Software Books

Love this series of books, having a lesson if you will, followed by an assignment. All of the books that I have seen give you a good level of detail to describe the underlying details without getting too technical and very well written.

I am an avid amateur digital photographer. I have read many books on exposure and techniques. This is one of the best ever. The explanations are clear, logical, and the presentation is easy to follow. A concept is explained and then one or more photographs are used to demonstrate the concept. I highly recommend this book.

I couldn't be happier that I have this book. It explains everything that I needed to know about exposure, in such detail that a monkey could take better photos than Ansel Adams. I am so serious, If you have a DSLR, and you want to learn everything you can about it, you must have this book.

I've read many books on photography, but i must say this is the one book that explains exposure extremely well. The writing is very accessible and all the explanations are illustrated with actual photos. Photos in the book not only include the perfunctory exposure data, but the author uses the caption to reiterate what he explains in the book. Furthermore, I like how the author includes not only photos that came out well for him, but he also includes ones that didn't come out well and explains what he would have done deferent.

Even though I've been a professional photography for a little over three years, I'm constantly learning and deepening my understanding of the craft. This book will be one that I come back to again and again. I just might get another copy and re-read it again next year.

All I can say is that if you're really wanting to understand how to work with various lighting conditions in relationship to aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance controls, and flash, this book will help you. Assignments are included at the end of each chapter, and each page includes space to jot notes. Though technical language is used, the author does a good job of breaking down complicated terms.

I can't recommend this book enough for serious amateurs and emerging professional photographers.

After just having bought the Nikon D300 (after a life using point-and-shoot cameras), I wanted a good overview and introduction into exposure. Wow, did this book deliver! I finished the entire book in a few days and bookmarked the parts I want to return to. Everything about the book from the organization, the pictures and examples is a testament to the author's knowledge and to his ability to teach! I can only hope the other books in the series are as good as this one!!

Want to take your Mindstorms creations to new hieghts? Go beyond RIS? The ya have to get this book, a follow up to Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego Mindstorms. You will not only see more NQC programming, but pbForth as well, and an excellent section on constructing your own sensors. If your the kid who doesn't grow up, an engineer at heart, and the owner of more than one RIS set because you are obssessed with Lego Mindstorms, then you cannot do without adding this book to your collection.

I don't know if I like the "Extreme" in the title. In many ways this book just covers the basics. In some ways I like this book better than Baum's "Defintive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms", because it's not so NQC centric. In other ways I prefer the DGLM because it had more info on structural issues. There is a knack to making good LEGO structures, and a few tips really come in handy. I would have to say that I find the DGLM more extreme as far as the variety and originality of the projects.

If Definitive Guide was wonderful this one is even better.

These guys have done a good work with the book.

Special mention to Gasperi's Homebrew Sensors section.

One of my library's jewels

If the Definitive Guide was wonderful this one is even better.

Special remark to Gasperi section about homebrew sensors.

This guys have done a invaluable works.

One of my library jewels.

i work with c and assembler, also i work with maya and 3d studio max on the graphics end. black belt in all of those fields. this book is bringing me to my white belt to black belt knowledge in robotics.dont think buy.

If you're looking for a book that teaches you how to draw in Flash, this is not the book for you. It will, however, teach you the nuts and bolts of animation, the technical information necessary to make animation less time consuming, which is a must-have imo.

This book is a must for everyone who is tired of animating on paper and wishes to ditigalize their work completely in Flash or After Effects. The book covers many great aspects including; making shortcuts of your workflow with user made extensions, brilliant tips & tricks and personal advices how to make life easier for the animators.

This book is also amazing for those who already have knowledge of Flash or After Effects, but wish to enhance their skills or take their production to the next level.

After reading this book, my animation workflow and quality improved.

Best recommendations from here.


-Alex Volkov (Flash Animator)

not only did i read the book cover to cover i went back into the book and downloaded the source files and worked through the tutorials. this book is perfect for organizing and creating flash animation at a professional level which is a key foundation for any up and coming flash animator. this book teaches you industry secrets that are priceless if you are pursuing a flash animation career. thanks guys. the best flash book i have come acrossed in a long time.
josh johnson

This book is probably best for the reader who has some drawing experience, and preferably, a grasp of animation principlals as well as some Flash experience.

