Enterprise Java development and XML are two of the hottest topics in technology today. Both riddled with acronyms and buzzwords, they are also two of the most poorly understood and abused technologies around. The potential to build platform-neutral, vendor-independent systems has created a flurry of development and a host of new standards. It seems the list of APIs and specifications grows longer and more complex every day.
In early 2000, we decided the time was right to write a book about using XML technology in enterprise Java applications. It occurred to us that many books had been written on either XML or J2EE, but none of them really addressed the subjects together. We also recognized a failing in the content of existing books, which focus heavily on API details and ?Hello, world!? examples while skirting the more complex issues of architecture, design tradeoffs, and effective techniques for developing distributed systems.
This book is intended to fill the gap between books on J2EE and those on XML. It demystifies the buzzwords, contains frank discussions on the capabilities and appropriate use of various enterprise Java and XML tools, and provides a logical context for deciding how to structure your XML-enabled J2EE applications. We hope you enjoy it.