Rating: 
Summary: Coccon: the XSP alternative
Review: Cocoon is an open source product that is part of the Apache XML project. It enables the construction of web sites using Java Servlet technology, XML, and XSL. The Cocoon 2 platform is a major architectural change from the original platform. This book covers the new platform very thoroughly. The contents start with an overview of Internet Applications from a historical perspective and moves towards the prospect of empowering applications with XML. There is of course the obligatory chapter on installation of the required products. The fourth chapter is a focal point in the early part of the book, in that it covers Cocoon in such a way that a technical reader can gain enough insight to determine if he wishes to pursue it further. Cocoon is significantly different from JSP and Model 2 architecture.The book follows the path of exploring Cocoon with progressively increasing depth. A web portal application is developed in the book, using Cocoon. It starts very simply, but impressively by providing RSS news feeds from content providers on the Internet. As more of Cocoon is revealed, functionality is added to the application, like SQL inquiries and finally XSP. The authors cover the Avalon Component Model that Cocoon is based on, the internals of Cocoon, and how to develop your own components for Cocoon using Java. While a lot can be done with Cocoon without writing Java, knowledge of XML and XSLT is a must. There are not a lot books or articles on Cocoon. This book makes a great step in filling that void and would be a valued resource for anyone interested in what Cocoon can deliver.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on web publishing via Cocoon
Review: Excellent book!. Introduces Cocoon as a web publishing (and integration) framework that it is. Shows nicely how to use xml-based technology to create web-sites like portals that integrate external and internal data sources without writing any java code. But the book also explains the internals of Cocoon for java developers so that those who want to extend its functionality can do so (by writing appropriate java modules). Overall it made me understand the -significant- powers of the cocoon project and its overall scope too. So, to recap, the book is very easy to read if you have basic knowledge of xml and java, and it explains what you can and cannot do with cocoon: a framework for building web-sites that mostly deal with publishing documents. In that sense, cocoon can be used to create robust portals or document management systems or even more general content management systems (Lenya).
Rating: 
Summary: Recommended book for the beginner and the pro alike
Review: I have read the book with great pleasure and it's clear that the autors are experts on the subject.
The book start with a few more general chapters. Even experienced web developers can use these to get a better feel with the filosophy behind the Cocoon concept.
The middel part uses a lot of real life samples, one of them is a true portal, and is super for cocoon users. Some really great tricks are used in the samples that even experienced Cocoon users can appreciate.
The second half of the book is about developing Cocoon components. The language used is very clear so the book is never boring.
Very much recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best book on Cocoon.
Review: I was happy with this book after reading the first few chapters however after I got stuck into Cocoon I discovered that it was not suitable as a reference. I couldn't find information on XML fragments or i18n. The index isn't good at all. The information may be in there but you will have to read the book from cover to cover to get value from it. I would recommend going for the Cocoon Developers Handbook.
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: I'm a Cocoon newbie (at the time of this writing, but not for long!) and this book explains very clearly how to build powerful applications easily. Cocoon is a very slick framework that has no competition that I know of - and it should be in the toolset of all J2EE application developers. I am refactoring a project to use Cocoon, and this book gave me the time-saving edge I needed to jump head-first into a new framework that normally would have taken weeks to delve into on my own.
Rating:
Summary: Well done!
Review: I'm a Cocoon newbie (at the time of this writing, but not for long!) and this book explains very clearly how to build powerful applications easily. Cocoon is a very slick framework that has no competition that I know of - and it should be in the toolset of all J2EE application developers. I am refactoring a project to use Cocoon, and this book gave me the time-saving edge I needed to jump head-first into a new framework that normally would have taken weeks to delve into on my own.
Rating:
Summary: The best reference for Cocoon so far
Review: Maybe I wouldn't write this review if Matthew and Carsten weren't my colleagues. But I certainly wouldn't write this review if I didn't like the book.
Carsten is certainly among the most knowledgables about Cocoon and this clearly shows in the book. Yet the authors are able to first explain the basic principles to the beginner without getting lost in too many details.
You have to be patient though to come to the meat to grasp the full power of the sitemap. But then especially the examples are very insightful.
The newly available authentication and portal components are not covered in this book. But the authors (they created these components) put an article online at [URL].
I also like the authors' point of view of creating complete publishing applications without writing a single line of Java code. You need to have a working knowledge of XSLT however.
In later chapters every detail of extending Cocoon with your own cutom components is explained.
I for myself, already having almost one year of Cocoon experience found an invaluable source of information in this book.
Rating:
Summary: CForm Rules
Review: Please please please... if any author wants to write another cocoon book make it as updated as you can. I got two cocoon books (I guess everyone knows what they are since there aint a lot of them around!). In a weeks time I was up and running. But then it was announced XMLForm and JXForms have been removed from the 2.1.x distribution flushing all efforts down the drain. Dont get me wrong. Good books... Only outdated.
Rating:
Summary: Just a personel remark
Review: The ever kind and friendly UPS postman (a stocky Santa Claus like
Norwegian) delivered this book when I was reading "Mastering Enterprise JavaBeans" by Roman et al. So I threw this book aside as having no relevance to the EJB component model I was trying so hard to "master". But when I glanced at the book in a more relaxed mood I noticed that the book was dealing with the same component model issues I was "occupied with". To unclutter my tiny brain from EJB-specific terminology I started reading this book to gain a new perspective on component-based architecture.And in a very intangible and hard to describe way I could relate a lot in this book to the EJB issues I was occupied with. For me it was a sort of new way of looking at EJBs. The point of this personal remark is that a good and beautiful book ( like anything good and beautiful ) can be read from various angles. I found the component model issues most interesting. Others will find other things that are more interesting to them. I know this is no "review". I leave that task to more competent people than me because I am not a professional reviewer.
Rating: 
Summary: I will feel better if it cuts to half pages
Review: The first 48 pages is an introduction to internet and xml. Will this level of introduction helpful anyway to people without knowledge of internet or xml? Or who needs that level of introduction if he knows internet and xml? From page 343 onwards is appendix and index. 480-343=137. So totally 48+137=185 pages out of 480 are basicly nothing. You got 300 pages left which could be helpful. A good developer does not necessary be a good author.
| 
