Reviews for Enterprise Java with UML (OMG)

1. Good book , good examples...

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2003

   I bought this book as I was asked to use the UML and Java in a project.

   It provides a structured approach for undertaking the analysis of pretty much any project using the UML and the design of Enterprise Java projects. The best feature is the accompanying CD with an application published via Rational Rose.

   All in all, a good book with a useful reference application.

2. Excellent Book for OO Analysis

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, June 12rd, 2003

   This book takes you through the development of an application from proposal to implementation. In alternating chapters the authors explain the use of UML for a particular step in the development lifecycle and then demonstrate what they just explained to develop a sample timecard system. The best part of the book, which is not significantly different than the first edition, is the first half in which the authors discuss requirements gathering and object oriented analysis. The book is worth the price for this first part alone.

   The second half of the book has been expanded to discuss new J2EE technologies. The chapters on evaluating technologies are good as far as discussing how to evaluate technologies but the actual analysis is weak as they ignore candidate technologies such as Struts in favor of their own homegrown HTML production framework. They also fail to explain why EJBs are a better choice for their sample application than simply using Servlets/JSPs/JDBC. The final section on design gets bogged down with too many pages of code listings and not enough explanations for the code.

   Arrington and Rayhan have done a very good job explaining UML although some familiarity with UML notation (or at least a handy manual) would be helpful. If you already own the first edition then you can ignore this edition. If you don't own it then you will definitely want to read this book. This is a must have book for any Java architect/developer doing OOAD.

3. Excellent overview of project lifecycle

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, November 12th, 2002

   Trying to develop a Java application without first developing a model can lead to a poorly designed application that fails to fulfill the needs of users, lacks reusability, and is difficult to maintain. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) was developed as an open standard notation to assist developers in modeling OO applications. As enterprise developers we are finding that we are expected to be able to design applications using UML, explain UML diagrams to our users, or be able to develop applications from UML diagrams. UML can be difficult and confusing to use and many of the books available fail to clearly explain the proper use of this development tool. "Enterprise Java with UML", by CT Arrington is an excellent introduction into the complexities of UML. Arrington takes us through the entire lifecycle of a sample EJB application (a timecard system) from requirements gathering to implementation. In alternating chapters he explains the use of UML (use cases, sequence diagrams, class diagrams, etc.) for that step in the development cycle and then uses what he just explained to develop the timecard system. Along the way we make technology decisions, develop our design, and ultimately convert our design into actual code. By the time we are done UML has become a new tool in our toolbox. Arrington has done a very good job explaining UML although some familiarity with UML notation (or at least a handy manual) would be helpful. This is a must have book for any Java developer wishing to learn UML.

4. Excellent and practical guide

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2001

   CT Arrington has done a fine job of walking the reader though the process of realising a J2EE system from actor discovery, though writing simple use cases, discovery of analysis classes and eventually on to design and realisation.

   Simple yet useful rules are suggested for identification of boundary classes, control classes and domain classes. Arrington's style is both honest and highly readable: I found his advice pragmatic and full of simple wisdom.

   The author makes an apology for glossing over some of the finer points of OOD and in truth the book is a little light on the tail end of the process: component diagrams and deployment diagrams were ignored. I suppose I should deduct a star for that but the rest of the book was so impressive I think that this would be an inaccurate reflection of the book's value and overall quality.

   I must mention that Arrington's explanation of the difference between dependency, aggregation, composition and association is one of the nicest and clearest that I've seen. The treatment of criteria for technology selection was also quite excellent.

   This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading and at just 400 easy-to-read pages represented productive reading time. The case study provided was simple but a sound basis to teach the application of UML in this context (J2EE), the raison d'etre for this text.

   I'm sure you'll find much in here that's useful. I was very impressed.

5. Very useful introduction to EJB from requirements to code

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2001

   With some knowledge of both UML and Java before I read this book, I was hoping that it would give me an understanding of how Java and UML can be used to create enterprise-level applications. By and large, the book met this aim.

   The book gives a strong overview of moving from use case modeling to analysis and design in clear and concise language, before introducing the specifics of enterprise Java. There is good discussion of EJB, servlets, swing, RMI and JDBC. Only significant ommission appears to be JSPs, which are neglected in favour of servlets.

   I would recommend this book to anyone with a good foundation in Java and UML (not beginners) who are looking for an overview of how to use them together at the enterprise level and to take advantage of the benefits offered by EJB and J2EE.

   Final thought: when oh when will a programming book give an example that is anything other than an ATM or a timesheet recording application?!