JBoss RichFaces 3.3 by Demetrio Filocamo is almost 300 pages long and aims to teach developers how to using RichFaces applications rather than just providing a set of API references.

The book is broadly split into 3 sections.

The first section provides an introduction to RichFaces. An overview and history of RichFaces is provided in chapter 1 followed by a discussion on the features available with RichFaces such as AJAX functionality and skinnability. Chapter 2 of the book provides details on how to start using RichFaces within your applications. Initially, explaining how seamgen can be downloaded and installed provides this. Seamgen is a set of build scripts that are provided with JBoss Seam distributions which create ANT scripts to build, test and deploy Seam applications. If you are not using Seam, the next section of this chapter shows how to integrate RichFaces into standard JSF applications.

I found the content informative, but felt that prior knowledge of Seam would be useful in understanding what is being explained. Finally in this section, the author provides details of Eclipse/JBoss Tools, JBoss Developer Studio and IntelliJ Idea showing where to get each piece of software. I found it strange that no mention of NetBeans was provided here. Admittedly, the support for Seam projects is superior in Eclipse to NetBeans, but NetBeans provides solid JSF/RichFaces support for non-Seam projects.

The next section of the book takes the user through developing a fully blown application using RichFaces and Seam. Again, I felt that prior knowledge of Seam would be useful. During this section, the author shows how to build a working “Contact Manager” application. The application is built from scratch using seamgen as the build system. The author explains the structure of seamgen created projects and shows how many different RichFaces components can be used to create a fully functional AJAX web application. With each form that is created for the application, the web code (facelets) is shown together with the corresponding Seam components acting as JSF backing beans. This is by far the biggest section of the book and provides lot of detail on RichFaces. Sections on skinning, internationalization, user registration and displaying data lists are all provided in detail with particular reference to RichFaces. Where relevant, each of these sections shows how AJAX functionality (provided by default by RichFaces) can easily be employed to enhance the users experience.

The final section of the book shows how some of the more advanced features of RichFaces can be used. Chapters 8 and 9 show how RichFaces skins can be customized and how Maven can be used to create new skins using the RichFaces CDK. The final 2 chapters of the book show how new components can be developed with the RichFaces CDK (a star rating component is created) and how some of the more advanced AJAX components (push and pull) can be used within web applications.

Altogether this is a good book on RichFaces, but it does assume that the reader has some knowledge of developing enterprise applications and in particular I feel that prior knowledge of JBoss Seam would be greatly beneficial to reading the book. This book is recommended for web application developers using JBoss RichFaces.

Thanks to Packt Publishing for providing me the copy of this book to review.

NetBeans IDE 6.8 has been released and is now available for download from the NetBeans site.

This version of NetBeans provides support for the entire Java EE 6 specification with improved support for Facelets, JSF 2.0, JPA 2.0, EJB 3.1, REST and GlassFish v3.

The most notable features in this version include:

• Java EE 6 support - Support for Java EE 6 Web Projects, EJB 3.1, REST web services, JPA 2.0.
• JSF 2.0 & Facelets - Enhanced code completion and editor support to assist web developers writing JSF applcations.
• JavaFX - Support for the latest version of Java FX and numerous productivity enhancements.
• Integrated Kenai.com support - Full JIRA support and enhanced issue tracking / source code management with kenai.com.
• Maven - Updated support for Java EE 6, Groovy and Scala.

NetBeans 6.8 also includes enhanced functionality for PHP, Ruby and C/C++ development. The full list of new and noteworthy features can be found on the NetBeans web site.

IntelliJ IDEA version 9 has been released by JetBrains and is available as an ultimate edition (with a 30-day free trial) and as a free Community Edition.

JetBrains describe IDEA as:

"a code-centric IDE focused on developer productivity. IntelliJ IDEA deeply understands your code and gives you a set of powerful tools without imposing any particular workflow or project structure. IntelliJ IDEA is your dream pair-programmer who knows its way around the codebase, makes great suggestions right when you need them, and is always ready to help you shape your code."

IDEA 9 contains many new features, a few of which include preliminary Java 7 support, Java EE 6 support and support for Android development. The full list of features (both new and existing) can be found here.

Whilst there is a free Community Edition, this lacks many of the enterprise features that are supported by the Ultimate edition. For example, SQL Support, Servlets and EJB support are not available with the Community Edition. JetBrains however, provide a feature comparison matrix showing what is available with each edition of the product.

Over the last few years, Packt Publishing has become a leading Open Source technology publisher. In turn, the company has recognized the challenges and changing landscape of the Enterprise software world, and sees strong opportunities for books in Enterprise Applications, Middleware, SOA, and Implementations.

Packt is interested in developing books on the following Java EE technologies:

• Enterprise JavaBeans

• Java Business Integration (JBI)

• Java Message Service (JMS)

• JavaMail

• Java EE SDK

Packt focuses on producing cutting-edge books for communities of developers, administrators, and newbies alike. Amey Kanse, one of Packt’s Enterprise Acquisition Editors, explains: ‘Java EE is widely used for implementing enterprise-class service-oriented architecture (SOA) and creating feature rich enterprise web applications. There is a need for focused and practical advice on Java EE technologies and Packt books offer just that.'

Packt is looking for authors for its new Java EE books. Amey explains: ‘You don't need to be an experienced author to write for Packt; all you need is a passion for the subject and a willingness to share your ideas and thoughts. You could be an experienced programmer, a trainer, or someone who loves working with Java EE—our author-centric editorial process will help you get the most from writing.'

If you have a strong idea for a Java EE book that you’d love to read, but not write yourself, then please contact us with that too.

Our team of experienced editors helps develop your idea, check market potential, and give you regular feedback on how to write well and deliver excellent results without giving up all of your free time. Our marketing team also works closely with authors to help them promote the book and themselves as authors.

If you’re interested in writing Java EE books, we want to hear from you!

Please visit Packt at http://authors.packtpub.com to submit your book ideas and title suggestions.