Distributed
SOAP Programming with Java
Format: Paperback
Author: William B. Brogden
ReleaseDate: 18 January, 2002
Publisher: Sybex Inc
Rating:
actually a really helpful book 
little hands-on, detailed understanding). As a developer, I've read several titles on SOAP and web-services - and found most to be too 'architectural' (view from the top - v. While SOAs and web services architecture are all fascinating - when one gets down to the development - one needs a thorough understanding of SOAP - its various implementations - and current stumbling points.
This book provides all of the above for 'java' soap (it was written prior to Axis release - but still contains enough useful information). For . NET soap - I use OReilly's Programming . NET web services - which is also excellent. I have no complaints about this book - I got what I needed from a developer's perspective and also some from an architectural perspective (for e. g. - the author illustrates how using JMS with SOAP provides a truly resilient and flexible SOA).
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Technology Review Only - Little Practical Information 
Instead, it just spends page after page describing all the different technologies competing in the SOAP and web services arena. This book does not really explain HOW to develop SOAP applications. Upon completing reading this book, I had a much better understanding of what was happening in the chaotic development of SOAP, but I would not be able to develop anything using SOAP. This seems to be typical of this author's other books. I've read three of Brogden's books and they all tend to get bogged down in specification versions, generic overviews of APIs, and other occassionally interesting but not usually very useful informaiton. Then he doesn't take the time to carefully explain HOW to use the technologies in a practical way. This will be my last Brogden book.
Hmmm, I rather liked it
My time is worth more than the price of this book and it definately saved me several hours of working some things out for myself. While I believe the review by corporateprogrammer below was right on, my criteria for judging a useful book is rather different than his in that if I find a single chapter of unique use in a book I will often buy it and find it useful.
While I would never recommend this as a first book about SOAP, I found Chapter 8 very useful and also enjoyed Chapters 4, 5, 12, and 13. In my judgement Chapter 8 (SOAP over JMS and SOAP over Javaspaces) alone justified the purchase. My judgement is that this book belongs on the bookshelf of every programmer who aspires to become a Web Services expert.
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