Staying in touch with EJB technology

[Ajoy Bhatia]

Hi Raghu Kodali and Jonathan Wetherbee,

I had been developing web applications in Java for the last 5 years or so, and had visualized a career path in the J2EE world. Keeping that in mind, I achieved Sun Certified Java Programmer 1.4 (91%) and Sun Certified Business Component Developer 1.3 (87%) status in 2005. However, I have now been assigned a project that involves C++ development. Since I think that J2EE technologies will continue to be popular in the future, I want to stay abreast of new developments in this field to keep my skills updated.

The SCBCD 1.3 exam included EJB 2.1, which I studied to take the exam but do not have much real-world experience. EJB3 was still in development at that time. Do you think that your book could help me achieve my objective of learning EJB3, while not actually using it at work?

Also, is EJB3 gaining traction in the market against EJB 2.1? I had read about complaints that EJB 2.1 was too heavyweight.

Thanks...
- Ajoy

[Jon Wetherbee]

Hi Ajoy-

Do you think that your book could help me achieve my objective of learning EJB3, while not actually using it at work?

Certainly this book will help with that objective of learning EJB 3 . It may even inspire you to get back to Java after your C++ project concludes. Raghu responded to an earlier post with a snippet from the back cover of our book where we mention the thrill of discovering Java after years of programming C++. Certainly Java will be waiting for you when you get back!

Also, is EJB3 gaining traction in the market against EJB 2.1? I had read about complaints that EJB 2.1 was too heavyweight.

The overweight issue is a classic argument against earlier releases of EJB, and one that the EJB 3 architects have strived to overcome. What is clear is that the programming model is much simpler, and less intrusive on your code, in EJB 3 compared with EJB 2.x. As for traction, only time will tell, but the real test will come shortly when full Java EE compliant app servers become generally available for production use.

Regards,
Jon