Book Description
Presents the managerial and technical aspects of information security to prepare future business decision-makers, and addresses knowledge areas of the CISSP certification.
Customer Reviews:
incorrect item photo and ISBN information.......2007-08-27
This item is not what is shown in the picture. The ISBN is also incorrect. This is the India Edition which is not compatable with U.S. universities. There are seperate ISBN number for international editions and the seller needs to check their reliability. I have wasted $55.00 on this book and cannot use it now. I cannot sell it to any used bookstores at my school becuase we do not live in India.
Informative but unorganized.......2007-08-23
This book provides a great introduction into computer security in general. As well as discussing the important managerial topics for a career in information security, it provides a basic but comprehensive overview of information security. My only problem with this book is that within chapters it sometimes presents information in a convoluted manner.
Very informative.......2007-03-29
I graduated from UAB in the fall of 2004. While attending school I was blessed with the opportunity work as an InfoSec Professional while utilizing Business Intelligence. In the spring semester of 2005 UAB implemented an information security course, i was given the opportunity to audit the course. We used this book in the course, at first i thought that it was over kill and boring, but at the end of the semester i realize that all the information is necessary for students to grasp the concepts of information security. One must remember that information security is still in its infancy as a profession, but it rapidly expanding. This book is great if one need an introduction to the information security profession. I currently have this book in my library, where i still use it as a reference when writing information security related papers for ACM.
No Concern for Accuracy.......2007-03-24
I'm puzzled by the overall high marks given this book by reviewers. Almost every page in the first chapter has a false or misleading statement, and I don't see a need to read farther, though I did thumb through it and look at some later sections--it doesn't get better.
The chapter begins with a long story, similar to one a reader might expect in a high school text (pp. 1-3). Then the introduction opens with a completely vacuous quote (p.3).
At the top of page 4 we're treated to the claim that "The history of computer security begins with the history of computer security." I don't think so. What about the Caesar Cipher? What about the Scytale?
On p. 5 we're told that one person was editing an motd file while another edited a password file, and a software glitch occurred that "mixed the two files," so "the password file was printed on every output file." Every file? That's astonishing! So, I followed the reference, which says that the glitch caused the files to be interchanged, not mixed (probably just a bad word choice) and caused the password file to be displayed as the motd upon each login. So, the password file wasn't transferred to other files, just displayed. It seems the authors have no idea of what an motd file is or how it is used.
On p. 6 the authors quote a paper saying "No technique can be secure against wiretapping or its equivalent on the computer." The authors don't provide enough context in order to understand how such an obviously false statement can be construed as true. Probably it's a suggestion that a sys admin has access to everything, but still neglects encryption. Or maybe they're talking about key loggers, but there are techniques for discovering these.
On p. 8 the authors discuss MULTICS, which is appropriate, but say that "MULTICS is noteworthy, because it was the first and *only* operating system created with security as its primary goal" [emphasis theirs]. How about SCOMP, a commercial OS with an acronym that begins with the word "Secure"? Are the authors not familiar with the DoD Orange Book?
Apart from the inaccuracies and misleading statements--and there are others--the book wastes much space with empty prose. There are many sections where they could say things much more concisely, some where they say things so concisely that I doubt most students will really understand, and, most importantly, long sections where they say almost nothing, despite pages of text.
This is a very weak text--I chose Pfleeger and Pfleeger for the InfoSec course I'm teaching this summer, and am essentially happy with that.
A decent text book.......2007-02-04
This book was required for an information systmems class. It was a decent read, but I felt that it was lacking in technical aspects.
Book Description
Information technologies and strategies for managing them can change rapidly, but the information systems principles guiding both remain timeless. These principles continue to form the backbone of this textbook and are used to guide readers through every chapter. By presenting the details and the big picture, Ralph Stair and George Reynolds put the lessons of managing information systems into an understandable and memorable context. Each chapter starts with Learning Objectives clearly tied to principles, and it is these principles that link the tools and concepts together throughout. This Fifth Edition also offers completely updated coverage as well as an increased focus on electronic commerce and information systems.
