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Summary: 3-tier client/server at work
Review: 3-tier client/server at wor
Rating: 
Summary: Unmask the realities of 3-Tier Client/Server
Review:
3-TIER CLIENT/SERVER AT WORK
A behind-the-scenes look at eight of the world's largest client/server applications
by Jeri Edwards with Deborah DeVoe
Foreword by Robert Orfali, author of "Essential Client/Server Survival Guide"
You've heard the theory behind 3-tier client/server. Now learn how to put it into practice. Jeri Edwards takes you on a rare, international tour of eight large companies' client/server applications that are at work in enterprises today.
You'll get an insider's peek at these companies' projects. Find out what went right, and what they would do differently next time.
You'll learn:
* Why 3-tier architectures are key to successful enterprise client/server applications
* How to migrate from monolithic, single-tier applications to multi-tier client/server
* What today's middle-tier platforms are -- including TP Monitors, ORBs, MOMs, and RPCs -- and when to use them
* What the architectural trade-offs are and how to choose between them
* How successful projects are run and what outcomes to expect
* Word to the wise: tips from the architects
3-TIER CLIENT/SERVER AT WORK will introduce you to the architects at:
* 3M Healthcare
* AT&T
* MCI
* PeopleSoft
* Wells Fargo
* UK Employment Services
* EUCARIS
* Apple
Table of Contents:
3-TIER CLIENT/SERVER FUNDAMENTALS: Why 3-Tier Client/Server is Hot; TP Monitors: The 3-Tier Workhorse; Tuxedo 101. 3-TIER CLIENT/SERVER AT WORK: UK Employment Service Rolls Out 3-Tier in Record Time; PeopleSoft Moves Applications to 3-Tier; Wells Fargo Leads the Way to Internet Banking; Apple Improves Ordering With a 3-Tier Upgrade; MCI: A Client/Server Framework for Data Services; 3M: Data Management for Enhanced Patient Care; 3-Tier Brings Car Registration to Europe; AT&T Takes on Order Turnaround. THE ZEN OF 3-TIER: The Road to 3-Tier Nirvana; Where to Go For More Information.
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Summary: Now I know why there are no other software case study books!
Review: Writing books and giving birth can be oddly similarexperiences. Both take the better part of a year. Half way through,you wish you could stop. Unfortunately, you are too far along to quit. But, you forget the pain after a while and are willing to do it again. This amnesia is clearly very important to the on-going welfare of society. I had previously co-authored three best-selling computer books-including "The Essential Client/Server Survival Guide," "The Essential Distributed Object Survival Guide," and "Instant CORBA." It was time we demonstrated the theory in practice. There are thousands of mission-critical, 3-tier applications in production. So it had to be easy to create a book that documented how an interesting, diverse collection of these had been architected, developed, and deployed. In fact, I reasoned, this should be easier than analyzing technologies and industry directions, as we had in our other books. I just had to be a good listener and writer. But, as you can guess, it was much harder than I imagined. Mission-critical applications are the competitive weapons of modern businesses. Most will no sooner let me document 'how they did it' than Truman would have let me publish the formula for the A-bomb. Fortunately, I found eight exceptional in-production 3-tier applications whose architects were confident in their competitive lead to divulge their experiences and secrets. Why case studies? Other disciplines use case studies to record and teach best practices. Case studies provide simulations of real-world situations that you can use for target practice before spending your own money. According to Standish Group, businesses in the United States alone spent $275 billion on applications in 1996. This amounts to roughly 200,000 software projects. Now here's the bad news: 53% of these projects failed. These projects cost U.S. businesses $145 billion in a single year. Given these statistics, learning from successful projects can only help. I learned a great deal from these case studies. I hope you enjoy them, too!
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Summary: Only worth it for people comletely new to the field
Review: Based on the other glowing reviews, I was eager to purchase the book. After it arrived and I actually read the material, it was a complete disapointment Most of the book seems to be a plug for the author's company & software. The book provides an extremely narrow view of the client/server implementation alternatives. There is a relatively good section on TP monitor architecture, but it quickly moves on to 'how to do this with Tuxedo'. I guess if you are using Tuxedo, this book might be pretty valuable. Advice in the book was very basic, ranging from Hire good people to make sure you have enough money for the project. Now, that advice didn't offer any value to me. You'll have to judge for yourself. Also, I expected the case studies to be presented with an analysis of the design, implementation and the issues present with different alternatives. My perception is that the case studies read like a chronology and offer very little value added insight into the 'why' and 'what if' or 'other alternatives might have been...'. The exception is the case study created by an external company for the Wells Fargo implementation -- that was actually decent. I would not recommend this book to any of my friends or business associates.
Rating:
Summary: Only worth it for people comletely new to the field
Review: Based on the other glowing reviews, I was eager to purchase the book. After it arrived and I actually read the material, it was a complete disapointment Most of the book seems to be a plug for the author's company & software. The book provides an extremely narrow view of the client/server implementation alternatives. There is a relatively good section on TP monitor architecture, but it quickly moves on to 'how to do this with Tuxedo'. I guess if you are using Tuxedo, this book might be pretty valuable. Advice in the book was very basic, ranging from Hire good people to make sure you have enough money for the project. Now, that advice didn't offer any value to me. You'll have to judge for yourself. Also, I expected the case studies to be presented with an analysis of the design, implementation and the issues present with different alternatives. My perception is that the case studies read like a chronology and offer very little value added insight into the 'why' and 'what if' or 'other alternatives might have been...'. The exception is the case study created by an external company for the Wells Fargo implementation -- that was actually decent. I would not recommend this book to any of my friends or business associates.
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Summary: If you want to understand Tuxedo, get the book.
Review: Excellent writing with easy to understand examples make this book "easy" to read. I was looking for an "under the hood" explanation of Tuxedo, and how PeopleSoft uses Tuxedo. This book delivered, plus more. The case studies of common business problems give the reader potential solutions for their own application development roadblocks.
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Summary: If you want to understand Tuxedo, get the book.
Review: Excellent writing with easy to understand examples make this book "easy" to read. I was looking for an "under the hood" explanation of Tuxedo, and how PeopleSoft uses Tuxedo. This book delivered, plus more. The case studies of common business problems give the reader potential solutions for their own application development roadblocks.
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Summary: Good for 3-tier "dummies"
Review: I've been programming for ten years, but I've never worked in an "enterprise" environment until now. I found this book to be a very accessible way to get my feet wet with the idea of 3-tier client server applications. Now I'm ready to go out and read a technical book on the subject. I consider it a good "3-tier programmer's kindergarten." The case studies definitely help make you understand the way these sorts of applications are done. I've always been fond of learning things by example, and this book does a good job of teaching by example. This is NOT a technical book. If you already understand 3-tier C/S programming, you don't need it. If your manager doesn't understand what the heck you're talking about, buy it for him/her.
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Summary: Biased opinions
Review: If you are looking for an independent view of client server computing, you won't get it from BEA employee Edwards, who uses this book to evangelize Tuxedo, that rusting old TP monitor that her company sells.
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Summary: The book offers the information as the title promises.
Review: It gives you a good bed-time reading for a couple of nights. There is no hard to understand theories. It begins with a couple of explainations of client/server trends and brings you right into the stories as it promised. You can't find a better story book(case study) for this price. In fact, there isn't even another one out there:(
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