Editorial Reviews:
Mac OS X for Java Geeks delivers a complete and detailed look at the Mac OS X platform, geared specifically at Java developers. Programmers using the 10.2 (Jaguar) release of Mac OS X, and the new JDK 1.4, have unprecedented new functionality available to them. Whether you are a Java newbie, working your way through Java Swing and classpath issues, or you are a Java guru, comfortable with digital media, reflection, and J2EE, this book will teach you how to get around on Mac OS X. You'll also get the latest information on how to build applications that run seamlessly, and identically, on Windows, Linux, Unix, and the Mac. The book begins by laying out the Mac OS X tool set, from the included Java Runtime Environment to third-party tools IDEs and Jakarta Ant. You'll then be brought up to speed on the advanced, Mac-specific extensions to Java, including the spelling framework, speech framework, and integration with QuickTime. In addition to clear explanations of these extensions, you'll learn how to write code that falls back to non-Mac specific code when it runs on other platforms, keeping your application portable. Once you have the fundamentals of the Mac OS X Java platform in hand, this book takes you beyond the basics. You'll learn how to get the Apache web server running, and supplement it with the Jakarta Tomcat JSP and servlet container. JSPs and servlets running on Mac OS X are covered, as is installation and connectivity to a database. Once you have your web applications up and running, you'll learn how to interface them with EJBs, as running the JBoss application server on Mac OS X is covered. Finally, the latest developments in web services, including XML-RPC and SOAP, are found within.
Customer Reviews:
Displaying 1 to 5 of 12 total reviews (Page 1 of 3):
 good book for MacOS X Java developers
The first half of the book is good material. After reviewing some fundamentals of MacOS and how it applies to Java, you create a sample application. Most of the material in this half is still relevant even 3 years later - although Java 1.3 is now in the past, the author did include info about 1.4. The IDE section is probably the most dated with no discussion about Eclipse. One nit here, is that there is a lot of code to enter and the author shouldn't have waited until 2/3 of the way through the book to suggest downloading code from the O'Reilly site.
The second half of the book gets a little strange with a whirlwind tour through some interesting Java technologies. Still, after finishing the book you can see that the author wasn't trying to give you a taste of EJBs, SOAP, Tomcat, etc.. He wanted to get the technologies working for you on the MacOS so that if it is something you need, the book has gotten you past the platform-specific and/or installation issues. Unfortunately, some elements of this part of the book are dated including the speech and spelling sections - Apple has removed them from Java 1.4 and they aren't in 1.5 either.
In general, the text isn't quite as smooth as in other O'Reilly books. Minor stuff like a sentence that continues the thought of the previous sentence begins with "but".
Despite my complaints, I still consider it a 4-star book because of the great info in the first half. And if I hadn't read this book, it would have taken me a lot longer to absorb the same info from various web sites.  It should have been titled "Mac OS X for Java Beginners"
This book was misleading with the title, it seemed as though a large portion of the book was dedicated to covering basic Java concepts (definition of EJB, JMX, JSP, etc., JVM layout).
The information on cross-platform development was somewhat useful, but as a Java geek you probably were already aware of these items (path separators, new lines, etc.).
The book does have its useful moments, hence the three stars, but it wasn't worth the $39.95 price tag. Chapters 5 (Finder integration), 7 (Standalone Applications), and 11 (OS X Spelling Framework) were interesting. Finally, the author's writing style was friendly and easy to read.  Mac OS X for Java Geeks is a solid...
I'll start with my grade, a C-, generously given. The author, Will Iverson, did a good job of briefly touching on all aspects of Java and Java development. He gave a chapter to the Java topics: Apple's JVM, Java tools/IDEs, Java GUIs, stand-alone Java apps, Servlets, JSPs, Tomcat, and EJBs. And a few other chapters on more Mac OS X stuff like databases, Apple extensions, and some Apple specific Java APIs.
The chapters cover their stated topics well giving just enough info that the reader understands the topic but doesn't give enough info to make the reader "dangerous". I was hoping for more Mac OS X stuff and less Java. I didn't need the history of Tomcat. If you are a Java Geek you know that. But, being new to Mac OS X more OS X stuff would have been more relevant in this book.
I really can't complain because I got this book free, but in my opinion it's definitely not worth the $39.95 O'Reilly is looking for. I think the $9.95 O'Reilly gets for their "Pocket" books would be more appropiate. I like
* This book has provided preliminary introduction to the platform with exploring
the technical underpinnings of the Mac OS X Java implementation.
* This booke is good for new java developer for Mac OS X platform, someone can explore the
pragmatics of Java development, including how to set up your development environment.
* And makes you aware of Apple's various additons to the java platform and describes how
to package and deliver an application to end users that looks and behaves like a naive
Mac OS X application.
* It has covers some recent features like Web start, Speech framework, Web service and
Ejb and Jboss.
* After that this book is good start for getting hands on the Apache web server running and
supplement it with the jakarta Tomcat JSP and servlet containers. Fills it's niche
This is more of a set of self-contained articles than a book. Though it is not specifically written that way. I'm mixed about why this book was necessary. The topics are a hodge-podge. Which leads me to the 'set of articles' notion.That being said, overall the writing is good and the topics are fairly well covered. Chapter three, on tools, is a standout. There are some problems, the code isn't well annotated, and some chapters, like chapter 9 on Speech, feel out of place altogether. For those looking to make use of some OS X specific features with Java, you will like this book. It's pretty specific though, so for the casual reader I would recommend against it. More Customer Reviews:
Next Page
|
