java enterprise project

Question

Hi All,

All the time we are hearing that java is enterprise. We have read many books about jpa, entity beans and other stuff.

All this books explain this technology with some dummy examples. I have not seen a book that explains real problems with enterprise beans, java clients and security! I mean real book not some imaginated stupid examples .

Is there any book that describes completely some enterprise system, Its architecture, communication, security, of course the client that uses the distributed components ?

I need a book that will cover the flowing:

• server side components (ejb, jpa)
• client side java desktop application
• security (authentication and authorization)
• web services with complete authentication
• clustering

(we can find for all of this a book, but there is no book that covers all this things in one piece. Also all the books are with dummy samples.)

Or may be some project that is documented.

Regards, Darko

Answer 1

I've not seen any single book that would cover everything of what you ask for. I find it hard to imagine such a book, real code needs to address minor edge cases found in the real world so tends to have specifics that obscure the fundamental teaching points. Dummy examples may seem frustrating but if they are well chosen do explain the essence of what you need to know.

Some IBM redbooks do go some way in the direction you require, for example, but even these will not be exhaustive.

My mindset is that the JEE pieces are mix and match, I don't need see everything an EJB can do when using a servlet or consider the details of role-based security when deep in the UI code. I work at different abstractions for different pieces, hence different books for different pieces work for me.

Answer 2

I found that books can only take you so far. Another thing you can do is try to convert an existing small scale project to J2EE. Let's say you have a project that utilizes CORBA with C++, then you can try to convert the service components to use EJB. For security stuff you can utilize JAAS - I think it is pretty straight forward. You can also tie in your existing security process to it.

If you have db backend to it then try to convert those to using JDBC (or you can use helpers like DBUtil from Apache commons, Spring JDBC). One thing you would want to avoid is trying to get too focused on several frameworks too early. I have seen people debating on struts vs jsf way too early in the adoption process.

Similarly for desktop app, try to convert let's say a DELPHI or VB app to using Swing or SWT.

I think the best way to get a grip on it is by doing it on a pilot level and build yourself up one step at a time. Keep it simple :)

Answer 3

I think a safer approach would be is to use one of the existing proven frameworks out there. And focus on the basics for security , localization and scalability.

Code generation can be a good asset too on the server side.

The UI is where things get messy as technology progresses and huge code base, so it is best to watch out for on how to limit this code base to be more productive.

This is a good book on the general principles of architecture, though not much about j2ee.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Systems-Architecting-Second/dp/0849304407

Answer 4

I still think that the Java BluePrints are a good start (I wouldn't have made this suggestion prior to Java EE 5 but the Java Blueprints are IMO now more than just a technology showcase).

Answer 5

You'll have to look in multiple books to get the gamut of what you're looking for. In terms of specific technologies, we really made an honest effort to solve real-world enterprise configuration issues in JBoss in Action. Some of this can be extracted for other application servers or for general use.

PoEAA is a great book, but is more code level. If you want specific enterprise technologies, you'll have to dig into manuals and forums for the technologies themselves.