J2EE Design Patterns Applied

The tendency for any book on software patterns is to dissolve into software engineering jargon, and you'd expect this title to do the same given the abstract names for many patterns listed in its early sections (for example, "Intercepting Filter," "View Helper," and "Service-to-Worker" are hardly catchy names). While the authors do provide the "official" UML and pattern descriptions for these J2EE patterns, the real surprise is that they use a handful of longer case studies to show off each pattern in action. First there is a hotel booking application to show off Web tier patterns. Next comes an excellent case study on persistence patterns used to simplify working with EJBs and databases. Patterns for improving performance and scalability are illustrated with a travel booking application.

In each case, the authors manage to introduce a number of important patterns while anchoring their presentation with a practical and interesting discussion of real applications. This approach makes this title succeed on several levels, both in presenting essential patterns and demonstrating how these designs often work together in real Web solutions.

The end result is a text on software patterns that provides some of the best thinking on J2EE design today in a remarkably readable and engaging format. In all, this title will be absolutely required reading for anyone who lays claim to be an expert on today's J2EE platform. --Richard Dragan