It should be noted, there isn't an over-arching animation project created in this book; However, readers could certainly follow along with their own project as the process is fairly linear, from the planning stages, through effectively using Flash's library and a host of useful plug-in for tasks such as timing and motion tweening. There is a fair bit of coverage of Adobe's After Effects, and the book discuses the pros and cons of doing various tasks in either software.

For Flash animators, two chapters stand out in the 300 pages: There is one chapter on how to properly use Flash's tweening tools so as to avoid the overly-precise look common with generated animations. A second is on 2D effects, covering common special effects like smoke, fire and water.

There are many books about cartoon animation in Flash. What sets this book apart from the rest is the approach the authors have taken to make this book much more than just another step-by-step book about drawing and animating characters. Foundation Flash Cartoon Animation is for the animator who needs to stretch beyond the mechanics of the Flash tools and perfect the decision-making process necessary to become a productive animator. One of the biggest questions that is answered in this book is when to use Flash and how to use it most efficiently. The next question is what tasks are beyond Flash's capabilities and when to turn to another software such as After Effects.

The authors assume that the reader has a basic knowledge of Flash and the principles of animation. Because of this, you will find only a few step-by-step examples. What they do cover thoroughly is every phase of the production process for cartoon animation from planning, storyboards and animatics to post-production and delivery. The approach for this book is to examine working examples which can be downloaded from the publisher's website.

If you have ever created a complex character animation including lip synching and facial expressions, then you know that your character must be divided into a large number of individual animated parts. This is why the authors dedicate a whole chapter to organization and using the Flash library system to build character libraries. As you progress through the process from head comps and onward, the authors show when it is best to draw from scratch and when to use Flash symbols. Storyboards and animatics are next in the production process and the book covers several decisions that must be made such as choosing between traditional, hand-drawn storyboards and the digital method in Flash.

Moving from the planning stages to character creation, the authors discuss the technical and organizational issues such as Flash file structures and project architecture. They take a look at several working examples to give the reader a comprehensive overview of this topic. One of the most helpful aspects of this book is how the authors help you decide when Flash is not enough to get the job done and how to expand Flash's capabilities with plug-ins. They discuss several of their favorites, how to find more on the web and when to make your own.

One of the most important decisions that an animator will need to make is the choice between traditional frame by frame animation and tweening. The authors share their four step process for frame by frame animation and then discuss tweening and how to avoid common mistakes.

I mentioned earlier that the authors discuss the use of a dedicated motion graphic software such as After Effects to take your Flash project to a higher level of quality and sophistication. They discuss some of the advantages to using After Effects for editing and composition such as complex camera movements and 3D effects.

Flash has been plagued by one major drawback since its conception a decade ago and that is the extreme "digital" look of the vector artwork created in Flash. The authors share several tips and suggestions for enhancing your Flash project to achieve a more "hand-drawn" appearance to your animation including line styles and color choices. They also cover the digital equivalents for traditionally hand-drawn special effects such as distortion, drag, fade in/out and blurs.

This book was a joint effort of several authors. Tim Jones is an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer and head of production at ANIMAX Entertainment. Barry J. Kelly is an Emmy Award-winning editor and artist and is also a member of ANIMAX Entertainment. Allan S. Rosson is animation director at ANIMAX Entertainment and has over twenty years experience as an animator. David Wolfe was an animator at ANIMAX Entertainment and is now with Cartoon Network Studios.

"Michael Kleper's The Handbook of Digital Publishing is by far the best, and most complete, publication on this subject anywhere. This is the knowledge library of digital publishing. It will always be on my desk and is my reference source. Brilliantly written by one of the, if not the most, knowledgeable experts in this area. A must for everyone in our industry. Well done, Michael."

The Two Volume Graduate Course "We don't even want to imagine how many reviews, rewrites, update cycles were required for this project. For a time we thought the DTP industry would settle down and become almost static and routine. But the jump start of the Web, interactive multimedia and video have again driven people back to the books. We're not certain exactly how it was accomplished, but Professor Michael Kleper has very effectively squeezed a four-year degree course into two volumes.

The Handbook of Digital Publishing is much more than a coffee table book. The two volumes will quickly become dog-eared as professionals continue to refer to them to enhance and expand their capabilities and expertise. Thank goodness there is a companion Web site to accompany The Handbook. The author's biggest challenge is that The Handbook wasn't just a research/writing job...it has now become a career.

The books are heavy to say the least...fortunately there is a lot of substance, so it lightens the load...

