What do Ford Financial, IBM, and Victoria's Secret have in common? Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB). As the industry standard for platform-independent reusable business components, EJB has just become Sun Microsystem's latest developer certification. Whether you want to be certifiable or just want to learn the technology inside and out, Head First EJB will get you there in the least painful way. And with the greatest understanding. You'll learn not just what the technology *is*, but more importantly, *why* it is, and what it is and isn't good for. You'll learn tricks and tips for EJB development, along with tricks and tips for passing this latest, very challenging Sun Certified Business Component Developer (SCBCD) exam. You'll learn how to think like a server. You'll learn how to think like a bean. And because this is a Head First book, you'll learn how to think about thinking. Co-author Kathy Sierra was one of Sun's first employees to teach brave, early adopter customers how to use EJB. She has the scars. But besides dragging you deep into EJB technology, Kathy and Bert will see you through your certification exam, if you decide to go for it. And nobody knows the certification like they do - they're co-developers of Sun's actual exam! As the second book in the Head First series, Head First EJB follows up the number one best-selling Java book in the US, Head First Java. Find out why reviewers are calling it a revolution in learning tough technical topics, and why Sun Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy says, "Java technology is everywhere...if you develop software and haven't learned Java, it's definitely time to dive in "Head First." And with Head First book, you don't even have to feel guilty about having fun while you're learning; it's all part of the learning theory. If the latest research in cognitive science, education, and neurobiology suggested that boring, dry, and excruciatingly painful was the best way to learn, we'd have done it. Thankfully, it's been shown that your brain has a sense of style, a sense of humour, and a darn good sense of what it likes and dislikes. In Head First EJB, you'll learn all about:

• Component-based and role-based development
• The architecture of EJB, distributed programming with RMI
• Developing and Deploying an EJB application
• The Client View of a Session and Entity bean
• The Session Bean Lifecycle and Component Contract
• The Entity bean Lifecycle and Component Contract
• Container-managed Persistence (CMP)
• Container-managed Relationships (CMR)
• EJB-QL
• Transactions
• Security
• EJB Exceptions
• The Deployment Descriptor
• The Enterprise Bean Environment in JNDI
• Programming Restrictions and Portability

The book includes over 200 mock exam questions that match the tone, style, difficulty, and topics on the real SCBCD exam. See why Kathy and Bert are responsible for thousands of successful exam-passers-- "The Sun certification exam was certainly no walk in the park, but Kathy's material allowed me to not only pass the exam, but Ace it!" --Mary Whetsel, Sr. Technology Specialist, Application Strategy and Integration, The St. Paul Companies "Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates are two of the few people in the world who can make complicated things seem damn simple, and as if that isn't enough, they can make boring things seem interesting." --Paul Wheaton, The Trail Boss, javaranch.com "Who better to write a Java study guide than Kathy Sierra, reigning queen of Java instruction? Kathy Sierra has done it again. Here is a study guide that almost guarantees you a certification!" --James Cubetta, Systems Engineer, SGI

Excellent learning,  July 30 2007
Submitted by ak   [Respond | View]

Made learning EJBs an interesting affair....who'd have thought that was possible :) I benefited hugely reading this book when I didn't know much about EJBs...and when you're reading this book (or any book from this series) ...you feel like the book can read your mind and explain anything that bothers you at the right time. I'll buy every book these guys write. Huge fan!! :))


Simple adventures,  May 17 2007
Submitted by AmitArora   [Respond | View]

This book is simply great and adventures, I have great time reading this book, I just have the concern that this book is based on EJB 2.0. I would like to request the Orielly to update this book as per the latest version.


j2ee RI? what to use in today's tools?,  April 09 2007
Submitted by Anonymous Reader   [Respond | View]

Hi all,

I like the HEAD FIRST series.

HOwever, I am having a problem finding what RI is(I guess an J2EE app server, but I can't find it on the net to download).
Or even when I compile my 2 interfaces and AdviceBean class I get 8 errors, package javax.ejb does not exist, EJBObject, SessionBean, SessionContext....

What am I doing wrong here? I have tried installing earlier versions of SDK and J2EE versions but problems are still there.

ANy help would be appreciated.


