Java™ Open Source Programming

In today’s IT environment, Java is a leading technology in the world of enterprise<br>development. As management demands more from technology, complexity<br>in infrastructure seems to grow exponentially, leaving many unable to<br>keep up with the demands of such a fast-paced world. These complexities<br>can be seen in the over-evolving Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) specifications.<br>This unnecessary complexity drove us to discover ways of simplifying<br>development.<br>Now, don’t get us wrong; we love J2EE! But why does it take so long to get<br>stuff done? We (the authors of this book) were all early adopters of J2EE, grappling<br>with concepts and complexities as they evolved. It was painful, but over<br>time, we started making use of reusable Open Source tools that dramatically<br>reduced the time taken to develop these applications. We also started questioning<br>which technologies were actually helping us and which had become a<br>hindrance.<br>This book is about using development techniques and Open Source tools to<br>lower the cost of building enterprise applications. We aim to show you how to<br>bring these together to build a real-world application while avoiding complexity<br>and embracing simplicity. We will help you extend your knowledge of<br>Java and the J2EE framework so that you can begin using the millions of dollars<br>of free research and development just waiting to be utilized.<br>Not only will this book teach you how to utilize Open Source technology<br>that you can put to work for you immediately; it will also strengthen and<br>broaden your development philosophies in such a manner that, like us, you<br>will soon find yourself scratching your head in wonder and asking “Why<br>didn’t I do this a long time ago?”