Digital publishing is now the foundation of the communication arts. Kleper has done a great job to help users at all levels understand the tools, processes, and techniques for preparing graphics media in the digital era. His two-book set is jam-packed with solid info on crossing the chasm from analog to digital.

Michael Kleper's books are an incredibly complete and competent source of information covering an amazingly broad area. His insights into an industry he has watched from the beginning should be useful for everybody in this business, and his two hefty tomes are certainly the most complete collection ever compiled on the subject.

Highly recommended.

Andreas Pfeiffer, Pfeiffer Consulting

Professor Michael Kleper's two volume The Handbook of Digital Publishing is an outstanding source on the foundations of the digital age of publishing. For those of us involved in some part of Graphic Arts/Publishing/Communications, and today that is just about anyone with access to a computer, digital technology has made accessible much of what was art and technique. Congratulations to Professor Kleper who has contributed a timely, thorough, and readable work. This is not just a collection of terminology and technology but a much needed companion to understand the digital publishing "tsunami" which has exploded as fast as the computer technology which underpins it. Happily, Professor Kleper has a lot of energy for he has opened the door to volumes three and more for those technologies still being created .....

Buy this book!

Excellent insight into a topic and technology that seems likely to become prevalent on a global scale in the very near future.

Whilst my interest in buying this book and researching i-mode is more from a business rather than technical perspective, both angles seem to have been covered equally well. I appreciated Frengle's well thought through and clearly outlined discussions on a broad variety of topics relating to i-mode and the mobile industry in Japan. The text was very useful in clarifying a number of questions I had and overall I felt the contents in the book was easily accessible and user friendly.

It's definitely worth a read for anyone interested in the mobile industry in Japan or i-mode in general.

I was developing Java apps for i-mode phones in under 4 hours. That was after reading 2 chapters. The rest of the book was a bonus read. The text is a bit outdated w.r.t. European WAP phones, he doesn't seem to realise we have long battery lifes too, WAP on gprs to boot! That's not going to stop me giving it 5 stars. One of the downloads you really need is no longer at the link published in the book. I sent an e-mail to the author late one night pointing this out. When I woke and checked my mail he had answered and I could get what I needed.

This book was worth it as a "get started with i-mode development" and was interesting as a "how they made wireless internet economically viable".

Frengle definitely hits the nail on the head in this book: He tells us all we need to know about the i-mode business model, the i-mode content business, and i-mode's history. Calling this book a 'primer' is apt--it gives us the basic information we need to understand i-mode. But Frengle goes further, in the technical sections, telling us how to program i-mode Java programs, design data driven i-mode applications, and even simple things like how to get sounds on to an i-mode phone, and how to optimize graphics for use on i-mode.
Frengle knows his stuff, working in this field, it says on the back cover, in Tokyo. That definitely matters to me, and is more than can be said for the author of the other book (i-mode Crash Course) that I read about i-mode.
Great job! So, now that we have this excellent book, when do we actually get i-mode in Boston? AT&T Wireless will get the same five stars from me when they do that!

This book delivers exactly what the title promises, and more, with its surprisingly broad and deep look at every aspect of i-mode. In addition to being a guide for programmers, "i-mode A Primer" has valuable information for business readers. Although the focus is on i-mode and DoCoMo in Japan, the case studies in particular provide lessons applicable to anyone considering a mobile solution. Although I haven't had a chance to play with them yet, I'm looking forward to exploring the goodies on the CD included with the book.

An excellent buy. Very readable and well laid out, I'll keep this one within arm's reach for easy reference for the next long while.

PS Okay, I'm not sure what my review title means, but I thought it was catchy.

I like to explore new topics and areas within computers to see what other things are out there. This book is an insight into a whole new arena for me. Judging from the content and the detail of the content, this author has certainly has shown me that he is one the foremost experts on the topic of i-mode.

Over 480 pages make up this manual which covers the model that Japan has found to be the best cash-for content model out there. In part 1 of the book you have the opportunity to look into the history of the i-mode as well as the hardware and software beginnings.

Part 2 is the i-mode environment, who would use the product, what type of audience can and do you target. Making it work so you can enhance the revenue. Finally part 3 is how to develop in i-mode. What application are used for development and the language used to create i-mode pages.

While most of the concepts are still a little beyond my understanding with the cd included , which has Java SDK, Forte for Java, a demo of Adobe Go Live and several other applications, I am beginning to understand what it takes.