=> This standard-setting text has been thoroughly updated to include the most current technologies in hardware, software, and telecommunications, and electronic commerce.
=> A new section on specialized information systems brings together topics in management information systems and decision support systems.
=> Electronic commerce coverage is provided in an entire chapter devoted to the topic as well as in relevant sections in other chapters.
Customer Reviews:
Stair & Reynolds take the middle road.......2003-11-30
Having both studied and taught IS, I'll make two separate sets of comments - one for professors and one for students.
Students first... There is a well-done website that accompanies the book, which includes outlines, sample tests & quizzes, and related study materials. The text is about average in terms of readability in comparison to other texts on the subject (IS texts tend to read a little on the dry side). Unless your professor insists on the latest edition, you may be able to get by with a previous edition, since the chapter structures & content haven't been re-arranged much for the last two editions. You must be advised on the issue of using previous editions, though, since Stair and Reynolds do a fair job of keeping the material up-to-date.
For professors... In my experience, IS texts seem to fall into either a highly technical or highly managerial category. Stair and Reynolds do a fair job of plotting a course between the two, although I have found that the "technical" chapters seem to be a little too much for undergraduate business students in their standard "MIS" course (I've never taught engineering students, but the same may hold true for the "managerial" chapters on the other side of the fence). The text is accompanied with ample instructor resources, including a CD and a website with slideshows, notes, outlines, and various other pedagogical tools. The testbank is easy to use, but can be somewhat challenging for an undergraduate business student, adequate for an undergraduate MIS student, and contains enough "difficult" questions that you should be able to use it for a MBA students as well. I would pick something else for a graduate MS/ MIS curriculum. Stair and Reynolds have also done a fair job of keeping the material up-to-date, which has resulted, after six editions, in a pretty decent proiduct. For me, the instructor resources make Stair and Reynolds a good choice by comparison to other IS texts.
Scary that they allow some of this nonsense to be published!.......2003-10-15
Although this book must be commended on the variety of topics and sub topics covered, it is very badly researched. Some sections I doubt were even researched at all, it seemed as if the author is just giving his opinion on how he "thinks" things are, and in the majority of these cases, he is at best only half right. My favorites are his lists like, Consists of..., Divided into the following..., Main elements are... etc. Some of these lists can only have been sucked out of his thumb, because they certainly were not based on any thoroughly researched facts.
IS is actually based on some very simple concepts that have grown and developed into today's seemingly complicated IS infrastructure and not the black and white boxes that Stair tries fit things into. I doubt the authors have much practical experience of IT, because they don't know the difference between marketing concepts and real IT concepts. These are just "selling techniques guys" not IS principles!
I would say that this book is not written for novices, but by novices. If you don't know any better then I think you will enjoy this book, because it will fit in well with a novices false preconceptions of how Information systems work. If you come from a practical IT background of 10 years + like myself and have actually witnessed the development of some of these technologies, this is a scary read.
One last note, colleges and universities that use this book as a reference are simply displaying their absolute ignorance about the subject that they profess to teach.
Informative...but boring.......2003-06-21
When I began this course, I felt lucky that I had already had a lot of experience in the world of e-commerce, just because I had problems paying attention to the book when I was reading it. I found myself doing two things at the same time in order to retain any of the information in it. It has a lot of information - but it's presented in an extremely boring manner. I put off reading quite a few chapters until the day before my final exam. The only thing of any interest were the case studies at the beginning of each chapter.
Inforamtion's Review.......2003-01-28
It was an informational book, discussing the importance of information systems.
Unless there's something better out there..........2001-03-17
mmm... If I didn't have to have this book as a course text, I would have soon discarded it. Maybe I'm missing the point of what PRINCIPLES of Information Systems are all about, but I get the distinct impression from this particular book that Principles of Information Systems is simply an exercise in 'reading someone's watch, then telling them the time'. The authors formalize with great diagrams, case histories and explanations, how Information Systems are structured in business today. However they only lightly touch on what principles (good logic if you wish), should be employed in designing a 'quality' Information System. The closest they really get to this is sometimes posing the issue in the question sections (answers not provided!). I know Information Systems is a lot more than simply knowing how existing ones structured but if you want to know more beyond this, don't expect to find answers in this book.
