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APress sent me a review copy of Dave Minter's and Jeff Linwood's "Pro Hibernate 3". For a book whose title starts with "Pro" I would have expected a couple more pages with more detailed stuff. However, this was a very pleasant reading experience which provided many crispy insights into the new 3.0 release of the Hibernate framework.
My 8-horseshoes review follows (also available at Javaranch.com):
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The task of mapping objects to tables in a relational database management system (O/RM) has been the focus of many research projects over the past decade. The fact of the matter is that the O/RM problem domain is a very complex area that has long been short of efficient solutions. A host of vendors and open-source communities have tackled the O/RM problem and have come up with solutions, such as EJB, Toplink and JDO, which were either considered successful or inefficient depending on a wide range of subjective and objective point of views.
To the rescue comes the third release of the famous Hibernate framework, which is said to provide today's most elegant O/RM solution. I take as a proof the fact that the upcoming EJB 3.0 specification is heavily based on the design concepts underlying the Hibernate framework. The first part of this book focuses on presenting the basics of Hibernate 3 while the second part provides more detailed content that shows how to create mapping files, to query objects using HQL, SQL and the Criteria API, to use events, interceptors and filters, to manage sessions, etc. Minter and Linwood also explain how to fit Hibernate into an existing environment and how to upgrade from previous Hibernate releases.
In summary, intermediate and advanced Java developers who have good working knowledge of database management and who are in need of a powerful and cutting-edge O/RM solution will be very well served with this comprehensive, yet somewhat slim, APress reference.
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I'm continuing my journey through the Dorset House library. This time I've picked one of their best-sellers titled "Five Core Metrics"-The Intelligence Behind Successful Software Management- by Lawrence H. Putnam and Ware Myers. The excellent quality and the outstanding presentation of the content truly make this book an eye-opener.
My 9-horseshoes review follows (also available at Javaranch.com):
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One of the most notable differences between software engineering and other more mature engineering disciplines lies in the fact that actors on the former field recurrently have a very hard time estimating with high certainty and maximal accuracy how long it will take to complete their projects on time and budget. Without proper tooling, this failure to adequately calculate the duration of a project is not only unavoidable but it usually has dramatic effects on the project outcome.
Building on their combined 60+ years of experience on the field, Putnam and Myers tackle this very sensible issue by showing that there is absolutely no magic behind this estimation process. By gathering basic facts from more than 6,300 past projects, the authors have managed to factor out five key metrics, such as, development time, work effort, number of functionalities, defect rate and process productivity, which they then correlate in a couple of mathematical equations that uniquely define any kind of software development project. These equations provide a unique and powerful scientific means for correctly gauging the different metrics at hand and for successfully fine-tuning the software management process.
If you want to stop wondering whether you’ll deliver your project five or six month later than expected and to start capitalizing on the knowledge from past projects, let "Five Core Metrics" show you the path. Be advised that this is not an academic book at all as the whole content is built around concrete data gathered from real-world settings by seasoned professionals.
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Lately, I have been browsing through the Aspatore library which features an impressive list of C-level Business IntelligenceTM books. For starters, I have picked Dermot McCormack and Fergal O'Byrne's "10 Technologies Every Executive Should Know". As I have had an enjoying reading experience, I'll most certainly go on and provide some further reviews of other Aspatore titles.
My 8-horseshoes review follows (also available at Javaranch.com):
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Nowadays, almost all businesses heavily depend on technology for carrying out their everyday chores. According to the pace at which new technologies emerge and current ones become obsolete, it is safe to say that most modern executives have a hard time figuring out which technologies are good for supporting their business and which are not. In order to remedy to this, Dermot McCormack and Fergal O'Byrne have put together a nice and concise summary of the top ten technologies every self-conscious executive should be aware of.
In this book, the authors make an excellent job at giving sense to some obscure buzzwords and at demystifying cutting-edge technologies, such as, web services, nanotechnology, security, grid computing, Linux, RFID, WiFi, XML, CRM, J2EE and .NET. For each topic, McCormack and O'Byrne provide a detailed summary, a couple of facts to watch out for the future, a top ten cheat sheet for immediate use, an estimated technology timeline, frequently asked questions as well as a host of useful pieces of information that are worth their weight in gold.
If you are an executive without a sound IT background and you find yourself repeatedly yawning in those technical meetings, you should definitely get a copy of this book. Be aware, though, that this book does not go into the gory details of the introduced technologies as its goal is only to give you enough information for assessing whether a given technology may benefit to your business or not.
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