Monday, November 8, 2010

Book review : Essential GWT: Building for the Web with Google Web Toolkit 2 (Developer's Library)

Essential GWT: Building for the Web with Google Web Toolkit 2 (Developer's Library)


Essential GWT is a misleading title. You could suppose, as I did, that it contains at least GWT basics. It doesn't. There is an overview of GWT, but nothing which will get you started if you're a beginner. So if you're expecting a tutorial about GWT development, widgets, etc..., pass your way. You should read another book or the online tutorial first. This book should have been named something like "Practical GWT Cookbook", as it contains some recipes about common web development topics like file uploading, security and much more.

I felt that the first half of the book was not very well structured. For example, I didn't understand why there is a paragraph on Code Generation in Chapter 4, Working with Browsers. Explanations are illustrated with code samples, but there are either too few, or too much. Too much, like the methods of the JDBC examples. Only one would have been enough. Too few, like the EJB example. Someone who knows EJB will know how to call a bean. Someone who doesn't will need much more information.

There are some annoying errors, especially in the MVP explanation. The same class gets three or four different names, making it very difficult to follow. MVP is an "essential" topic in this book, so it should have been carefully polished.

Nevertheless, the book still contains some interesting tips and techniques. I particularly enjoyed the speed measurement and the testing chapter. But overall I think it is falling short at explaining the essential.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Book review : Expert Oracle Database Architecture: Oracle Database Programming 9i, 10g, and 11g Techniques and Solutions, Second Edition

Expert Oracle Database Architecture: Oracle Database Programming 9i, 10g, and 11g Techniques and Solutions, Second Edition

No need to introduce Tom Kyte from "Ask Tom". Now imagine this great Oracle Database expert, sitting in front of you, lecturing about topics like table and index design or file management. Impossible you think ? Think twice. "Expert Oracle Database Architecture: Oracle Database Programming 9i, 10g, and 11g Techniques and Solutions" is Tom Kyte giving you a lecture. The book talks to you. The book forces you to open SQL*Plus and try yourself. This book is full of examples. Reading about databases might not be as fun as reading about programming, but you'll never get bored.

A chapter at the beginning of the book will help you create a proper test environment. Other chapters can be picked up in any order. In each chapter the author introduces some features, explains why you could be interested in them and how to use them. This includes tons of examples, common pitfalls and misuses.

I've been using Oracle Database for years, not as a DBA, but as a software developer. The amount of knowledge I have learnt with this book is tremendous. Tom Kyte has completely changed the way I see the database. Every developer using the Oracle Database should know more than just SQL. If you're one of them, grab this book as soon as possible.