Rating:  - Wrox Expert one-on-one J2EE Design and Development:Excelent
I appreciated the clean and clear style of this book. Important points are highlighted within the shaded boxes of text found throughout the book. It is apparent that Mr. Johnson has spent many hours working through problems with the existing J2EE architectures and he explains what he feels is worthwhile and what is not. I appreciate that this is accomplished without a lot of elaboration.
Mr. Johnson presents a practical approach to J2EE design with an in depth analysis of the Web-Tier Model-View-Controller design. I found the reference information helpful to assist me in preparing to grasp the dense subject matter presented. A review of MVC from the GOF was helpful as well as a review of Core J2EE Patterns with attention to the Service to Worker and DAO patterns.
Since Mr. Johnson has worked in the development of a MVC famework, the framework he has written is presented. The com.interface21 framework is presented with its infrastructure as he walks through the various design alternatives all the while guiding the reader away from design pit-falls while maintaining a clean delineation of responsibilities within the MVC framework.
Some of the diagrams are just too small to use without a magnifying glass but the diagrams are crisp with magnification.
This book is a must for the framework designer, or pragmatic developer that must implement J2EE architecture.
-Ralph Burroughs
January 12, 2003
Rating: - Exceptional Effort but be Warned
First of all, this is a fine book. It is loaded with valuable nuggets and insight that I have yet to find in similar books. I agree with all of the other reviewers that Rod's style is great and that his strong opinions (based on obviously extensive experience) are a welcome relief to the simple re-organization of Sun's specification and/or design pattern recommendations.
ONE CAUTION! Some of the framework code outlined in the book COULD be considered overly complex for many circumstances. Ironically, Rod would probably respond that the high degree of abstraction would IMPROVE the usability and maintainability of any J2EE application. However, I believe that excessive abstraction, in an of itself, can become a maintenance (and training) nightmare (look at the sheer complexity of the interface inheritance in the data access framework from Chapter 9 alone). His solutions to Data Access and Application infrastructure are so sophisticated that they qualify as a framework worthy of open source momentum on their own. The downside of this, of course, is that your development team must invest in understanding these sophisticated hierarchies since they are unlikely to have encountered them in any previous role. Unless you have a VERY stable team of highly skilled designers/developers, be cautious of trying to implement such frameworks. Instead, the downsides of more simple (albeit less flexible) approaches are usually outweighed by the reduction in training or the likelihood that transient resources will be able to contribute more quickly. Nonetheless, a great book and worthy of my ** All-Star ** category.
Rating: - Exceptional in Every Way
This is exactly the book I needed to design a wJ2EE based web delivery system - Rod Johnson has done the developer community an *exceptional* service by sharing/communicating his experience and insights in J2EE development so effectively. The "working through" of the various design alternatives and the decision process in a thoughtful and balanced manner is essential to the success of the book - in particular I found it most useful to consider the pros and cons (in some detail) of the various options in the "universe of possibilities" before making a final decision on specific implementation technologies - Rod Johnson has distilled his experience in the field so that senior developers such as myself may build on his experience rather than repeating it. My sincere complements to him for a job well done.
Rating: - Unique in niche filled. Solid in approach
I've read allot of books based on languages, Java and J2EE. Most follow the standard format(s) of API's explained or focus, in detail, on one particular aspect or approach; say patterns. What's unique about this book is that it seems to fill all the cracks left between the "generalist" and the "specialist" books.
Almost with an odd supernatural poetry Rod has managed to slip into most the holes left by the trail of Authors before him. With a welcomed, in-your-face honesty, the author explains where certain aspects of the J2EE architacture work, and where its wasted techno-flex; I've EJB'ed, therefore I am.
Refreshing. You will leave wiser for the walk-of-words, but keep a reference handy as this book isn't meant to be one. It's meant to be in all the places a reference just doesn't manage to go.
Rating: - Buy this book!
This is the best book I have yet run across for J2EE architecture. This book is a treasure trove of practical advice and examples. Rod also debunks and corrects many of the classic myths and misunderstandings of J2EE.
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