XDoclet in Action, Manning
Microsoft .NET Framework, ASP.NET, Visual C# (CSharp, C Sharp, C-Sharp) Developer Training, Visual Studio
|
Contents |
C# Online.NET Book Review
XDoclet is an open source, code-generation engine integral to several leading Java frameworks. XDoclet is a versatile cross-technology code-generation tool. XDoclet is acclaimed as a facilitator for attribute-oriented programming (AOP) and continuous integration. But, the general utility of XDoclet is easily overlooked. And, it can be difficult to get started with XDoclet on one's own: that is why the reader needs this book—to show how easy and productive XDoclet can be.
Despite the inevitable ups and downs, I am a big fan of the Manning in Action series. I have reviewed several books in the series; and, I always look forward to new editions. This book certainly meets my expectations.
The book is an introduction and guide to XDoclet—a metadata-driven, code generation engine for Java systems. The book bubbles over with instructions, example code, amd samples illustrating how XDoclet can be used with EJBs, JMX, Servlets, and other Java-related technologies. A working J2EE application from the book can be re-used as a reference implementation. And, although XDoclet has many useful native capabilites, it can be customized to address specific issues as well.
This book opens with an overview of code generation. Next, how XDoclet fits into development projects is explained. Among Xdoclet's many capabilities are the generatation of code, XML configuration files, and XML deployment descriptors—what a time saver! Plus, the book details how Ant and XDoclet are integrated.
Development topics—Enterprise Java, JMX, mock objects, persistence, Web services, etc.—are addressed first on their own merits, followed by real-world issues, and, finally, come the options and solutions XDoclet offers. The chapters are often more about addressing Java development issues than about code generation. The section summaries recap the benefits of using XDoclet plus the number of files—code and deployment descriptors—generated by XDoclet. Finally, the book contains a reference section. All in all a very complete guide for XDoclet beginners.
The authors are veteran enthusiasts and experts. Their style is very accessible. But, the book will not be read straight through by many readers; because, the reader may not be interested in all the technologies for which XDoclet is useful.
All of the source code examples are in the Java language.
Bottom line
XDoclet in Action is a wonderfully accessible and invaluable primer for Java developers.
From the back cover
Are you tired of writing the same Java code, over and over again? XDoclet will take the burden of repetitive development tasks off your shoulders by automating them. XDoclet is a metadata-driven, code generation engine for Java. Starting from simple JavaDoc-style comments, it generates deployment descriptors, interfaces, framework classes and other utility classes your project requires.
XDoclet in Action is an easy to read introduction to XDoclet and its uses. It is a resource on code generation with this popular open source tool. With many short code examples and a full-scale J2EE example, the book shows you how to use XDoclet with EJBs, Servlets, JMX, and other technologies. You'll also learn how to customize XDoclet beyond its out-of-the-box capabilities to generate code specific to your application.
With this book you will learn how to write less code, how to keep your application components in sync, and how to keep your deployment, interface, utility and other information all in one place.
What's Inside
- Introduction to XDoclet
- Best practices and techniques
- How to customize XDoclet
- Generate code for
- EJB
- Servlets
- Struts and WebWork
- JDO
- Hibernate
About the author(s)
Craig Walls, an XDoclet project committer, has been a software developer since 1994 and a Java fanatic since 1996. He lives in Dallas, Texas.
Norman Richards has ten years? software development experience, and has worked with code generation for much of that time. He is an avid XDoclet user and evangelist. Norman lives in Austin, Texas.
Table of Contents (abbreviated)
- Part 1 The basics
- 1 A gentle introduction to code generation
- 2 Getting started with XDoclet
- Part 2 Using XDoclet with Enterprise Java
- 3 XDoclet and Enterprise JavaBeans
- 4 XDoclet and the web-layer
- 5 XDoclet and web frameworks
- 6 XDoclet and application servers
- Part 3 Other XDoclet applications
- 7 XDoclet and data persistence
- 8 XDoclet and web services
- 9 XDoclet and JMX
- 10 XDoclet and mock objects
- 11 XDoclet and portlets
- Part 4 Extending XDoclet
- 12 Custom code generation with XDoclet
- 13 XDoclet extensions and tools
- A Installing XDoclet
- B XDoclet task/subtask quick reference
- C XDoclet tag quick reference
- D XDt template language tags
- E The future of XDoclet
