Author/s : Eric Jendrock, Ian Evans, Devika Gollapudi, Kim Haase, Chinmayee Srivathsa
Publisher : Prentice Hall
Category :
J2EE
Review by : Jeanne Boyarsky
Rating : 6 horseshoes
"The
Java EE 6 Tutorial Basic Concepts" is the official tutorial covering all the Java EE technologies. I can't believe it has been 4 years since I read the Java EE 5 version. Last time I remarked 1300 pages was too heavy. Version 6 is split into two volumes which is nice because you can carry it around. The basic concepts one covers web/ejb/jpa/web services.
"As part of Sun's 'The Java Series' this book has the same content as you can find online. Why buy a book you can get for free? Convenience!! You can take it anywhere and read it anytime." - Dave Vick - JavaRanch Review of the
J2EE 1.4 version. This benefit is back.
Other dislikes:
confusion between Oracle/Sun.. For example "Oracle web site" docs.sun.com". I'd like to see mention of a transition.
wasn't clear what was new in Java EE 6.
as in past editions, it reads better online than printed.
extensive forward references and lots of repetition. For example, they repeat the six steps to open a NetBeans project 12 times!
many examples didn't explain how/why to do something - like whether to call a web service directly from a
JSP.
I did like the walk-through of certain technologies. And the good quality cover paper that doesn't get damaged even if you spill juice on it!
There were good diagrams and charts and good case studies along with several excellent chapters. While I like this version better than #5, I would say to read the pieces you are interested in online and spend your money on a different book.
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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in
exchange for writing this review on behalf of CodeRanch.
More info at Amazon.com 
