Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Solutions to Real-World Problems

Beginners Guide

Beginning Java Databases: JDBC, SQL, J2EE, EJB, JSP, XML

Format: Paperback
Author: Kevin Mukhar
ReleaseDate: August, 2001
Publisher: Wrox Press
Rating:

Good survey circa 2002 of JDBC programming
It still is a GREAT book for someone who knows how to compile java programs with packages and who wants to get a solid introduction to database programming, including some good chapters on how to create a good logical model, before you create the physical model. This book is somewhat dated. If this were 2002, I would give it 5 stars for what it is. I am a database administrator by profession. If it covered Hibernate, I'd still give it 5 stars, although they present the idea of using a JDBC framework predecessor to Hibernate in the book. Good CD includes a Java database to play with, including ODBC drivers. For advanced ideas, they switch to how to program to Oracle JDBC drivers.

Poor
The numerous authors attempt to cover too much in this book and as a result don't cover anything worthwhile. This book is not very good. The book isn't well focused and has lots of mistakes.

A great book, but not the best starting point for JDBC
The word "Beginning" in the title is a bit misleading: you shouldn't approach this book without a solid grounding in Java and databases in general. Having read over two-thirds of this huge volume, I am now of the opinion that it probably is not the best place to begin exploring Java database development. True, the introductory chapters cover essential SQL and other database concepts, but there is a steady ramping-up in the difficulty level as the book progresses, and it doesn't ever really level off. For example, Lauinger's treatment of his own Java Layered Frameworks open-source project in Chapter 16 is long-winded and daunting. And the later chapters assume complete familiarity with XML, JavaBeans, Servlets, and other more "advanced" topics. So, all in all, for the JDBC beginner I think that this is not the best book to begin your explorations of JDBC.

On the other hand, this is an exceptionally thorough book, very well written and with few typos. The authors are likeable, the price is affordable, the presentation and the coding are laid out well, the printing and binding excellent. So it may be just the book for you if you have the patience to plod through its 900 pages. Certainly, the book makes an excellent reference. However, it only covers the business logic of Java database applications. Most of the examples in the book are console-based programs for testing the business logic. There is no coverage of GUI-related topics, for example how to present data in a grid. As one of the authors remarks somewhere, their purpose in writing the book was not to present "pretty GUI's" but rather to concentrate on the internals, the business logic. While I can understand the importance of business logic, I also would have liked these experts to have given me some good pointers on how to present data in various data-aware controls in a GUI. After 600+ pages, I'm still waiting.