Enterprise JavaBeans: Develooping Component-Based Distributed Applications [With CDROM]

With no WebLogic background I was able to get Tom's examples working and get a great understanding of how EJB actually works in practice.It's nice to work with a book in which the examples actually compile and run without errors! While others are critical of the details of chapter two, I say bravo! Tom explains exactly what is happening under the covers which is most helpful to real programmers. I love this book. It is an authoritative book on EJB. A great way to get hands on experience. Keep up the good work Tom. We appreciate it!

I bought Mr. Valesky book after O'reilly EJB book and I can't compare both because Mr. Valesky book should be considered a beginner's to intermediate level book while O'reilly is definitely a good introduction to EJB. Mr.Valesky book goes way beyond with more serious examples and the book comes with Weblogic ... it's a must !

And I've read three. Unlike the critics who gave this book one or two stars, I had no problems understanding Mr. Valesky's code and applying them to my applications. While I admit I had problems compiling and running EJB code at first, they had more to do with learning the EJB environment for the first time. I also really liked the book's fast paced nature and its conciseness. For example, the Monson-Haefel book goes through six pages and five diagrams to explain the four transaction isolation levels. A little too much, really. Meanwhile, Valesky sums it up in half a page with a clearer explanation. The readers who gave this book a one or two remind me of the same ones who excoriated Horstman & Cornell's Core Java book. That is, this book is probably too tough for them or they're too inexperienced with J2EE or Java to appreciate the quality of this book.While I generally prefer O'Reilly books and am eagerly looking forward to their Enterprise Java in a Nutshell, I decided to NOT buy Monson-Haefel's book because while it was heavy on theory, it was extremely light on the code examples. In fact, while the code was simple (too simple to use), I would hardly call it scalable or best-practices. And real lightweights should check out Jubin's book, which is light on content and code. I don't recommend Valesky's book for everyone. But if you want concise information delivered with 'industrial strength' code, buy this book. Hell, the free WebLogic on the CD-ROM is reason enough.

The book is exceptional at explaining what can be a very confusing technology. The author starts with some very simple examples, and then uses practical, real world examples (such as a shopping cart/bag) to clarify things. Well done.

Those of us who have struggled through Version 1.0 of the EJB specification to learn the subject would have appreciated reading a book like this. The specification is confusing in places, has no real sample code (they promised a developer's guide which didn't appear), and doesn't say much about EJB clients.Tom Valesky's book is a gentle, thorough, and authoritative book on the subject. He gives interesting and complete real-world examples. Tom really knows what he is talking about -- no fluff here. The book also shines in having lots of check lists, summaries, and advice to help you thread your way through this potentially confusing subject -- the problem is that EJB is an application framework, so it's not always clear by whom and when your methods are being called. The book also includes valuable tips on using Weblogic's EJB server, which has become the de-facto reference implementation for EJB.I love this book and will be using it regularly in my two-day course in EJB for UC Santa Cruz Extension. The book can be read and assimililated in a few days, so it's just the right length to jump start a beginner or EJB wannabe.In my opinion, this book will occupy the position in EJB that Jason Hunter's book hold for servlets.