The Java Message Service (JMS) provides a way for the components of a distributed application to talk asynchronously, or for welding together legacy enterprise systems. Think of it as application-to-application e-mail. Unlike COM, JMS uses one or more JMS servers to handle the messages on a store-and-forward basis, so that the loss of one or more components doesn't bring the whole distributed application to a halt.
JMS consists of a set of messaging APIs that enable two types of messaging, publish-and-subscribe (one-to-many) and point-to-point (one-to-one). The highly lucid explanation of the ways in which these work makes the technical content a lot more approachable. In practice, however, Java Message Service is still a book for Java programmers who have some business programming experience. You need the background.
After a simple JMS demonstration in which you create a chat application using both messaging types, the authors dissect JMS message structures, explore both types in detail, and then move on to real-world considerations. These include reliability, security, deployment, and a rundown of various JMS server providers. The appendices list and describe the JMS API, and provide message reference material.
Considering the complexity and reach of the subject matter, Java Message Service does a great job of covering both theory and practice in a surprisingly efficient manner. It's easy to see why JMS has become so popular so quickly. Recommended. --Steve Patient, Amazon.co.uk
User review
Useful for learning JMS client programming, but NOT ActiveMQ configuration
If you already have a JMS server operational, and someone who understands how to configure that JMS server, then this is a useful book. Appendix D - Installing and Configuring ActiveMQ - is too short and incomplete to be useful. It assumes that the server is installed on the same machine as the client, and leaves out too many details.
A lot of the problem is ActiveMQ - an open source Java project ( [,,.] ). The documentation for ActiveMQ is scattered all over their website, and the configuration appears to have countless options to choose from.
The book and sample code all seemed a bit rushed. The sample code included a number of hidden MAC OS/X files, probably there by accident.
But there is not a lot of material about either JMS or ActiveMQ, so if you really need to get going with these, this book may be your only option. And as a book about the the theory of messaging system, it is not bad.
User review
Complete JMS Reference including Spring Framework
If you wanted to start learning JMS from scratch and be able to run a small, but real-life application, then this is the book for you. Authors do a great job of explaining Java Message Service theory. I guess this comes from their real-life experiences in running mission-critical, transaction oriented applications.
In the beginning, the book explains the innards of a JMS Message. Then both type of messaging Point-to-Point and Publish-and-Subscribe are detailed. Next chapters
cover Message Filtering, Guaranteed Messaging and Transactions.
Later two chapers provide information on advanced topics like design and deployment issues. These include Performance, Scalability, and Reliability, Security. Also explained are mostly overlooked topics like Multicasting and Inter-System Messaging. The last chapter highlights Request/Reply Messaging Design and most importantly, Messaging Design Anti-Patterns (DON'TS).
The book teaches you how to use JMS with Spring Framework and Apache ActiveMQ. Rarely, one comes across a book that has working code examples. With little background, I could set up the sample code with apache ActiveMQ in half an hour. Authors have also included examples of the same code with IBM Websphere MQ, that should be useful in corporate environments.
User review
Solid update to a standard reference
I learned JMS originally from the first edition of this book, so was interested to see how the material had changed. The second edition is significantly expanded (about 50% longer) but is still a quick read that builds very well on concepts from one chapter to the next.
Chapter 1 offers a thorough understanding of the use cases and maps it to core concepts in the JMS API. The next four chapters then develop this through successive examples; by the end of chapter 5 the reader understands both the point-to-point and publish/subscribe models. Subsequent chapters detail advanced features, container-managed messaging through EJB and Spring, and design / deployment.
The most welcome addition is the large chapter on Spring, which covers both JmsTemplate and message-driven POJOs; this will be of special interest to readers building enterprise apps who wish to avoid the overhead of a J2EE container. By contrast, the chapter on message-driven beans is unusually light; I was hoping for a bit more detail, for example 2PC involving a queue and database.
Overall the second edition offers excellent coverage to developers who need a fast start with JMS. It's thorough enough to help make decisions on messaging design but short enough to be absorbed in a day or two. And the use of Apache ActiveMQ for the examples means that, unlike with some other books on JMS, you don't have to buy commercial middleware to learn the material.
User review
Excellent Introduction,,. it will get you started
If you are looking into JMS for use at work or you are just curious, this straight-to-the-point and easy read will start you on your way. While not going into absurd depth about the topic, the author provides a wonderful overview and core knowledge transfer for the reader.
Quick and easy to read, this no-fluff title will give you everything you need to get started with JMS.
If you are a beginner, this will get you started off with an extremely solid foundation. If you are a pro, it will give you a great `step-back view` of the methodology that you are utilizing.
Good for all, but recommended as EVERYONE'S introduction to JMS.
User review
Decent Book
As a beginner to JMS, I found this book to be very useful. Most chapters have examples and the book also gives you the link where you can download code for the examples. The examples are simple and clear for the most part (except in couple of places) to illustrate the concepts related to JMS. I tested the code on BEA Weblogic Server and it runs fine without any problem. There are some minor errors in one or two examples but they can be spotted readily once you read the book and you should be able to fix them with relative ease. Overall I found this book to be a nice introduction to JMS. However, as another reviewer mentioned, keep in mind that this book is now more than 5 years old and JMS has been updated since then. Still it is a good buy if you are new to this topic.
