Enterprise Java Programming with IBM WebSphere, Second Edition Kyle Brown, Gary Craig, Greg Hester, David Pitt, Russell Stinehour, Mark Weitzel, Jim Amsden, Peter M. Jakab, Daniel Berg Date: 06 November, 2003   —   $42.59   —   Book product page Rating:

I'd recommend this book not only for developers and architects working with IBM WebSphere, but also for those looking at J2EE best practices. Of course, the material is centered around IBM's products, but (refreshingly) this book tackles the issues in designing and developing J2EE applications.

I've just started on a WebSphere project, and used this book to refresh some concepts. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book is not just an IBM product pitch. In fact, this is a pretty good book for basic design principles and distributed J2EE programming. In the Preface, the authors mention "Of these four goals, the most important one is to teach developers how to apply J2EE technologies within the right architectural context." From what I have seen so far, I think the authors are true to their goal in the material they have presented.

This book a great reference for J2EE application development with IBM WAS 5.x and IBM WSAD 5.x. The authors have written the book in a very "hands-on" style, while at the same time bringing in reference to the appropriate design principles and design patterns where needed. There is a lot of focus on the correct way to architect applications in J2EE. It serves a a better reference for J2EE design than typical IBM Redbooks.