Book Description
This new edition of Principles of Information Systems builds on the successful pedagogy of its previous editions and goes the distance to provide a new and highly comprehensive IS textbook.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-02-12
This is one of the best information systems books I've ever used. My college course requires this textbook. If anyone is interested to learn about the management of information systems, then this is the perfect book for you.
Good coverage but examples get in the way.......2006-06-26
As expected, this book provides a general overview of information systems, including the nature of information, the components of an information system, how information systems are used in businesses, design and implementation techniques, and security considerations. I appreciate the broad coverage this book offers, as well as the infusion of real-world examples and case studies throughout the book. However, the inclusion of examples gets a little annoying when it interferes with the authors' explanation of a concept. At some points in the book, I felt that the authors included examples that didn't make sense considering what they were trying to explain. Much of the space could have contained a little more in-depth information, rather than the "peppering" of examples that may or may not be relevant. The book provides a good starting place for readers to discover their interests in the field, but the writing style was disappointing.
Textbook for Online Course.......2005-09-11
The speed of delivery to Saudi Arabia was fantastic. I'm currently finishing my degree online and needed this exact book. With the expedited delivery the book was on its way, through customs and into my hands within the week. Thanks!
Book Description
Built on the successful framework of previous editions, the eagerly anticipated eighth edition of Principles of Information Systems has been heavily revised and reorganized and now offers a streamlined text that covers the most up-to-date and relevant topics of information technology. The overall vision, framework, and pedagogy that made the previous editions so popular has been retained, making this a highly comprehensive IS text. Accomplished authors Ralph Stair and George Reynolds continue to expose their readers to clear learning objectives that are reinforced by timely, real-world business examples and hands-on activities. Regardless of their major, students can use this book to understand and practice fundamental IS principles so that they can function more efficiently and effectively as workers, managers, decision makers, and organizational leaders.
Average customer rating:
- Great Resource
- Hard stuff worth reading undoubtedly
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Document Management for the Enterprise: Principles, Techniques, and Applications
Michael J. D. Sutton
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Designing a Document Strategy
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Document Strategy Design Workbook
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Integrative Document & Content Management: Strategies for Exploiting Enterprise Knowledge
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Content Management Bible
ASIN: 0471147192 |
Book Description
A complete blueprint for planning, building, and maintaining fast, efficient, automated document management systems
In Document Management for the Enterprise, Michael Sutton clearly defines and simplifies the principles of document engineering and management. He arms you with a set of proven techniques and methods for planning, building, and maintaining automated systems for fast and efficient storage and retrieval of documents and forms. And, with the help of numerous case studies, he shows you how to avoid common pitfalls and how to overcome frequently encountered obstacles. The most up-to-date, comprehensive, hands-on guide to the engineering and management of enterprise document management systems, Document Management for the Enterprise:
- Clearly defines the goals and uses of document management and engineering
- Provides expert assessments of risks, costs, and benefits of creating an enterprise-wide document management system
- Outlines a document engineering life cycle and framework for rolling out document management applications
- Identifies available software products and describes a method for evaluating their functions and features
Customer Reviews:
Great Resource.......2001-11-01
Document Management never made so much sense until I read this book. I am a Systems Engineer and loved the simple and technical balance that this book presented this topic. I not only got some things out of it, I am not scared to give it to my entry level employees so they can learn from it.
Hard stuff worth reading undoubtedly.......1999-06-18
Who ever wants a quick and dirty solution for his document storage and retrieval problems in his enterprise, please be warned - forget this book.
If you want your company carefully prepared for the introduction of a document retrieval and archieving system - this is the stuff to read. Nothing for a rainy sunday afternoon, you really have to work - and fight - with this book. My is already covered over and over with remarks, a worthwile tool I can recommend 100 %.
