J2EE Design Patterns Applied

The use of design patterns in J2EE applications is an exciting new field, adding to the existing wealth of software design patterns. However these patterns do not exist in isolation, and inevitably they need to be assembled to form larger and more complex frameworks. Selecting patterns and turning them into real world solutions is never an easy task. Furthermore applying patterns in general, or J2EE patterns in particular, to address business and technical requirements poses enormous challenges.

This book is a guide to creating scalable and secure J2EE applications using patterns; including sound object-oriented design principles and real world practices. The aim is to offer designers and developers access to the best techniques for designing and building J2EE solutions.

This book is not intended to be a catalog of J2EE patterns; rather the focus is on solving problems with patterns and devising implementation and deployment strategies. Each chapter is oriented around using patterns to achieve a specific purpose or more generally contribute to a goal.

Aimed at the intermediate to advanced Java developer or architect, J2EE Design Patterns Applied offers a compendium of the latest thinking on using Java effectively to build scalable enterprise systems. Filled with hints and excellent "best practices" on software patterns, this book will be nearly indispensable for anyone who wants to become an expert at Java design. While there are a good many available books on software patterns, this is one of the few that concentrate on reusable software designs specifically geared toward the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), a popular option for Web applications today. The authors have catalogued several dozen J2EE patterns garnered from Sun Microsystems and online resources.

The tendency for any book on software patterns is to dissolve into software engineering jargon, and you'd expect this title to do the same given the abstract names for many patterns listed in its early sections (for example, "Intercepting Filter," "View Helper," and "Service-to-Worker" are hardly catchy names). While the authors do provide the "official" UML and pattern descriptions for these J2EE patterns, the real surprise is that they use a handful of longer case studies to show off each pattern in action. First there is a hotel booking application to show off Web tier patterns. Next comes an excellent case study on persistence patterns used to simplify working with EJBs and databases. Patterns for improving performance and scalability are illustrated with a travel booking application.

In each case, the authors manage to introduce a number of important patterns while anchoring their presentation with a practical and interesting discussion of real applications. This approach makes this title succeed on several levels, both in presenting essential patterns and demonstrating how these designs often work together in real Web solutions.

The end result is a text on software patterns that provides some of the best thinking on J2EE design today in a remarkably readable and engaging format. In all, this title will be absolutely required reading for anyone who lays claim to be an expert on today's J2EE platform. --Richard Dragan