The Pragmatic Craftsman :: Simplicity from complexity : by Stanley Kubasek ::

Ajax on Java
by Steven Olson
ISBN 0596101872
Date Read 8/2007

My Rating

I’m published outside of my website! Hooraah!! I reviewed this book as part of a Javalobby.org book-review team. I get a chance to get a free book, write a review, and get published. Not a bad deal. You can read the full review at Javalobby.org here. Enjoy it.

One Minute ReviewPositives* Covers AJAX: a new way to do web applications* Simple examples

Negatives* Does not show best-practice implementations* Very light introduction* Only simple examples

SummaryThis is a decent introduction to the Ajax world and how it pertains to Java development. It’s just an introduction: a light treatment of the subject. If you’re new to the subject, and would like to find out what Ajax is and what types of Ajax frameworks exist, this book gives you a good starting point.

However, if you would like get a more detailed/complete information on Ajax, this book does not suit your need. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each framework, how should you use each framework? You are not going to find that information in this book.

In my opinion, this book falls short on teaching and aiding the reader what the right choice in the vast Ajax world is. The author falls short on presenting a well researched approach to the frameworks. The examples are too simplistic to fully get a good grasp on the frameworks. Also, the constant usage of bad practices made this book hard to read for me (see my Ch.7 review).

All in all, a good overview of Ajax on Java, but not much more.

ResourcesList of Java Frameworks