Head First EJB: Passing the Sun Certified Business Component Developer Exam
by
Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates
O'Reilly
1 edition
October 2003
700 pages
Reviewed by Matthew Phillips, December 2003
(8 of 10)
Kathy and Bert strike again with their wacky ways. They'll approach a topic in just about any method they can think of to make you learn this stuff and they can think of a lot.
The chapters are organized well. I like that each chapter opens with the exam objectives it will cover along with a "plain English" interpretation of what those objectives really mean. That is the way of the whole book. Code which requires explanation has the explanation written write next to it, with arrows pointing to the appropriate lines. Everything in the book is explained in two or more different fashions which insures the information will get into your head to stay.
I do have one critism, and it was big enough for me to drop the rating from 10 to an 8. I believe that writing and deploying code is essential to learn any API and EJB is no exception. The authors did not emphasize that method of teaching enough for me. If you are looking for just the raw facts made interesting, then this is the book for you. If you want an emphasis on writing and deploying code as well, then you should probably read this book anyway and then move on to one of the other EJB books on the market.
(8 of 10)
