As an authoritative resource for using Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) effectively to build and integrate even the largest systems, Applying Enterprise JavaBeans provides what IT managers and developers need to adopt this powerful component standard successfully in new Java projects.
Most books about EJB are strong on theory, but tend to leave out many details of how to implement components in real projects. That's where this text steps in, providing real code (and real design decisions) for implementing different kinds of JavaBeans, like session and entity Beans. Better yet, it contains a case study of a human resources benefits enrollment system that integrates data from different vendors and uses EJB to hold the data together. (Using fictitious vendor names like "Star Enterprise," "Wombat," and "Providence," the book shows how EJB can lead to successful enterprise integration.)
Subsequent chapters look at different aspects of this system, from session Beans (including stateful Beans used to manage sessions) to detailed examples of entity Beans in action. There are plenty of state transition diagrams (that show the inner workings of EJB in a variety of scenarios) and source code (useful for Java developers). Without actually anchoring this material in an actual application server (which would make the book even more practical), it does a good job of fleshing out the EJB standard for real projects, exposing what really goes on between application server "containers" and the Beans they manage, including activation and passivation states.