Overall the author has spent a great deal of time and effort inputting together a seriously complete reference manual - well done.

I've enjoyed everything that I've bought by Rick Sammon and this is no exception. He's thorough and helpful

Rick hac combined basic photography with digital enhancement..Believe me when I say you need to edit almost all your photos to make them really pop. This book is easy to understand and gives you the basics to improve your digital photos while learning photoshop elements or cs2.

I enjoyed this book. It reads easily and quickly and many of the photos are stunning. It introduces and de-mystifies some of the more difficult PhotoShop functions but was not detailed enough for me in some examples, to use these functions without further instruction. I found it inspiring enough to order a more in-depth book with precise step-by-step instructions, Rob Shepperd's Outdoor Photographer Landscape and Nature Photography with Photoshop CS2, to teach myself some of the techniques in-depth. Recommended for anyone wanting an overview of CS2's possibilities and an opening to begin exploring it.

Before I give you my review of Rick Sammon's new book, Idea To Image in Photoshop CS2, let me tell you a bit about me. I am an enthusiastic advanced amateur photographer--with roughly 40 years of experience that includes published magazine and Associated Press photos and numerous awards. I gave up my wet darkroom a few years ago for digital photography, image editing in Photoshop and ink jet printing. But, enough about me; let's get on to the important stuff and why you're reading this review: my thoughts on Idea To Image in Photoshop C2. So, what kind of book is this, and who is it for?

What Kind of Book is This?
Strictly speaking, this is not a how-to-do-it book. Yes, it has many examples of how Rick created his photos and associated effects. And, looking in the Table of Contents, you'll find a goodly list of projects that offer numerous techniques, such as, A Note Paper Effect, A Quick Pencil Sketch and Speed-Aging A Photograph. But the crux of the book is an attempt (mostly successful) to teach the reader how to take a concept for a photograph and, through a combination of careful planning, good photographic techniques and post shoot Photoshop image enhancements, create professional-level images.
There are three sections to the book: Chapter 1 on how to get ideas for innovative images; Chapters 2 through 4 about actual shooting and enhancement techniques, and Chapter 5 on how Rick (and you) can envision and carry through projects, as the title of the book says, from idea to image.

Who is Idea To Image in Photoshop C2 for?
This book is definitely not for absolute beginners in either photography or Photoshop. Rick assumes some basic knowledge in both areas. And, since this is a project-oriented book, he assumes the reader wants to learn, not only how, but also why, Rick recommends each technique. Rick also goes to great lengths to explain where each concept he describes fits into the scheme of the creation of the final image.

Conclusion
The obvious question now is, will this book at least return your investment? If you're looking to up your photography/Photoshop skills beyond the basics, to what Rick refers to as photographic artistry, the answer is yes. Rick's premise is that any photographer only gets out of a photographic project what he or she puts into it, and besides reasonable skill and imagination, that also means sufficient time. If you're willing to put in that time, this book will prove an excellent guide.

Idea to Image in Photoshop CS2 - Rick Sammon's Guide to Enhancing Your Digital Photos is a different sort of Photoshop book. Most Photoshop books focus on showing you what can be done to enhance your image. Idea to Image approaches from a different perspective. Rick Sammon encourages you as the reader to focus on your final vision prior to capturing the image. Throughout the chapters he sprinkles in an assortment of suggestions and examples designed to aid with composition, and timing. Learning when to take the picture, and encouraging you to experiment and think beyond a single shot.

The book is 202 pages long, and very reader friendly. In reviewing other Photoshop books I often conclude that you can jump in anywhere that interests you and start playing. With Idea to Image I think it best to start at the beginning and read it in order at least through the first two chapters. There is a lot of good advice in the opening pages and to skip past it would be a mistake.
Once you get into the book, like most Photoshop books, the lessons are brief and well encapsulated allowing you to quickly access what you need to know to try a new technique. The book encourages you to explore and experiment, always-good advice in my mind. I always encourage my friends to push beyond the obvious application of a technique and think of unique ways to apply a new style.

Idea to Image is a great book if you are in need of a little creative boost. While some of the subject matter would be beneficial to beginner photographers, there are surely better places for a novice to look for help. The more I know about Photoshop the more I realize how much more there is to learn. Idea to Image is a great reminder to focus on the final image, not just the viewfinder, and it is a welcome shot in the arm when your creativity is waning.

