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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent text for early adopters
Review: Rarely is an early book on an initial release of a still-changing software platform as well-done as this one.This book delivers exactly what it promises, in a straightforward, down-to-earth, no-nonsense style that's very refreshing in a Java text. It's attractively sized and priced, promises to be useful as a reference long after the first reading, and comprehensively touches on just about all of the major features of the 1.0 MIDP API. Prospective buyers should be aware, however, that one of the consequences of the aforementioned virtues is that this book is not intended to include or to be a tutorial in Java itself. The presentation presumes that the reader is already comfortable with the Java language and Java technology platforms in general.
In particular, experience with servlets will be required to get some of the network client examples running, and while the author presents a review discussion of the rudiments of HTTP, detailed knowledge of the protocol spec will be rewarded by the ability to make short shrift of the bug that provoked me to a previous negative review of this book (thanks, Jonathan, for sorting out the problem for me). In addition to thorough coverage of the API and a very good chapter on MIDP code optimization, this book includes what I would characterize as bonus chapters on MIDP-compatible XML parsers and the Legion of the Bouncy Castle's J2ME crypto library. It's not entirely clear to me why these particular topics were chosen (other than because the author has already written a book on Java crypto), but the book would be well worth the investment even without them. Personally, though, I would have been happier had this space been used to provide some perspective on the relationship between MIDP and other complementary or competing wireless technologies, and how they will integrate to provide a superior experience for users of next-generation wireless devices. Maybe I would be asking for too much, too early in the game. Anyway, this is a good book that I found very helpful. I hope there will be a second edition when the time comes, and I hope that Apress will post the Jargoneer bugfix so that future readers won't have the frustrating Saturday afternoon that I had trying to deal with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent intro to a new technology
Review: The latest revolution in Java (the micro revolution) has begun within the release of J2ME. However, the revolution has just started and most of the specification is still being defined within the Java Community Process. The one part of J2ME that is available to developers is the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP), the specification for devices such as pagers, mobile phones, and small PDAs. This is the focus of this excellent book by Jonathan Knudsen. After a brief history of J2ME, the author introduces us to MIDlets, which are the applets of Mobile Information Devices. Comparing J2ME with J2SE, the author shows us how to leverage our Java skills to make coding for MIDP devices a breeze. Each step of the way, the author uses working code examples to demonstrate the capabilities of MIDlets. Starting with developing forms, the author explains how to interact with the user and code event handlers. He then demonstrates how to interact with servlets over the Internet using HTTP. Maintaining persistent storage, handling cookies, and programming a game interface are all demonstrated. Performance tuning, which is a critical issue on MIDP devices, is discussed. As long as we are going to be on the cutting edge, a chapter on XML is included. Security and cryptography are critical issues on MIDP devices. Knudsen is the author of "Java Cryptography" and as expected he does an excellent job with these topics. All of this information is well covered in a concise 175 pages. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Superb, just excellent
Review: This book is excellent. I wish many more books were like this one. I cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. There are just too many books out there that are just flashy, bulky, in-your-face, and just bloated with fluff. Not this book. First of all, this book assumes that you know Java. That is rule 1 that many books fail to observe. This book is about wireless Java so it does not waste space teaching you Java. If you want to learn Java, you'll read a book that is written specifically for that - and you'll likely find a great one too. So why redo it in a way that will suffer anyway? Second, this book gives you useful information, and only useful information. No space is wasted. Every chapter is concise, to the point, and specific. I've never read a book with such a high percentage of useful information. I'll gladly pay about the same price for a 200-page book with 190 useful pages instead of a 1000-page book with 90 useful pages. The presentation is clean, clear, and consistent. Third, well, the topic is wireless Java, so I'll also tell you that I picked up this book knowing Java but not J2ME, and after reading it I know everything I need to know to writing Java programs using J2ME. I've looked at all the Java wireless books and I truly believe that this is the best one. You'll learn about how J2ME is partitioned, how MIDP fits into CLDC, what parts of J2SE are included and left out, how to write MIDlets and user interfaces, how to work with persistent storage (micro-databases), networking, performance optimization, XML, and security. The author and his team (because a book does not come to exist by only one person) should be applauded for boldly going against the trend of selling books by weight. One last note: this is the ONLY book for which I thought even the appendix was useful! Enjoy it and enjoy trying out J2ME.
Rating:
Summary: Great place to learn about wireless Java
Review: This is a truely excellent book. Having done quite some hands-on work in the area and read all 4 books that are out to date, this is definitely my favourite. The author is precise and to the point. No 100-page long Java introduction for complete newbies, no eruptions on J2ME history. Instead Knudsen assumes the reader is mature and quickly focuses on the topics that really matter: how do the components fit together, what do I need to quickly get going, how do I create user interfaces, how handle persistant storage and network connectivity. In addition he covers advanced topics such as performance tuning, security and XML. All drawings are clear, the print well readable and most importantly in times of information overkill, the author manages to package everything vital into no more than 200 pages. Way to go!
Rating:
Summary: A book that is superior
Review: This is pretty close to the best book I have ever read on Wireless JAVA. Easy to read. Some of the code is a little tricky to follow. Good code to learn. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn Wireless JAVA. I really enjoyed reading this book. A very good investment.
Rating:
Summary: A book that is superior
Review: This is pretty close to the best book I have ever read on Wireless JAVA. Easy to read. Some of the code is a little tricky to follow. Good code to learn. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn Wireless JAVA. I really enjoyed reading this book. A very good investment.
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