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Eclipse Rich Client Platform: Designing, Coding, and Packaging Java(TM) Applications Review by jbannick
Buggy but Useful
Don't buy this book unless you are an experienced Java coder, who knows Eclipse, and has the time and inclination to debug.
The book walks you through building a single instant messaging app. Each chapter is a step, with example code downloadable in Eclipse via the authors' Samples Manager.
Beyond Ch 8, their examples have bugs, either in the code itself or the configuration files, or the instructions in the text.
Some are trivial, such as in Ch 9 not telling you that you must un-check "Generate a metadata repository" in the Export Wizard or no executable is generated.
Some are huge, such as their sourcecode for Ch 16-17 using a different version IM library than earlier or later chapters. This results in compile errors until you manually debug the code.
Some are just irritating, as their Ch 12 sample code not including the login code developed in the previous chapter. This causes a NullPointerException in ContactsView.
Or their Ch 16 drag-and-drop that doesn't drop until you manuallly make extension point IDs match.
Operationally, their IM example relies on a server at their book site.
Over the several weeks I was using their book, their server was down. Fortunately, our company has an accessble XMPP server, else I could not have run their examples.
And fortunately folks on the book's forum were helpful.
So with some debugging, I was able to run most of their examples.
DO buy this book if the above don't trouble you.
Their example is broken into manageable chunks. There appear to be no major gaps in their progression. Their example code is clear and concise, if buggy. And their writing is clear, concise, and complete.
Also, their book thoroughly covers plug-in management and updating, and the use of OSGi.
For more on this saga, go to the book's Web site, [...], and look at the forum entries.
Would I buy this book again? Yes; I learned a lot from it. But I've been coding for $$ for 30 years and like debugging.