To me a review is most meaningful when you know a little something about the person writing the review. I have been an avid amateur photographer since the late 1970's and have been selling my work since 2004. Photography isn't my day job, but it does provide a welcome supplement. I have been shooting with a Canon Professional Digital SLR since 2003 and perform the vast majority of my post processing work in Photoshop. I began with Photoshop 7 and currently work with CS2. I am a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and make extensive use of the abundant educational materials available on the member website. I have read well over two-dozen Photoshop training guides with one overriding goal in mind; producing the best images possible.

Very useful! This is the one source for test interpretations that you need. Sensibility and specificity? This book will give you much more than that, including indications, limitations, factors that alter the results and more. I highly recommend it.

An indispensable guide. Thorough and complete. Very helpful both in determining what tests to order, and how to interpret test results; especially helpful for the less common and more esoteric tests.

I am surprised that many professionals are not aware of the results of the diagnostic test results that are listed in this medical reference. Every doctor's office should have this manuscript in their library. Especially for the nurse practioners and physician assistants in their employ.
My initial curiosity was with the results of urine tests/toxicology tests and the way certain tests are skewed by other drugs/agents in the patients regimens.
One should be especially interested in false positives in urine tests, that can be caused by other medications.

A patient of mine was acccused of being positive for benzodiazepines on a urine test by the same nurse practioner that prescibed him/her high doses of ibuprofen. This manuscript proved that the results of the urine test were wrong. There are no blood tests to prove otherwise. The medical facility now agrees that this book should be in their library. Saving the patient undo stress/ridicule/delay of actual competent therapy.

I, too, have been using this reference for several years. I consider it to be one of the five most useful medical books on my shelf. This is probably the only book I feel the need to purchase every time there is an updated edition. I strongly recommend it for medical students, residents, midlevel providers and practicing physicians. It is a core reference in medical board review. It may also be of value for nursing staff in the hospital or clinic setting, especially for critical care nurses, or for anyone who is motivated to learn about medical diagnosis. The book is less likely to be useful to patients and their families, due to its highly technical nature.

This is a little book I've been using since day one at work, and let me say it is simply the most practical reference I had ever bought. It has a very concise overview of the principles underlying any diagnosis, an overview of some critical values, a pathologist incline clasification in the book (more disease oriented), and a super complete list of causes that may provoque the anomalies detected and outlined in this book. All in a minute consultation, really fast and easy to use. Simply very, very good.

Great condition for a used book. Plus you can't beat the price at any College Bookstore.

I picked this book (sixth edition) from many others after watching my daughter struggling with Mario Triola's Elementary Statistics that her teacher used in the classroom. I wish Weiss's Statistics was her (and mine) first encounter with the subject. The book is well written and structured, easy understandable, and at the same time interesting and engaging to learn more. My daughter found it very helpful. I also enjoyed reading the book; it helped me to put my knowledge in order and finally understand the logic behind different hypothesis tests and other statistical concepts. If you always wanted to learn basic statistics just read this one book and you will be surprised to discover that learning and applying statistics can be easy and fun (do exercises!).

I can not say enough about this book I have never taken a class in statistics for fear that I would fail it .However, this book mapped it out so well if you fail the class it won't be because of this product.My first grade was a 94%, which is great for a person who hates math. I breezed through the class with this book. purchase it you will not be sorry.

This is the most lucid and well written stats book i have studied from. I used it's concepts and step by step procedures to write my masters report. Excellent book for any beginner in statistics.

I did an independent stats class after being out of math for a long time, the book was very helpful and I could actually figure the formulas. It was great!!

The book talks about scripting and it accomplishes it's goal. There are examples of vbscript, jscript, an hta, and vba. It is apparent that the author favors jscript. The quality of scripts are better then the vbscript examples.

There are 14 chapters: How to use this book, Why scripting, Windows Scriptable Technologies, Enumerating and Dumping the Users, Groups, and Computers of Active Directory, Dumping a Domain User's Detail Account Information, Listing Soon-to-Expire Domain User Accounts, Move Away from Batch Files-A New Logon Script, Foundation: A Directory Computer-Dump Tool, Browser-Based Computer Information Diagnostics, Worm Vulnerability Detector, Remotely Enumerate Local Computer Accounts, Local Password Audit and Change Tool, E-mail Script Notification, Where to Go from Here.

As I mentioned this is not a book for people new to scripting. However, it is useful in that it will show the use of modules and it does go about explaining the code examples by the blocks and functions.

