Not Just Java (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Clear introduction to a fast-moving topic
Review: A Federal judge has ruled (Nov 1999) that Microsoft is a monopolist, and has acted to crush innovation and competition. So the points in this book that a few below have complained about, are therefore justified and borne out in practice. But Microsoft is a tiny part of this book. 95% of it is about ecommerce, Java, the online economy and software that drives it. I found it a clear and useful guide.

Rating:
Summary: Was a must-read in 1998!
Review: A terrific book to give us the context for programming in the internet cloud in general - a one-stop resource for what's important. But that was in 1998 and I would like to see a revised edition. The ranting and raving about Microsoft was hilarious and accurate and of course one sided, but that is the American spirit - Ask the Raider Nation about the super bowl and the Bucs! And that does not make SUN an angel either. IMHO SUN is a big ..., confused about the extent of their rights to copyrights (they made me spend two hours on establishing their rights after I gave them [money]) and the whining in the courts about MS and weren't they the dot in the dotcom? Having said that, Peter is one of the BEST technical writers around (refer: Deep C classic) and I look forward to his future books.

Rating:
Summary: A good book for an internet newcomer
Review: As a person who came into reading this book as a skeptic about Java and the internet I found many of Van der Linden's argument's well concieved and convincing. The first six chapters were a good introduction to the internet and helped me to see why Java could be a good language to learn. Given that, the seventh and eighth chapters were a bit dry (I had to force myself to read the eighth). Besides being concerned with the internet and Java, the author delves into the Microsoft vs. Sunordeal. Although many good attacks against Microsoft are made, the author sometimes seems go too far in his portrayal of Sun as the saint of the computer industry. Overall it is a good book and a must read for anyone who is trying to decide if Java is worthwhile to learn. the Overall it was a good book and I especially recommend it to anyone who wants to know if

Rating:
Summary: Unjust Java.
Review: First of all, I really enjoyed Van Der Linden's prior book, "Just Java". That said, this book's one great omnipresent flaw prevented me from developing a similar respect for "Not Just Java".

In brief, this is perhaps the least objective book on computing I've ever read. To say that Linden has a prejudice toward Java, Sun, or against Microsoft is a wondrous piece of understatement. I can only conclude that Linden possesses a major block of Sun stock options and has sold Microsoft short. IMHO, definitely NOT a productive or instructive attitude, even from someone who disrespects M$ as much as I.

The book badly needs a grounding in fair play. Its lopsided view of the world so distorts its view that the reader cannot escape its reality distortion field. Unfortunate and frustrating, from an author who has proven that he's capable of much better.

I truly hope Mr. Van Der Linden's future writings don't continue down his present path, or his next book may be entitled "Irrelevant Java".

Rating:
Summary: Not a programming resource but an interesting read
Review: I'd like to rate this book 4 +/- 1. Peter has a very readable style, and the book is a useful survey of a number of forces shaping the future use of technology, particularly in business. For that I'd give it a 4. Note that it does NOT show you how to use any of these technologies; it just tries to tell you why they're important.

Whether you add or subtract one depends on how you feel about his attitude about Microsoft. If you look at the steady stream of improvements Microsoft has made over the years and feel grateful to the company, you'll hate this book. Peter can fairly be accused of bashing Microsoft.

If, on the other hand, you believe that the innovation that WOULD HAVE taken place -- had Microsoft not used its monopoly power as it did -- would have left us with a richer world of software, then you will at least have some sympathy for his obvious anger against the company. You might even find some of his many historical notes quite interesting.

And if you keep abreast of the technology but largely ignore the political/economic forces that shape the industry, you'll probably find all of this distracting and attribute the rants to hormones and/or stock positions. :^)

Seriously, though, there is a lot of venting.

Rating:
Summary: Great book to learn about the explosion of new technologies
Review: If you're like me, you've been wondering what all those acronyms floating around the tech world mean. What's CORBA? What's IIOP? This book describes, with graphical illustrations, what new ideas are emerging, how to use them, and how they're supposed to help us survive the techno revolution. It was very well written and very interesting. The only problem I had was the author's constant attacks at Microsoft. Given that the book was published by Sun Microsystems, who designed Java to be simpler than C++ and Microsoft's Windows, I can understand the resentment. However, in describing Microsoft's new technologies like ActiveX, the author only points out the flaws and not any of the benefits. I would have prefered a book that was more neutral on competing trends. Other than that, Not Just Java is an excellent book

Rating:
Summary: Like a girl's skirt!
Review: Like a girl's skirt!

Just long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting!

I enjoyed this book - great for the manager, who wants to know what is this thing called JAVA.

David

Rating:
Summary: Really liked it
Review: This book is billed as "Everything IT professionals need to know about Java". Sadly, it isn't.

Mr van der Linden is at his best when talking about how the Java language works - the chapters on applet programming, Java libraries and the Java environment were good - but he waffles around the topics of the Internet and e-commerce. Sure, you can buy books from Amazon.com, and isn't it nice to know that Amazon runs its retailing site on a Sun Microsystem Starfire server, but what of it?

One of the major weaknesses of the book is that it does not go far enough in discussing Java in the context of enterprise computing - there was no explanation of what an application server is, and I expected much more about Java Beans. Merely saying "To write a Java software component or 'bean,' a programmer just needs to follow a few simple naming conventions" did not leave me much the wiser. Similarly, there could have been more details on Object Request Brokers, or some discussion of how to integrate Java with legacy applications.

The biggest irritation of the book is the constant Microsoft bashing. Yes, I know that Bill Gates is really Darth Vader and Windows is the equivalent of the Death Star, but I don't need to be reminded of it in every other paragraph. One of the constant refrains of the book is that Java is an open platform (i.e. good; despite Sun controlling the Java standard), and that Windows and its allied technologies such as DCOM are proprietary (i.e. bad). (Unfortunately, in constrasting open and proprietary standards, Mr van der Linden makes the factual error of categorizing the CMIP network management protocol as being proprietary, when in fact it is an international standard widely used by telephone companies.)

The reader would have been far better served if Mr van der Linden stuck to the technologies of which he has a good grasp, and had left the propaganda to his boss at Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealey.