WebObjects 5 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide (Visual Quickpro Guide)

Apple's best-kept secret may be WebObjects, its highly regarded, but little marketed Web-application development software. With WebObjects, you can easily create dynamic Web pages containing data from a relational database, making it perfect for e-commerce sites. Companies like UPS, Sony, Virgin and British Telecom use WebObjects to build their own custom Java-based Web applications that handle heavy user loads.

WebObjects 5 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide offers task-based content and a tabbed format to let you learn as you work, giving you just what you need to know to get the job done-no wading through pages of lessons. By following the step-by-step tasks, you'll be building custom Web applications in no time.

However, for a Java developer (the book doesn't pretend to teach you Java) who is new to WebObjects, those first 11 chapters are a a godsend, filled with well-written text containing a huge amount of practical advice and illustrated with extensive screenshots. Reading this book and doing the exercises will save you literally dozens if not hundreds of hours of "doing it the hard way."

Chapters 12 and 13, on the other hand, are filled with bits and pieces that are NOT easy (or sometimes possible) to get from the official documentation and can only be learned by finding a more experienced developer to mentor you. For me, these two chapters were worth the price, and for a computer programming book, the price is quite reasonable.

A big thumbs up for this book as an introductory WebObjects tome, and here's to hoping that some publisher will contract Mr. Marker to write a follow-up "Advanced WebObjects for Mac OS X" because I'll be first in line to buy that one.


Finally a WebObjects book that explains everything logically   September 23, 2003
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I'd like to agree with the previous reviewers. This book finally made the progression through WebObjects clear and understandable. Its power is apparent and the gotchas are clearly highlighted as you go through the book. Mr. Marker also wrote the excellent Apple document on WebObjects web applications. (Un)fortunately, the Apple document is only about 100 pages, so this book nicely moves on from it. Technical overview by mmalcolm only lends further credibility to this book. Thank you, thank you, thank you!


Josh Marker rocks the house with this gem!   September 19, 2003
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

Let's cut to the chase. Josh Marker's new WebObjects 5 book rocks the house. Trudging through Apple's WebObjects API documentation can turn ones eyes red and bleary, so where do ya start? Well, I say start with Marker's new gem. pple's WebObjects is a best kept secret as it derives from the brilliance of the geniuses at NeXT, and who knows why Steve Jobs doesn't market WebObjects more aggressively? This book helps get a person (particularly the WebObjects newcomer) to get down and jiggy with WebObjects. The world is not always Microsoft and so don't let Apple's genius scare you. Start out with Marker's book and then go from there. You won't get lost and Marker keeps things easy to understand. The only thing missing from this book with slight disappointment is coverage of WebServices which was introduced by Apple in WebObjects version 5.2. Otherwise, rock and roll!