I found the descriptions of the modules useful even though I don't use JScript. Probably the most useful script was an HTA script for local diagnostics.

The CD has the scripts mentioned but you might want to go through the effort of typing and debugging the code. Especially, if you are new to windows scripting.

Overall, a good book to have for a reference on what it gives you. It expanded my knowledge.

No long-winded review here. This book is a great read for anyone with a small to medium sized IT organization. I bought a copy for each system admin in my group. Not many books pay for themselves in time savings with just one example as this book has done.

This book now sits on my desk instead of on the shelf full of other resources. The book comes with a CD to get you off and running and it steps through at a good pace for beginners like me. Being a Win2K SBS admin I don't have money for enterprise tools. I was eager to "empower" myself and this did the trick. I like the format because it's progression from introduction to scripting is thorough enough for me but not boring.

So what are the top 10 scripts? - Enumerating and Dumping the Users, Groups, and Computers of AD; Dumping a Domain User's Detailed Account Information; Listing Soon-to-Expire Domain User Accounts; Move Away from Batch Files- A New Login Script; Foundation: A Directory Computer- Dump Tool; Browser- based Computer Information Diagnostics; Worm Vulnerability Detector; Remotely Enumerate Local Computer Accounts; Local Password Audit and Change Tool; E-mail Script Notification. BUT WAIT- This doesn't tell the whole story- I especially liked the tie in with Excel for execution and output! Fellinge's book got me off the ground which is exactly what I needed.

Honestly, I really do not feel this book is ideal for the novice. Users should have some administration sensibility with Active Directory. Yet, what I do find profound, is that there are both (1) very practical applicable scripts and techniques, and (2) there are some truly amazing scripts.

I am at a loss of words for some inspirational things that I found that can give you the ability to generate spreadsheets reports on the fly and also have a live spreadsheet that can go out to the net and pull info. There is this fascinating example script that creates a web page wizard-like HTA application.

To some things up, this book is powerful. This adds a lot of good material one's admin collection. Using this book, you won't become just a scripter, but you'll be down right incredible, such that lightning will ignite from your fingertips (metaphorically speaking) as you create masterpiece killer scripts.

I am one of the Technical Writers who contributed to the Microsoft Windows Scripting Guide for Microsoft Press. Since working on that book, Mr. Fellinge's book is the first I've reviewed on scripting. The author does a great job of exploring some common scripting tasks and demonstrating how to solve them using JavaScript and VBScript. His understanding of both ADSI and WMI is impressive. These two technologies are at the core of automating Windows system administration. What makes this book especially interesting is the author's focus on real-world sysadmin tasks. He is clearly writing from experience.
I recommend this book for anyone with a basic understanding of scripting who is interested in really putting that knowledge to good use.

What can I say:"WOW".
This book is well structured into different aspects of J2EE(example: servlets, JSPs, webservices, EJBs etc). Each of the sections are given detailed coverage with regards to design and architectural decisions that can go wrong.
This is not a start to end read. This book is better usable as a reference while we execute or plan during technical development cycle.
For each anti-pattern, a detailed background, symptoms, refactorings and example are provided. At the end of the book we are provided a Anti-pattern and Refactorings catalog.
The book also covers capacity planning type of antipatterns at the beginning. This will help give broader perspective about making design and possible implementation decisions on a enterprise scale.
A must read for enthusiastic J2EE practitioners who strive for quality output.

Why should you read this book?... I mean you've read the J2EE Blueprints and that's supposed to be the best practices and you've followed all it's advice... didn't you? You should read this book because it gives you a way to see what you "didn't" do and how to fix it.

In this book the Antipatterns (APs) are grouped by J2EE topical area, several are identified for the area and then solutions proposed for each AP. Not only do they expose issues with designs that are common mistakes, but they then go on to not only tell you a possible solution(s) and also impart good principles on why.

Each AP has the following sections: Background, General Form, Symptoms and Consequences, Typical Causes, Known Exceptions, Refactorings, Varations, Example(s) and Related Solutions. The catalog of AP's in the appendix of the book provide a quick summary of each AP also, so you can see if your Symptoms are listed quickly.

One example is from the "Distribution and Scaling" chapter. The just of it is that in an enterprise system you use layering, workflow and the idea that the network is the computer to model and solve your problems. If you haven't you'll notice all of your code linking into libraries of many different types when library access should be localized to one workflow point that other workflow tasks utilize. By doing what they suggest you'll end up with a highly distributable solution and a weakly coupled system that will be flexible to change.