Book Description
The emphasis is on the way information technology is used and applied for problem solving; the new and emerging technologies as they are being implemented in real organizations; applications to personal and professional practice; and the challenges and opportunities of IT in international business situations.
Beginning with an introduction to Information Technology, this book covers hardware, database, and network technologies; IT applications development; and current Information Technology issues.
Those interested in keeping current with the development and applications of Information Technology.
Customer Reviews:
Great Beginner Book..........2007-07-17
This book was great for a beginner in the Information Technology degree path. It breaks out principals simply, and in a way that's easy to understand for the average reader. The chapters are medium in length and I found them easy to read. I had to order this book for ITS101, that I'm taking in order to gain my degree. I felt the book was easy to read and a great source of information, even though I have over 15 years of IT experience.
Information Technology Book.......2005-10-04
I recieved the book fairly quick and there were no problems with it.
I am pleased with the book.
Book Description
This book provides professionals with the necessary managerial, technical, and legal background to support investment decisions in security technology. It discusses security from the perspective of hackers (i.e., technology issues and defenses) and lawyers (i.e., legal issues and defenses). This cross-disciplinary book is designed to help users quickly become current on what has become a fundamental business issue.
This book covers the entire range of best security practices—obtaining senior management commitment, defining information security goals and policies, transforming those goals into a strategy for monitoring intrusions and compliance, and understanding legal implications. Topics also include computer crime, electronic evidence, cyber terrorism, and computer forensics.
For professionals in information systems, financial accounting, human resources, health care, legal policy, and law. Because neither technical nor legal expertise is necessary to understand the concepts and issues presented, this book can be required reading for everyone as part of an enterprise-wide computer security awareness program.
Customer Reviews:
Must have reading for the corporate "C" Level.......2007-10-20
This book is a must read for the corporate "C" Level. It covers risk abatement, strategies, and tactics to maintain the security of your corporate information as well as your customers and employees information. As a few companies have recently sustained damages in the hundreds of millions from attacks on their security - this book may have prompted them to close a few "loop holes" that allowed the breeches.
Regards
Scott L
www.vision3llc.com
Information Security in a Nutshell.......2004-03-31
This was a wonderfully concise, readable and intelligent book on the characterization and management of all the issues surrounding information security. Rather than focusing on the bits and bytes, this book identifies, explains and suggests how to go about managing issues related to Information Security.
There is a particularly good and unique discussion of the legal implications surrounding information security management/mis-management. This is an area that is increasingly important for everyone who touches a system with any kind of business information. Sometimes we don't always appreciate all of the implications associated with access to business information. Included are invaluable citations of related case law, statutes and legal precedents. After reading this book, I can't imagine not having read it! I will continue to encourage my management, colleagues and reports to read it for a compulsory grounding in the implications of the information that they are handling.
I found this book to be an invaluable companion volume for preparation for the CISSP. After reading this book, I developed a clear information security intuition that made many of the CISSP study questions easier to answer.
Paul Mundell
Symantec Corporation
Concise, clear, balanced, & useful coverage of IT security.......2004-03-15
This book is short (good!) and full of information. The coverage seems very complete. The authors are careful not to get too involved in the details of the technology (also good, since said details will be obsolete in a year).
Instead they explain what security issues are significant, what the associated risks are, and what kind of cost effective responses are available. The emphasis throughout is on cost-effective responses: perfection is unaffordable, but not having a security policy is unacceptable. Volonino and Robinson focus on striking a middle ground.
I also liked their top down approach to IT security: 1) get high level commitment 2) lay out appropriate policies (& make sure everyone has signed off) 3) develop corresponding procedures 4) then, decide what mix of hardware, software, & network tools best implement those procedures. This starts with the people (most security problems can be traced back to human err) and avoids "vendor-driven security", which is seldom optimal for a specific situation. My favorite factoid from the book is that the quality of the security at a company is directly proportional to the rank of the chief security officer, i.e. to how seriously the company takes security.
All in all, "Principles and Practice of Information Security" is a very good place to start if you want to get a handle on IT security. And I think it will also function well as a way to review how balanced and thorough your existing security plans are.
