Distributed computing and Java go together naturally. As the first language designed from the bottom up with networking in mind, Java makes it very easy for computers to cooperate. Even the simplest applet running in a browser is a distributed application, if you think about it. The client running the browser downloads and executes code that is delivered by some other system. But even this simple applet wouldn't be possible without Java's guarantees of portability and security: the applet can run on any platform, and can't sabotage its host. Of course, when we think of distributed computing, we usually think of applications more complex than a client and server communicating with the same protocol. We usually think in terms of programs that make remote procedure calls, access remote databases, and collaborate with others to produce a single result. Java Distributed Computing discusses how to design and write such applications. It covers Java's RMI (Remote Method Invocation) facility and CORBA, but it doesn't stop there; it tells you how to design your own protocols to build message passing systems and discusses how to use Java's security facilities, how to write multithreaded servers, and more. It pays special attention to distributed data systems, collaboration, and applications that have high bandwidth requirements. In the future, distributed computing can only become more important. Java Distributed Computing provides a broad introduction to the problems you'll face and the solutions you'll find as you write distributed computing applications. Topics covered in Java Distributed Computing:

• Introduction to Distributed Computing

• Networking Basics

• Distributed Objects (Overview of CORBA and RMI)

• Threads

• Security

• Message Passing Systems

• Distributed Data Systems (Databases)

• Bandwidth Limited Applications

• Collaborative Systems

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 15 Ratings

Good Overview of Distributed Programming in Java - 2000-07-30
Reviewer Rating:
In general, this book will give you quite a good overview of distributed Programming in Java. It covers many subjects from sockets to security. Some of the subjects like sockets and RMI are explained fairly well, but others that are complex like CORBA and Security are not explained in detail. The nice part about this book is that it gives a good overview of most API's and subjects related to Distributed Computing in Java. For people, looking for a clear book with lots of examples and details on this subject, this book is NOT for you. This book is not excatly EASY to read and its definately NOT full of examples, BUT if you are patient enough while reading, you will learn quite a lot from this book. I also warn you that you may need to read other books on some subjects in this book like CORBA to be able to understand them well. In conclusion, if you are a newbie that wants to learn distributed programming in Java I suggest that you buy this book ALONG with another one that is clear and easy.

This book is a waste of time & money, no quality control - 2000-08-22
Reviewer Rating:
Do not buy this book. The code is full of bugs and does not appear to be tested by the author. You will spend ... and waste many hours trying to get the code to complie. The code is not very well explained in the text. Overall, the book is very disappointing, and really a huge waste of time.

O'Reilly have a big turkey here. Save your money - buy something else.

Very good, read it - 1999-08-12
Reviewer Rating:
The people below slamming this book should have taken the time to finish reading it. After reading the first two or three chapters, I thought it was pretty weak (and there are a few bizarre tangents the author takes in there, too). But the book as a whole is very good, especially the later chapters and the downloadable source code (how nice to have code that actually works!).

Not worth the money at all - 2000-04-15
Reviewer Rating:
Given the explanations included in that book, I can't imagine anybody would learn anything but vague concepts about networking you would find much better documented in many other (much better) books. The mere 12 pages dedicated to CORBA for instance won't teach you anything, unless you have never heard about it before. Not worth even opening it.

Plenty of non-working code - 2000-04-08
Reviewer Rating:
I lost a lot of time reading this poor book and trying to run incomplete code. The line followed by the author is very confusing. He is always trying to approach a lot of things at the same time. I think a better help with working examples would be Java Distributed Objects by Richard Soley. I would give a zero-star review for this.

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