So save yourself some future troubles, or help yourself fix your current ones, read this book! It imparts knowledge you can't get from a Blueprint!!

Did you ever have the feeling that there was something wrong with your application design but you just couldn't put your finger on the problem? The authors of this book have taken their own experience developing J2EE applications and produced a book that will help you avoid many mistakes in application design. The book is geared toward helping the experienced designer/developer produce robust, maintainable applications and fixing applications that are not robust and not easily maintained.

The book covers most of the J2EE spectrum. There are sections on JSPs, Servlets, Entity and Session Beans, JMS, and Web Services. There are also sections on general J2EE architecture including distribution, scaling, and persistence. Each chapter gives a background on a specific antipattern, discusses the typical symptoms of the antipattern, and then covers various refactorings that can be used to correct the antipattern. Some of the antipatterns discussed may sound familiar ("too much code in JSPs") but the list of refactorings will provide useful information for even these obvious coding errors if you happen to be supporting an application that suffers from that antipattern.

The authors have done a great job of clearly explaining each antipattern, both explaining why it is an antipattern and what you can do to fix the problem. Each refactoring is demonstrated with code samples as well as with UML diagrams where appropriate. Overall, this is an excellent book that should be on the shelf of anyone involved in designing J2EE applications.

Often, managers of medium to large scale software projects do not have the time (or inclination) to learn the technical nuances of the development environment they're managing. This lack of understanding can quickly give birth to worry and stress. "If only I knew the right questions to ask..." is a common lament among project managers as they wonder "why is module X so brittle?" and "why can't we ever meet the performance spec for subsystem Y?"

"J2EE AntiPatterns" is a useful guide for helping project managers with technical (but not necessarily J2EE) backgrounds zero-in on the major pitfalls the development team must circumvent. The Background, General Form, Symptoms and Consequences, and Typical Causes sections of most AntiPatterns provide the manager with sufficient information to recognize, understand, and (hopefully) avoid technical problems. (The exceptions are the AntiPatterns for entity, session and message-driven beans - the book assumes a basic understanding of J2EE beans.) Project managers do not need to fully comprehend the code examples (the book has many) to employ the lessons described in "J2EE AntiPatterns" - simply recognizing and understanding the AntiPatterns will be valuable to the team.

If I had read this book before (or during) my last project, I would have been able to recognize some significant problems by simply observing and listening to the engineers discuss their challenges, including the following AntiPatterns:

"Too Much Code" - our LOC metrics would have fleshed this one out quickly;
"Using Strings for Content Generation" - we spent many hours debugging HTML that rendered properly in IE but not Mozilla;
"When In Doubt Make it a Web Service" - it can be expensive mistake to implement something purely for technology's sake.

Coupled with a book or two describing J2EE at a high level, "J2EE AntiPatterns" is essential reading for technical project managers. This book will undoubtedly increase the project manager's effectiveness and help him/her better communicate with the team. A little knowledge for project managers is NOT always dangerous!

This book is a very worthy addition to the pattern literature for j2ee. It is at about the same level of sophistication as the two now-standard j2ee pattern books (Alur, Malks and Crupi 2nd edition, and Marinescu).

If I were new to j2ee (but had some experience with Java, Design
Patterns, Enterprise Architecture and Refactoring) I would read Ed Roman's book, then Marinescu, then Alur's (noting that some of the patterns are now deprecated) and then this book.

The book is divided into 10 sections, each of which covers one aspect of j2ee technology, such as JSPs or Entity Beans. Overall it is well written and enjoyable to read. Each section is divided into a set of anti-patterns (things not to do) and a set of refactorings (what to do after you do the things they told you not to do). Although this leads to some redundancy (repeating the problem in the refactoring section) it
sucessfully deals with the many to many issue (antipatterns to
refactorings); the alternative would be to repeat or reference the refactoring in each antipattern section that it is applicable to.

The book is well edited with few problems. One issue is that some of the diagrams seem to be missing - what is presented is duplicates of previous diagrams. I assume this will be fixed in a future printing.

Like other pattern books, one of the advantages of this book is in the names we can now associate with common patterns we have all seen. A perfect example is "Ad Lib TagLibs", which are large taglibs which include business logic and control logic. The suggested refactoring include beanifying (the model data) and separating out a delegate controller.