Average customer rating:
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Automating Management Information Systems: Vol. 1, Principles of Barcode Applications
Harry E. Burke
Manufacturer: Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Average customer rating:
- Great book on Software Engineering
- Sound ideas, but tedious to read
- Simply the best book on software development I have read
- Good but limited
- Good discussion of evolutionary development
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Principles Of Software Engineering Management
Tom Gilb
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ASIN: 0201192462 |
Customer Reviews:
Great book on Software Engineering.......2007-08-30
This book covers two very important software engineering topics: the unambiguous specification of business goals and product specification and on evolutionary project management. It also covers the Fagan inspections process which is one of the most powerful techniques in software development. If you like this book, you should also consider the boook "Competitive Engineering" by the same author.
Sound ideas, but tedious to read.......1999-09-29
I found this book hard to read. I often had to force myself to read further, although the ideas and principles described are important and should be required knowledge of any software engineer and SE manager (which does not mean that they necessarily apply to all projects).
The book contains endless redundancy and lots of hard to understand details of projects the author has worked on. One chapter even contains excerpts from other books and articles that confirm the author's views - as though the author feared he hadn't been convincing enough (that wasn't the problem).
In summary, the book should have had half the length and that would have still covered the same content. It might be interesting to readers new to the principles of evolutionary delivery, measurable attribte objectives, and inspection.
Simply the best book on software development I have read.......1999-09-20
Firstly, don't let the title put you off -this book is relevant to a lot of people who wouldn't call themselves "sofware engineers" or "managers" - it's also highly relevant to systems analysts / designers & just about any sort of IT consultant, amongst others.
What separates this from most other books on software development is that just about every page is obviously written by someone who has been there and done it (recently), not just talked about it. The main ideas of the book (evolutionary delivery, defining ojectives as either "functional" or "attributes" ) may not seem revolutionary, but apply it and it could revolutionise your project and maybe career. No IT book I've ever has ever affected my own work so profoundly.
It's also well written and exceptionally well laid out. More please, Tom!
Good but limited.......1998-06-26
Gilb covers only a small portion of "Software Engineering Management" in detail. Other important issues are either not addressed at all or receive only cursory treatment. Still, what it does go into depth about it usually well thought out and makes imminent sense. I'd say it's worth reading, but it may be a bit expensive for it's narrowness.
Good discussion of evolutionary development.......1998-05-19
This book covers three main topics: evolutionary development, requirements management, and inspections. A good introduction to all three, but if you plan on trying evolutionary development, I also suggest reading the pertinent sections of Rapid Development by Steve McConnell.
Amazon.com
What do reserving a seat on an airplane, buying a movie ticket over the Internet, and launching a missile all have in common? Principles of Transaction Processing for the Systems Professional explains that these and many other computerized tasks require the use of transaction processing (TP). Authors Philip Bernstein and Eric Newcomer demonstrate that this previously specialized area of systems design is becoming more important with the growth of Internet commerce. This theoretically astute and practical-minded book begins with a description of the principles of successful transaction management. (The so-called "ACID" test requires that transactions be atomistic, consistent, isolated, and durable.) The authors illustrate the principles with real-world examples of transactions in everyday life, such as ATM systems and the stock market. Bernstein and Newcomer then outline how transaction processing monitors work and discuss some of the details, such as interface definition languages, which let disparate computers communicate, and remote procedure calls.
The text also explores some real-world TP monitor products, from IBM's CICS to Tuxedo to Microsoft Transaction Server. While transaction processing has been a part of mainframe system design for decades, it has recently become relevant for commerce and everyday database access on the Web. The authors look at today's Web servers--Microsoft Internet Information Server and Netscape's FastTrack Server--and show how they manage transactions. Additional chapters move back into the theoretical, with descriptions of database transactions and strategies for replicating data. The text finishes up with some predictions on where this vital and established technology is headed. This book is a must for any developer who is designing a Web site that connects users to data in a distributed environment. It's also a definitive guide to an intriguing area of computing.
