Hi Vipul!
Well, before I started writing for Wrox, I had already bought a few of their books for my personal usage, both in relations to my work as well as other private studies. What I found best with the Wrox titles, is the fact that they contain vast amounts of information, which is actually interesting (and even fun!) to read, due to the fact that they are written by a group of people (still) working in the field - programmers like you and me.
Having many authors on a single title can both be a strength and a weakness. The strength of this is that the book becomes diverse, and each author gets a chance to cover his or hers most experienced topic. Of course, this diversity can be a weakness too, if the chapters are not integrated enough with the overall theme of the title.
With
Professional Java Data, I must say that the editors have done an excellent job integrating the work of some 14 authors in a solid title on data access with the Java language. The book is rich with examples, and real-life case studies, that take the concepts introduced in previous chapters and illustrate how they fit together in today's programming environment.
You are absolutely right, when you say that this book covers basically the same material as so many others on the same subject. But then again, this isn't something new. How many books are there on Italian cooking, for example? They certainly all contain one or two lasagne recipes, don't they?
The key difference between
Professional Java Data, and other similar books on the market, is its emphasis on real-life scenerios, case studies and examples. Wherever possible, the authors share their personal experience with the reader - warning about potential bottlenecks, bug holes, and such - all within the context of a solid reader on data access with Java!
Let me know if you have more questions.
Regards,
Bjarki Holm
Author of
Professional Java Data [This message has been edited by Bjarki Holm (edited June 13, 2001).]
[This message has been edited by Bjarki Holm (edited June 13, 2001).]