Head First EJB,  March 12 2007
Submitted by Anonymous Reader   [Respond | View]

Undoubtedly the best book published by Oreilly !!!

The way the book is written is simply unbelievable.
The concepts of EJB are fixed in your brain by those pics and comments.

Great Job !!! This book is at least 5 times as good as Richard Monson Haefel's book. Period.


Fantastic,  February 04 2007
Submitted by Alvaro   [Respond | View]

Head First is arguably the best of O'Reilly book series. With an easy, colloquial language and image-based examples and explanations, it makes simple to understand the almost understandable EJB 2.0. technology.

I own the EJB, Java and Design Patterns books and I'm very satisfied. The only "but" maybe would be the time they're taking to publish an EJB 3.0 edition.


waiting for an updated edition?,  January 27 2007
Submitted by Anonymous Reader   [Respond | View]

I love the "Head First"-series, but considering this book was published in 2003 and a lost has change since then (Java 5, EJB3), I'm anticipating an updated edition of this book. Any chance there will be one coming out any time soon?


can someone give me the RI 1.3 download url?,  September 14 2006
Submitted by Anonymous Reader   [Respond | View]




Design Pattern,  April 17 2006
Submitted by amit   [Respond | View]

It is just a wonder, It is just a miricle, Thank Orielly, Expect some more books on Java technology which follow the same pattren as this book, I despriatly need this way for learning UML.

Thanks once again
Amit


Need to upgrade this book,  March 15 2006
Submitted by Mian   [Respond | View]

main concern at the moment: It needs to be updated. Now Java 1.5 is up and nobody is using 1.3 anymore.
So this is my request to O'Reilly, please update this book.


can someone give me the RI 1.3 download url?,  November 26 2005
Submitted by Anonymous Reader   [Respond | View]

ok - i worked it out


can someone give me the RI 1.3 download url?,  November 25 2005
Submitted by neil   [Respond | View]

ok .. this book is getting on in years and needs a revised edition ... or ... perhaps ''m too old for this stuff and i'm losing my mind .. i say this because try as i might i cannot find the *** 1.3 *** reference implementation of the appserver on the sun site .. the autthors emphasis 1.3 ...

forget a head start , i encountered a few false starts ...:
yeah i thought i found it a few times only to be directed to ** 1.4 ** on the link ..

please help thanks


EJB,  November 23 2005
Submitted by Anonymous Reader   [Respond | View]

The book is really good and interesting to read


EJB,  August 24 2005
Submitted by Astha   [Respond | View]

I am a beginer in EJB and found this series really perfect for a beginer.


Where is the integration of EJB with Servlet and JSP !!!!!,  February 23 2005
Submitted by Sabya   [Respond | View]

I was inspired by Head First Servlet and JSP book and bought this book, its a good one but again lacks real life exapmle and code and again i need to buy one EJB book for reference after i finish reading this book, one more thing which i was expecting in this book is to have a chapter on how to intergrate EJB with Servlet and Jsp stuff. Which is missing in this book.BUT any way its a good one for beginners like ME.


Best book in the market!,  July 06 2004
Submitted by Malay Dave   [Respond | View]

Best book in the market for the SCBCD exam! Useful for beginners and experienced EJB developers. Congratulations to O'Reilly for providing such a stimulating reading experience. Looking forward to your forthcoming 'Head First' book on Design Patterns and UML.


Get a Grip.....This book is the genuine article for learning!,  April 16 2004
Submitted by Scott D. Barrish   [Respond | View]

I just purchased this book a couple of days ago and after reading the reviews, I am shocked. I know that not everyone will agree to this style of learning, but I feel that the authors present the material in such a way it makes it fun to learn. I also feel, not only do the authors know their Java material, but their knowledge on teaching techniques are progressive and cutting edge.

Are we afraid to step outside the norm? What is normal?...Anyways, sit down, get a sense of humor, and read the book from cover to cover. My "Advice Bean" to all the negative people is if you can't laugh at this subject matter in the way it is presented and you are most likely working in this field, then find another line of work.

Sincerely,
Scott D. Barrish


Head First EJB Review,  March 25 2004
Submitted by Abdul Rafay Mansoor   [Respond | View]

I simply like this book. some of the reviews here say that the book contains a lot of unnecessary pics and humor, well that’s what the book claims to be, in the beginning I too felt that way, but for a complex (and boring) concept like EJB figures and humor are essential otherwise it would be another spec.