Book Description
Principles of Transaction Processing is a clear, concise guide for anyone
involved in developing applications, evaluating products, designing systems,
or engineering products. This book provides an understanding of the internals of
transaction processing systems, describing how they work and how best to use them.
It includes the architecture of transaction processing monitors, transactional
communications paradigms, and mechanisms for recovering from transaction and
system failures.
Use of transaction processing systems in business, industry, and
government is increasing rapidly; the emergence of electronic commerce on
the Internet is creating new demands. As a result, many developers are
encountering transaction processing applications for the first time and need
a practical explanation of techniques. Software engineers who build and
market operating systems, communications systems, programming tools, and
other products used in transaction processing applications will also benefit
from this thorough presentation of principles. Rich with examples, it
describes commercial transaction processing systems, transactional aspects
of database servers, messaging systems, Internet servers, and
object-oriented systems, as well as each of their subsystems.
* Easy-to-read descriptions of fundamentals.
* Real world examples illustrating key points.
* Focuses on practical issues faced by developers.
* Explains most major products and standards, including IBM's CICS, IMS, and MQSeries; X/Open's XA, STDL, and TX; BEA Systems' TUXEDO; Digital's ACMS; Transarc's Encina; AT&T/NCR's TOP END; Tandem's Pathway/TS; OMG's OTS; and Microsoft's Microsoft Transaction Server.
Customer Reviews:
"We've glossed over many of the finer points here".......2007-09-03
The title of this review is a quote from the book and it summarizes it very nicely. Indeed, the book provides a great deal of information in such a small volume, but many of the things that would have been nice to have are missing and many are just skimmed over.
The best chapters of the book explain in very simple words the principles of transaction logging (along with recovery from a failure), two-phase locking and two-phase commit.
The chapter on transactional communications is not as thorough as the just mentioned ones and pays most attention to transactional message queueing rather than synchronous RPC and peer-to-peer. On top of that, message queues are just transactional, period. No attention is paid to the message queues specifics.
The chapter on transaction processing monitors considers only the three-tier environment with presentation, workflow and transaction tiers.
Other problems ?
The whole chapter with an overview of the existing transaction processing software was useless. You see, product Foo has features A and B, and product Bar has features C and D, so what ? As you read it, certain architecture similarities show through, but it's up to you to analyze it, the book gives no cross-product comparison, no analysis, just a list of acronyms.
Samples in Cobol (duh !) or tangled C-like code. The pictures are less than perfect.
But the biggest problem to me was certainly the lack of real-life information. Specifically, I would better be interested in interaction between transactional and non-transactional systems. An acknowledgement of databases and message queues being the only transactional systems (or not) and the implications of that. Two-phase commit in heterogeneous environment. And so on.
A great introductory book.
Excellent Introduction & Reference.......2007-03-08
This in-depth look into transaction processing provides a wonderful place to start when considering implementation in your application(s). Cover-to-cover, this is an EXTREMELY easy read and doesn't try to be "fancy" or use complicated wording as many other books on the topic do.
Before reading any other transaction books or jumping into API document, this is a MUST MUST MUST MUST read. When developing an application that has transaction support, this is wonderful as a reference in order to include data in presentations, summaries, position papers, internal documentation, etc.
No only will this benefit a general developer, but also benefit people not in the development environment. This allows for clarification of communication between departments without going into API-specific implementation details.
Good for engineers to deep you knowledge about TP.......2006-03-24
This book is excelent for who want to deep his knowledge in TP. Is very practical with many examples and tips. Funthermore include examples of of transacctions for commercials TP like a MTS (COM + today), Tuxedo, CICS, etc.
Is a book very very recommendable.
bye.
Excellent intro to transaction principles.......2004-11-19
This book was written in 1997 which is often considered ancient in "Internet-years" but it is still very relevant because it focuses on fundamental principles of transaction processing (TP) rather than the latest whiz-bang technologies that optimize TP.
For those of you who aren't TP experts, a transaction is a computer operation that meets the ACID test. ACID here stands for:
Atomic - the steps that comprise transaction succeed or fail as one, there is no partial success.
