Why we call it "Java Persistence with Hibernate"?
Every publisher with a little experience will make sure that a second edition of a book rides on the success of the first. The more successful the first edition has been, the more tightly publishers tend to associate the second with it. So why would Manning ignore that rule and call the second edition of Hibernate in Action by a different name: Java Persistence with Hibernate?
Hibernate in Action has been one of our all-time best sellers, persistently performing ever since we published it in August 2004. It was named the best Java book in 2005 by the Java Developer's Journal after an extensive polling of the Java community. We believe the book has been, at least in part, the reason Gavin King got invited to join the EJB 3.0 standardization committee. This had the later consequence that much of Hibernate's philosophy and many of its solutions became adopted within EJB 3.0 and Hibernate is now also bundled with the JBoss EJB 3.0 server software.
So the book has been part of a spectacular success story for a young programmer from Melbourne, and his young ally in Germany, who at some point had the guts to launch a project to single handedly replace commercial software worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, just by making something better. It has also been a success for Manning who believed in the project at a time when few had even heard of it.
So, why would we want to jeopardize the second edition's success by calling it something different? The answer is in the EJB 3.0 connection: "Java Persistence 1.0" is what the EJB 3.0 persistence layer is formally called within the standard, and since in many ways it is based on Hibernate concepts and APIs the two are now closely related. From a programmer's POV, Java Persistence 1.0 is the central concept now and Hibernate just one of the many tools that implement it. The current version of Hibernate implments the standard by adding a layer on top of the extensive and mature Hibernate software. Our new title uses the term that Java programmers now or soon will use as a matter of course.
In making this unorthodox publishing decision we have in effect chosen the preferences of our readers over our trade partners. In the meantime, this latter group is a critical link between us and those same readers. Not a pleasant choice.
We hope our friends in the bookselling world will understand our titling decision. It was ultimately a question of who will be more important for the fate of the new book: our booksellers or our readers? If you see it that way I hope you will agree with our choice and help us make this book a success. The Manning Early Access Program (MEAP) release of this title has so far been great. Judging by that, strong bookstore sales are likely to follow!