I didn’t happen to read Head First Java, I am SCJP, I think I’ll get HFJava still.




Head First EJB Review,  March 09 2004
Submitted by andles jurgen   [Respond | View]

The book is presented in a child like manner, lots of silly pictures and irrelavant waffle. What you need is a good technical introduction to ejb after a basic no nonsense introuduction like the 'ejb in 21 days' book or some other.

DO NOT buy this book if you are hoping for a study guide! It is totally innapropriate as it is simply too full of distractions and needless 'humour??' And do not buy this book if you only intend buying the 1 book! If you do, you will need another.

Read through a chapter in a bookshop before you purchase, you will see what I mean. </P

Andles Jurgen


Head First EJB Review,  March 08 2004
Submitted by Greg Smith   [Respond | View]

Are we allowed to write negative reviews here? Let's find out...

I am a big fan of the O'Reilly Definitive Guide series and did not hesitate to purchase the HeadFirst EJB book with little more than a glance. I am a beginner EJB user and looking to get my certification.

However, HeadFirst EJB presents its information with so much "noise" that I spend half my time separating the wheat from the chaff. Kathy and Bert clearly know their stuff. But the book is riddled with silly pictures, scrawls, and oblique textuals that I found it hard to determine what useful information was being presented. It feels more like "The Complete Idiot's Guide to EJB" than a proper study text.

A case in point is pages 8-9. Here, we see a series of 9 people in various garb with thought balloons. The purpose of the diagram is to show what is going on behind the scenes of an EJB transaction. Each person gets a label like "Client" or "Bean Pool". Their thought balloons say such things as "Uh, yeah, put the broker bean on the pone i need to make a trade NOW" and "Hey I went last time, so one of you can go now...". This particular presentation was confusing to me and offered no value over a traditional diagram.

It's one thing to offer some humor in a technical treatment, but there is such a thing as too much. And HeadFirst EJB goes too far.

The book is still useful - it offers mini-quizzes highlighting each chapter. And it walks you by the hand through the command-line and deploytool GUI. I will continue to use it to study for the exam.

But I wont buy another HeadFirst book.




Head First EJB Review,  December 21 2003
Submitted by Anshu Mishra   [Respond | View]

When I read "Head First Java" by the same author I thought, it is

just impossible to write another book (that too on EJB) in that

lucid way. But now they have left us amazed by this even more lovable

book.

The Head First Books are now acting like something necessary (MUST) on

every topic. I wish I were a child, so that I could learn every thing

the HF way.

Wish Kathy and Bert, all the best for their future HF Projects.




Head First EJB Review,  December 08 2003
Submitted by Stephanie Smith   [Respond | View]

The book's subtitle is "Passing the Sun Certified Business Component Developer Exam". Since I haven't taken the exam or prepped for it, I'm not qualified to speak on whether this book would really help you to pass the exam. What I can comment on is the style of the book and the breadth of its coverage. The book takes a dry subject and livens it up with "eye candy", which includes "handwritten" notes, puzzles, graphics, drawings, cartoons, and diagrams. Most of the time you are not reading text but pictures! This format holds your attention longer than narrative and aids in recall of what you've "read".

This book covers all the different types of beans used in EJB development. It also covers JNDI, remote vs. local, and home interfaces and objects. It even covers EJB-QL.

I recommend you make this book your first introduction to EJBs. Then move on to a more advanced book that will have a complete EJB application. The graphics in <u>Head First EJB</U> will help you "picture" what is going on from the client perspective, the server perspective, and within the container. Knowing this is crucial to understanding EJB development. The pictures in the architectural overview section are particularly worthy.

Another section that will give your EJB developer life an easy start is the section on a bean's environment. This section covers the deployment descriptor. Even if most of us use XDoclet to generate the DD, it is still nice to be able to read the DD and understand what it is telling us.

After you've programmed EJBs for a while, I recommend you return to this book for your study for the Business Component Developer certification. The book takes the "Sun speak" for the exam objectives and turns them into simple explanations so that you can understand what it is you really need to know. And each chapter ends with mock exam questions to help you test yourself. Plus the book has a 70 question final mock exam to take after you have read 636 pages.