Consistent - the internal data structures of the system(s) remain consistent with business rules.
Isolated - the data read or manipulated by the transaction is not altered during the duration of the transaction's execution.
Durable - the results of the transaction are persisted
Why does this matter to the system user or stakeholder? The canonical example is that of the ATM machine (or the "handy bank" if you're Australian). When you withdrawl money from an ATM, it has to go out and validate you have enough funds to meet the withdrawl, reserve those funds, and dispense cash - all within the same transaction. If the ATM failed after your bank account had been debited but before you'd gotten your money, you'd be very upset; conversely if the cash was dispensed but the debit procedure failed, the bank would be very upset. Ted provides very amusing analogy for this using a wedding ceremony but you can read that in his book.
There's a whole lot more to transaction processing beyond ACID and the ATM example, including two-phase commit (TPC), high-availability, massive concurrency, and crash recovery. To find out about all of these topics, read the book. One thing to remember though is that most application developers will never have to deal with the extremely complex details of providing a working and robust transaction management implementation, but like any technology it's important to understand the technology's fundamental principles and mechanics to effectively use it.
The book itself is extremely dense. The content of the book is "only" 324 pages long but covers a large amount of ground in a good amount of detail. Definitely read in a quiet place free of interruptions with a strong cup of coffee.
One shortcoming of the book is that it was written in 1997 so it doesn't cover TP implementations in Java (e.g. JTA, EJBs, etc.) but it was nice to finally find out what the heck IBM's CICS and IMS products are.
Interestingly enough, I have never had to deal with complex transaction processing (i.e. two-phase commit) in my short IBM career. This is probably because I've worked on business-to-consumer (B2C) applications where only one data source is involved rather than a business-to-business system where multiple data sources are involved. I'll have to ask the B2B guys if they get heavy into two-phase commit or if it's not an issue.
The reason I read this book is because I've always been a bit mystified by Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs). When I joined IBM, I knew the word, but I was not familiar with such topics as object-relational persistence, object remoting, and transaction processing, so to me EJBs were simply things that took four classes/interfaces to do what I could do in one simple POJO. Ted Neward, in a very interesting web interview on the Serverside.com mentioned that he used to think EJBs were completely worthless, but during the process of writing Effective Enterprise Java came to realize that they were not worthless but rather over-marketed. He said that they should have been called Transactional JavaBeans rather than Enterprise JavaBeans because transactions are what EJBs did very well. So, hearing this from Ted I decided to read a book on fundamentals of transaction processing, so that I could understand EJBs better. Now that I've read all about TP principles, I pick Richard Monson-Haefel's book again, and all of a sudden EJBs start to make a lot more sense.
Clearly written, understandable intro to a complex subject.......2002-07-14
Transaction processing is a daunting topic, and this is one of the few books that provides the basics in a clear, understandable manner without overwhelming the reader. Most of the book is focused solely on transaction processing, but it touches on queuing as well, which makes it the ideal first book for anyone who is seeking details that extend beyond pure TP.
I like the way that the authors use real products to reinforce key points made throughout the book. While some of the products are no longer mainstream (indeed, some were never mainstream), the fact that real world implementations are used makes the information realistic. If you are using CICS, MQSeries, Tuxedo or similar products this book will have even more value. I also like the way difficult topics, such as locking, high availability and database recovery are given entire chapters because these topics need to be thoroughly understood in order to completely understand transaction processing.
After reading this book you will be armed with sufficient knowledge to make intelligent choices in selecting the right approach for transaction processing in a system design, or to understand the nuts and bolts of any TPM that you are supporting. I also agree with Cem Kaner's earlier comments that this book is an ideal resource for software test professionals who need to understand the entire environment that they will be testing. If you want to go deeper into TP, I recommend "Transactional Information Systems: Theory, Algorithms, and the Practice of Concurrency Control" by Gerhard Weikum and Gottfried Vossen, which drills much further down into the details of both transaction processing and queuing systems.
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