Rating: 
Summary: Strong on individual topics, but weak on their integration
Review: This is one of the earliest J2EE 1.2 book that hit the market and it does a decent job. Coverage on individual topics such as servlets, JSP's, and EJB's are good and coherent. I especially like the EJB topic which spans 6 chapters that gives a lot of details and guidance in architecting your apps using EJB's. Other J2EE topics like JDBC, JNDI, RMI, XML, JMS, and JavaMail also received adequate coverage in the book. Compared with the book by Perrone et al. (Sams), this one is more focused and more in depth.However, I am somewhat disappointed by the lack of substances (i.e., code, code, code to a developer like myself!) in the later chapters that deal with design strategies. It will have been a lot better if the book used an integrated sample to illustrate how to implement the design principles layed out in chapters 24 and 25. Instead, we have a chapter (30) which basically borrows a canned sample from Orion Server release, which in itself is OK but is not tightly related to earlier chapters. So if you already have servlets and JSP experience and would like to add EJB/JMS to the mix, I wouldn't recommend this book. Pick up the new book from Wrox on BEA WebLogic Server instead.
Rating: 
Summary: The definitive guide to any and all Java Server technologies
Review: When it comes to the authoritative reference for server-side Java development, you can't go past Professional Java Server Programming, J2EE Edition. This hefty tome is a revised version on Professional Java Server Programming, updated for the Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition. This thick tome weighs in at over a massive 1600 pages, far more material than would normally be expected for a book of its price. So what do you get for your money? Well, this is more than just a book on a single Java technology, like servlets or RMI, or JavaServer Pages (JSP). With contributions from twenty one (21) authors, you've got the most comprehensive guide to Java server technologies, as well as related topics like XML, CORBA, RMI, Jini and JDBC. Then there's the extra material, on Enterprise JavaBeans, JavaMail and other core J2EE technologies. This book covers the entire gamut of server-side programming, linking one technology to the next. If you're in a hurry, you won't want to read the book cover to cover. Instead, you can jump right in to the technologies you're interested, picking and choosing as you please. This approach works well, and is an important decision for commercial developers working to a schedule. It's a big book, but it's easy to select the sections you need, as you need them. Like many books of its type, there's plenty of examples, but the authors strike a good balance between theory and practical applications. Unlike most books on server-side programming, there's also case studies for different technologies. I particularly liked this feature - it's something that is generally lacking from most books. Whether you're a fan of case studies or not is really a personal preference, but I found it a refreshing change and one that I believe many developers and managers will likewise welcome. The writing style is very good, though you'll notice a difference from chapter to chapter as many authors contributed to the book. As far as length goes, 1600+ makes for a long title, but chapters need not be read sequentially to understand the various technologies involved, and it's fairly good value for such coverage. Some readers might prefer an introductory book on servlets (a good idea if you're only interested in small scale web development), but when it comes to coverage of all aspects of advanced server-side programming, Professional Java Server Programming J2EE Edition beats other titles hands down. If you've read the previous edition, but want the updated J2EE coverage, it might still be worth your while purchasing the new title for the updated material. -- David Reilly, for the Java Coffee Break
Rating: 
Summary: Save yourself time and money....look elsewhere
Review: While I applaud the attempt to cover all these technologies in a single text, this book does not work. It seems as though the authors bask in their own intelligence, making already complex subjects more difficult. I highly recommend reading the Sun website tutorials, they are much easier to understand and do a MUCH better job of getting the essential subject matter to the reader.
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