Not up to the Manning Standard

I purchased this book based on my previously great experience with Manning Press books. I've found other books by this publisher to be easy to read and easy to comprehend. They usually give you just enough background information and then details on different aspects of the subject matter. This book just goes on and on and on about background information and implementation details that are of little use to anyone after they configure their first application. It takes too long to get to the meat of writing JSF applications. And once you get to where the meat is supposed to be, most of that has to be downloaded as a 300 page PDF from their web site. Not very useful at all.

If you are looking for good JSF information, I now use the Core book for information and the O'Reilly book for a quick API reference. If you want examples of great Manning Press books, please check out their "Spring In Action" and "JSTL In Action" books. Both are fantastic reads and full of great information.

Sadly, this particular book left a lot to be desired both as an instructional text or as an API reference.

Other Reviews

• This book helped me a lot. Very detailed and good examples
• Rewarding book - if you work with it
• A potentially good book let down by poor editing
• Poor code examples
• Not up to the Manning Standard