Developing Java Enterprise Applications, 2nd Edition

Let's pretend you're a developer or manager looking for the best ways to use Java technologies to solve a problem that requires you to link diverse programs, databases, people, and devices. Developing Java Enterprise Applications shows you what these technologies can do, enabling you to decide which ones to investigate more closely with experimentation and more specialized books.

Authors Stephen Asbury and Scott R. Weiner provide information on seven Java technologies: Java Database Connectivity (JDBC), Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI), JavaServer Pages (JSPs), Remote Method Invocation (RMI), Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), Java Messaging Service (JMS), and Java servlets. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate an awareness of the latest Java developments, including aspects of the core packages that first appeared in Java 2.

The authors use prose to explain the technologies from an architectural point of view, detailing what each is good for and why you'd want to use it. They then provide illustrative programs that show how the technology works from a practical perspective. While these illustrations aren't enough to provide a full working knowledge of the Java Enterprise APIs, they are enough to get programmers oriented. After studying these examples, it's possible to ask intelligent questions about the various technologies and do effective research.

Despite the sequential approach to the APIs, Developing Java Enterprise Applications does a fair job of explaining how multiple enterprise technologies can be used together for maximum effect. Concluding chapters present some fairly elaborate applications--including a neat online store--that integrate elements from several of the covered packages. --David Wall