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Rating: 
Summary: Good, verbose
Review: I started reading this book without knowing anything about RMI. By the time I was done, I started getting an idea what RMI is all about.The examples are good and the book is worth atleast two readings. In the first reading, what is RMI etc. is put in place. In the second reading one may want to place emphasis on what goes into the stubs and skeletons etc. That said, the book does have certain things going against it. The first is the fact that it does not talk about Java2 (You'll understand the evolution of RMI when you start reading about RMI/IIOP etc.). The second is that the author does not really delve into clarifying the definitions. Also, the book is verbose and the author tries to tell you a lot of stuff which may not be quite the thing you are looking for when you start reading it. This, though, is what makes the book worth a second reading. Finally, the examples don't always work. You will need to use a bit of ingenuity (for example convert the chat applet into text based chat client etc. to avoid the problems associated with getting the server running etc.). The popular browser when this book was written was Netscape, which supports RMI, while with the current versions of IE (5.0) you'll find that the examples don't work at all. You'll need a plug in etc. In my opinion this book is certainly worth reading. As for buying the book you are probably better off buying a book on J2EE which integrates RMI and puts it all into perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Good, verbose
Review: I started reading this book without knowing anything about RMI. By the time I was done, I started getting an idea what RMI is all about.The examples are good and the book is worth atleast two readings. In the first reading, what is RMI etc. is put in place. In the second reading one may want to place emphasis on what goes into the stubs and skeletons etc. That said, the book does have certain things going against it. The first is the fact that it does not talk about Java2 (You'll understand the evolution of RMI when you start reading about RMI/IIOP etc.). The second is that the author does not really delve into clarifying the definitions. Also, the book is verbose and the author tries to tell you a lot of stuff which may not be quite the thing you are looking for when you start reading it. This, though, is what makes the book worth a second reading. Finally, the examples don't always work. You will need to use a bit of ingenuity (for example convert the chat applet into text based chat client etc. to avoid the problems associated with getting the server running etc.). The popular browser when this book was written was Netscape, which supports RMI, while with the current versions of IE (5.0) you'll find that the examples don't work at all. You'll need a plug in etc. In my opinion this book is certainly worth reading. As for buying the book you are probably better off buying a book on J2EE which integrates RMI and puts it all into perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good overview of RMI
Review: Java RMI is a good refernce work for determining how to use the Java RMI API. After reading several other texts and chapters on RMI, Java RMI is by far the most direct and concise explanation of this sometimes elusive technology. The book is divided into four logical parts. The first part describes the Java RMI API as a conceptual framework. Code examples illustrate the important points of using remote methods. The description is very clear and covers topics like creating a registry, defining remote interfaces, and setting up a distributive model. The second section builds on the academic and theoretical descriptions presented in the first chapter. Through some simple (contrived) examples, a better understanding of basic distributed design methods is evident. The third section gives a couple of "real world" examples of RMI usage. While the examples are simplistic, they do illustrate the material covered in the first and second sections of the book and do provide good code examples. One part of the book I like, althought it is a waste of space, is a summary of the entire code examples presented after a detailed analysis of the code samples is given. This allows the reader to see how the code fits togther without needing to look at the code on the CD-ROM. The fourth section is a series of appendices describing the RMI API. While this is normally "fluff" material, in the context of this book, the appendices serve as a worthwhile reference. Good points of the book: -- clear writing -- good explanations -- plenty of code examples -- the book stys focused on one topic -- RMI (too many other texts get involved with serialization, messaging, CORBA, etc.) Bad Points: -- this is not a distributed programming how to book (but does not intend to be) -- Distributed design is not covered. The author assumes that you have an understanding of distributed design and want to USE RMI to implement a distributed design. Summary: A good how to guide to RMI.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, introductory, practical "how to" text on RMI
Review: Java RMI is a good refernce work for determining how to use the Java RMI API. After reading several other texts and chapters on RMI, Java RMI is by far the most direct and concise explanation of this sometimes elusive technology. The book is divided into four logical parts. The first part describes the Java RMI API as a conceptual framework. Code examples illustrate the important points of using remote methods. The description is very clear and covers topics like creating a registry, defining remote interfaces, and setting up a distributive model. The second section builds on the academic and theoretical descriptions presented in the first chapter. Through some simple (contrived) examples, a better understanding of basic distributed design methods is evident. The third section gives a couple of "real world" examples of RMI usage. While the examples are simplistic, they do illustrate the material covered in the first and second sections of the book and do provide good code examples. One part of the book I like, althought it is a waste of space, is a summary of the entire code examples presented after a detailed analysis of the code samples is given. This allows the reader to see how the code fits togther without needing to look at the code on the CD-ROM. The fourth section is a series of appendices describing the RMI API. While this is normally "fluff" material, in the context of this book, the appendices serve as a worthwhile reference. Good points of the book: -- clear writing -- good explanations -- plenty of code examples -- the book stys focused on one topic -- RMI (too many other texts get involved with serialization, messaging, CORBA, etc.) Bad Points: -- this is not a distributed programming how to book (but does not intend to be) -- Distributed design is not covered. The author assumes that you have an understanding of distributed design and want to USE RMI to implement a distributed design. Summary: A good how to guide to RMI.
Rating: 
Summary: Covers Java 1 only -- OUT OF DATE
Review: This book has NOTHING about Java 2 and all the changes that came with that release: RMI over IIOP, Java IDL, and the rest. If you want a book that describes the ORIGINAL RMI only, then this is the book for you. Otherwise, keep looking.
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