Rapid application development - but not just for J2EE

Overall I can recommend this book for the breadth of topics covered and because it may make you rethink parts of how you develop Java applications today.

While the author is focusing on J2EE applications, the various chapter topics can be used independently and in general Java programs. Think of this as a well thought out and documented series of brainstorms on faster development approaches.

For example, the (unfortunately short) chapter on Scripting is a good intro to the use of scripting for code generation or developing UIs more quickly. The author uses Jython for his examples, but you could just as easily use Ruby. You might even consider providing a scripting interface to your application so that users can control the application behavior using scripts.

Initially I discounted some of the approaches (UML, AOP). As I read the book, I found that it did make me rethink some of the assumptions that I've built up over the years. And Monnox gives enough examples to whet my appetite to experiment some more.

Although no area is covered in enough detail to make you an expert, many of the tools covered have plenty of supporting online documents so you can use them fully. And I found myself thinking about old problems in new ways.

The text is fairly readable and many sections might be useful to give to a manager as a way of getting support to try out a new approach.

Other Reviews

• An Excellent Agile Development Primer
• Good overview of Java open-source projects.
• It depends on your experience level
• Rapid application development - but not just for J2EE