

That having been said, no other book will get you up-and-running faster with Java and CORBA than this one. If you buy VisiBroker for Java, you MUST buy this book.

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Summary: Well written and technically detailed introduction
Review: This book is a rare example of a book that is well-written AND technically detailed. The well-written technical background would be enough to buy this book, but the technical examples make it essential. Please note though, that the author "chooses" VisiBroker for Java as the ORB to write his examples for. Users of Iona's OrbixWeb may be disappointed that his examples may need some code revision to work for OrbixWeb

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Summary: NEW TITLE: Client/Server Programming With Java and CORBA!
Review: Java and CORBA are merging in cyberspace. Here's your complete guide to navigating this previously uncharted territory.

Whether you're a seasoned Java programmer, a distributed objects expert, or looking to be a little bit of both, this book gives you the programming know-how you need to combine these two technologies into workable client/server solutions for the Object Web.

Full of working code, tutorials, and design tradeoffs, this one-of-a-kind book includes a CD-ROM with over 15 Java-based client/server applications.

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Summary: I give 5 stars for the conceptual discussion parts
Review: When you look at the table of contents, you can discover the book is not just about how Java and Corba work together. Or let me put it this way, that's not the only theme you can get from this insightful book. My take-away after reading all the parts where it discusses the history and difference between Corba and other distributed object technology is a satisfatorily complete overview of all these middleware/messaging technology, which are all important contributors to today's red hot J2EE-compliant application server market (BEA WebLogic, IBM Websphere), or what EJB likes to be known as: ORB with TP monitor capability.

Granted, the book is a little outdated (written in early 1998 apparently), and this is about the only drawback of the book. Hope the authors will come up with a new edition with all the latest development in this topic soon. And mind you again, I skipped all the implementation parts of the book (which is the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars - because I don't wanna be potentially overrating a part that I didn't read). I focussed on the high level discussion on CORBA concepts (which explains it better than other books I've read on this subject), how Sun started to endorse it with Java, as well as comparing technologies (comparable not in the technolgy purist's sense, but in the sense that they are 'enablers' for IT folks who wanna implement remote object invocation over enterprise LAN or over internet) such as traditional sockets, CGI, RMI, Servlet, and the major CORBA rival - DCOM. If you've used these various technologies before separately like I did, and sometimes felt a bit overwhelmed by all the different standard and practices, this book provides an EXCELLENT melting point where suddenly why there're all such various levels of technology, and the relative pros and cons of each of them all makes sense.