This book is a thorough introduction to Java Message Service (JMS), the standard Java application program interface (API) from Sun Microsystems that supports the formal communication known as "messaging" between computers in a network. JMS provides a common interface to standard messaging protocols and to special messaging services in support of Java programs. The messages exchange crucial data between computers, rather than between users--information such as event notification and service requests. Messaging is often used to coordinate programs in dissimilar systems or written in different programming languages. Using the JMS interface, a programmer can invoke the messaging services of IBM's MQSeries, Progress Software's SonicMQ, and other popular messaging product vendors. In addition, JMS supports messages that contain serialized Java objects and messages that contain Extensible Markup Language (XML) pages. Messaging is a powerful new paradigm that makes it easier to uncouple different parts of an enterprise application. Messaging clients work by sending messages to a message server, which is responsible for delivering the messages to their destination. Message delivery is asynchronous, meaning that the client can continue working without waiting for the message to be delivered. The contents of the message can be anything from a simple text string to a serialized Java object or an XML document. Java Message Service shows how to build applications using the point-to-point and publish-and-subscribe models; how to use features like transactions and durable subscriptions to make an application reliable; and how to use messaging within Enterprise JavaBeans. It also introduces a new EJB type, the MessageDrivenBean, that is part of EJB 2.0, and discusses integration of messaging into J2EE.

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Java Message Service Review,  March 26 2001
Submitted by Dave Palmer   [Respond | View]

I've been involved with developing distributed applications, mostly in java, for a few years now and until really becoming aware of the JMS, I was stuck with writing exotic protocols and worrying about the Socket layer of the application. While this is highly educational, it isn't the best way to do things when you have to get The Job done.

I was introduced to JMS and MOM via xmlBlaster, and was thrilled to death when I came across this book. I was at first a little nervous about the book because of its, what I deemed lack of, pages. But after diving into it, and reading it straight through I found that the authors ability to provide clarity meant that hundreds of pages were not needed.

This book also managed to clear up several nagging deficiencies I had with JNDI and how the whole messaging queue design works. This book should be required for anyone who is charged with designing, building and testing any type of legacy integration, messaging or distributed application project. The clear and exacting descriptions of the technologies and the real-world examples provide us readers with something we can actually see and play with (I love writing chat applications!)

I believe that this book has a shot at becoming a "bible" of sorts for those of us who write distributed apps using java. Excellent work.


Java Message Service Review,  March 11 2001
Submitted by Kyle Brown   [Respond | View]

Excellent coverage of the JMS 1.02 API. While I was a bit surprised at the order of coverage (e.g. covering publish-subscribe first, rather than point-to-point messaging) it makes a great deal of sense when you consider someone approaching the topic who may not be familiar with existing messaging systems.

I loved the approach of presenting a complete working example first, and then describing the pieces in order. This makes for an exceptionally clear and lucid presentation of the parts of the JMS API. I also found the coverage of the different JMS products to be fair, accurate and even-handed. Finally, I was gratified to find a section on handling exceptional conditions and failures when using JMS -- something that is sorely missing from most shorter discussions of the topic.

Overall, it's a great introduction to JMS for those unfamiliar with messaging, and a handy reference and guide to the API for those of us more familiar with the topic. It should occupy a prominent place on any J2EE Architect's bookshelf.

Kyle Brown

Executive Java Architect

IBM WebSphere Services

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