This book claims not to be a reference book. But I certainly think you'd come back to this book again and again to look up a quick explanation of how something works. Much development is "trial by fire" and we use something (perhaps through a tool such as XDoclet) without really understanding its fundamentals. When you have time, you can read excerpts from this book to get the fundamentals.




Head First EJB Review,  November 27 2003
Submitted by Basavaraj Devershetty   [Respond | View]

Thanks to Kathy & Bert.

I passed the exam SCBCD with 94%. Really this "HF EJB" Rocks!

I completed reading this book in 10 days and revised it in 1 day

by just seeing pictures,Imp the Big letters,TV box comments,Bean cartoons,especially bullet points,UML diagrams,... Really this book helps for SCBCD exam..

Thanks,

Basavaraj Devershetty

-----------------------

Sun Certified Enterprise Architect For J2EE

Sun Certified Business Component Developer for J2EE 1.3

Sun Certified Web Component Developer for the J2EE Platform

Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform 1.4

IBM WebSphere Application Server, Advanced Single Server Edition for Multiplatforms, V4.0


Head First EJB Review,  November 24 2003
Submitted by Wally Flint   [Respond | View]

FINALLY - a Java book written the way I would'a wrote it if I were me.

Seriously though - this book absolutely blows away every other software book I've ever read (except for maybe Bruce Eckle's).

I'd like to comment on why I think this book is so effective. The visuals, interesting style and tone, the constant change of pace... all that is obvious. But the most unique thing about this book is the fact that the authors took the "learner's natural path of development" into account, and catered to it. For example, almost as soon as a question pops into your mind... they recognize and address it! Contrast this with the more typical approach, which is to first drown the reader in enterprise buzzwords and abstract concepts (so that you know how smart the author is... and how dumb you are!), then on page 500 get down to something a little bit practical (and don't explain it too much, just give some examples and claim the reader should be able to figure it out for himself). I never understood this kind of writing. Even if the reader has the capability to survive such an exercise... who has the time? And who wants to WASTE the time, when more efficient techniques could have been choosen.

Now back to Head First EJB. Each issue is reviewed several times (if it's complexity warrants), and each time the issue is addressed, it's from a different angle. This prompts the reader to actually think about the subject matter rather than just memorizing. Often I'm surprised at not understanding something that I really already understand, simply because it's presented from a different point of view the second time around. But this only deepens my understanding of the issue!

A good book is very difficult to write. Not only do you have to have a deep understanding of the technology, you also have to take a lot of time to make things unfold in a natural, "reader oriented" sequence. It's a lot of work. Most authors clearly aren't up to the challenge. Congratulations to the Head First EJB team for a first class job!

P.S. When is Head First J2EE architect coming out! And Head First Web Component Developer! And how can I make my VCR record a football game while I'm at work?


Head First EJB Review,  November 14 2003
Submitted by Dan Gill   [Respond | View]

Astoundingly enjoyable book on this complex, involved body of knowledge.

As a Professor at Purdue University, specializing in advanced software development using Java-based technologies, I am always on the lookout for motivational background materials that provide comprehensive subject matter examination while at the same time does not put students to sleep. "Head First EJB" overwhelmingly fits the bill ! Books like this are extremely rare.

I have added this book as one of the required texts for future offerings of my advanced undergraduate "Enterprise Application Development" course

Kudos to the authors; Keep up the great work !


Head First EJB Review,  November 03 2003
Submitted by Barbara Norway   [Respond | View]

Really loved Head First Java. I couldn't wait for the next in the series to come out so I grabbed a copy as soon as I could. I'm sure it will help me learn Business Components as readily as Head First Java helped me learn Java but, on a less serious note, I'm disappointed there aren't any animals pictures in this one! Just a lot of people and the same retro pictures. For the third in the series, how 'bout some more hippo pictures......


Head First EJB Review,  October 04 2003
Submitted by Oscar Taracena   [Respond | View]

As a Advance Placement Teacher for Java, I reviewd so many different books for java. The sad part about them, is that they dont make learning fun at all. This book does!!!My class enjoys the book so far, they have progressed farther then the other class using a different book!!! Good show

O'Reilly!!!