J2EE and XML Development

Geared toward experienced developers, this reference demonstrates how Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE), and XML technologies can be used together to create more robust distributed applications and software systems. The use of XML technology to extend and enhance the capabilities of the J2EE platform is covered in detail. Discussed are J2EE and XML integration at each layer of an n-tier distributed application model. Design patterns, tradeoffs, and decision criteria are provided in terms of individual XML and J2EE technology combinations. Hot topics in application integration are also covered, including Web services, architectures, and business partner integration.

User review
not enough for a developer
First of all, it is out of date.
And, it is not enough for a developer to learn how to use XML in J2EE environment. Yes, it does have some sample code, but not enough.


User review
An Introduction level book
Java and XML have a great synergy, they marry together to create a `Write once, run anywhere` with a `platform independent data` paradigm. The nice thing about this is that you can keep the service interface relatively stable (e.g. use XML document instead of a specific data structure). But often what people overlook is, if you choose not to expose/distribute your data model directly (using classic data structure/class), then you have to expose/distribute the meta data of the data model (in XML world, this is called schema). Once the schema is changed (as you change in the data structure/class), you are pretty much facing the same problem as in the classic data model, the communicating parties have to know what is changed and change (the parsing rule at least) accordingly. Particularly, in the internal system, the benefit of using XML interface is dramatically reduced.

The authors of book are trying to push every data model in the interface by using XML document, even the data persistence, along with various X-technologies. That is a very `dangerous mind` if not done carefully, since XML is not a panacea in design and development. Even in modeling data, XML is not one size fit all. So when is it a good idea to use XML for your data? The following is that I quoted from Ted Neward's blog,

When your data is naturally hierarchical to begin with
When exchange with foreign platforms (which is to say, platforms not native to what you're currently authoring in) is important
When pre-existing tool support (XSLT, XML viewers, import/export utilities, etc) is of paramount importance

As you can see, there are some constraints before you decide to go with XML. Not mentioning the performance overhead. Though authors mentioned that designers need to justify the usage of XML by various criteria, but this is a book about promoting XML. :) Don't be trapped.

Overall, the book contains some useful information about various XML related technologies, particularly the chapter 5 `User Interface Development` (which is quite funny for a server side development book). And the information is too general or shallow to be useful in the real world development, you need to dig more into the technology by yourself from this introduction.

There are some examples showing how the concept could be working in the real world. But they are very rudimentary. Some specs the authors used (e.g. JAX-RPC) are already upgraded or changed. As a book on such popular topics regarding J2EE and XML, it sets the bar too low.


User review
Good coverage on XML and Java but not J2EE
The book covers a wide range of XML technologies and its implementations in Java. Most of the examples/patterns discussed in the book apply equally well or can be easily adapted for non-J2EE Java application.
Some examples use depreciated APIs, some use APIs that no longer exist in latest packages. It's not a big problem and equivalents usually can be easily found. Just be aware how fast the technologies are evolving.

User review
Well-rounded coverage, excellent for beginners/intermediates
This book gives you a very well-organized and informative tour of what's happening in the XML arena, the problem is this particular area of technology already so wide and so fast-expanding it's very difficult to get into the deep details of all areas, but the authors have done an excellent job of choosing the right technologies of tomorrow and delving into the details of those with sufficient background-story and code examples; in fact I would have given this book 5 stars if it didn't waste the first 40 so pages on explaining the client-server and peer-to-peer architectures and some extremely basic/boring J2EE and other generic topics, which has no place in a techy book like this. I would urge the reader to skip thru Ch. 1 in 4 minutes and dive right into the next ones, which are really very well written.

Beginners may use this book as an invaluable reference, intermediate level developers should only look into area of their interest, even advanced developers might find a few topics of their interest. Some of the topics the authors had to cover in a hurry, I'll say they have done a very good job in taking one specific feature and dissecting it, for example which discussing JSPs, the book lists a working example of JSP tag and explains it well, I'll say overall, the book is very well balanced between providing theoretical and background information on XML technologies and providing actual implementation examples. And yes, they did not miss out on the design patterns which are useful in this context!

Errata
page# 144: Boolean (instead of boolean) has been listed as a primitive type.

User review
Useful overview, but a bit shallow
The title of this book tells the story, except that it should probably include the word `Overview`. It is an easy read that provides solid information, but it is by no means a reference. It offers a nice, quick description of several aspects of Java and XML development, but I kept waiting for the meat. If you are new to XML in Java, this book will bring you up to speed on the APIs and uses of XML.

It starts with a review of J2EE architecture and XML development, which is helpful because the authors' perspective on these topics sets the stage for how they suggest using XML in a J2EE project. It covers the various XML-related Java APIs (JAXP, JAXM, etc.), and these are the parts that I found most useful. It also discusses some architectural options, which I expected to be quite helpful, but they needed more detail and discussion.