Having passed the first exam, I started studying for my SCWCD exam. But then after working with Jakarta Struts for a while, I don't know whether it's worth while to take the SCWCD exam. I surely hate the JSP snippets, it makes JSP pages unmaintainable. So, I seriously do not know how SCWCD will help me to do my job better. Dilemma! Dilemma! We're not in college anymore; hence anything we learn should be worth the money, time, and effort.
That's my humble opinion.

Hence, i turn my attention to this book; I skimmed through it for the first couple of days and realize that this is the certification that I shoud pursue next; SCBCD instead of SCWCD. I look beyond the certification; the ability to program EJB to do a better job. Having intrinsic reasons to do something, for example learning the subject for the sake of the knowledge and implementation, is far better than having a piece of paper that says you are certified.

I started reading the book and i honestly just cannot put it down. So far, the items covered in this book make a lot of sense to me; in terms of how i can use them to write better codes and design better EJB. I am a visual learner. Thus, the graphics in this book really enhance and expedite my learning process. When I read them, I understand the concepts instantly! Plus, they're funny. It makes the learning process very fun! Make sure you have some notebook and draw/sketch the important concepts. They help understand some complex points presented.

All in all, for those of you who want to learn EJB but don't know where to start, this book could be your answer. You may not be going for the certification but the book will guide you through to make sure that you grasp all the needed concepts to become a competent EJB programmer.

I was thinking about getting the 256Meg version but I realize that I need it to run and exercise for about one hour - not 4 hours. Hence, being frugal and practical, this is the better option for me.

When you install the software from the cd the first time, make sure you're connected to the internet. It will download a big patch that will save you a lot of time and frustration from dealing with a buggy software later on.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this unit. It's very practical to just clip the unit on your arm and run the earphone wire through your shirt. That means you will be tangled free.

I cannot find even one song that I like on this cd after listening to it for 5 days :(

It sounds weird. One thing is because after Master Of Puppets, the new producer Bob Rock suggested them to add mid-range to their original metallica guitar sound. It destroys their unique identity, in my humble opinion.

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I bought the cd yesterday. The first time I heard it, I thought it was annoying. So much noise in it; not cool sound. One trademark of Metallica is; there is always melody in their songs, no matter how aggressive the music is; I found very little. :( Sounds like the new rock that is playing on the radio nowadays, not to my taste.

However, giving a benefit of the doubt, I listen to it again today. It starts growing on me. I usually like to listen to cds that grow as time flows. I start noticing melody behind the rhythm works.

It no longer sounds like Load or Reload. I would say it sounds more like 'Garage Days Revisited.' Pretty aggresive rhythm works by Mr. Hetfield. I think Hetfield voice sounds pretty good.

Bass sounds a lot better; I think this guy Robert Trujjilo, does a better job than Newstead; although Cliff Burton is a god. Robet knows how to fill 'those empty' spots between Hetfield's and Hammet's guitar works, in tune with the drum beats. Bravo!

Overall, if you're expecting another Fade to Black or Master of Puppets, I don't think you'll find it in this cd. I only gave it 4 stars because something is missing from the cds; Kirk Hammet's guitar solo, very little.

I was still new to Java when I bought the book. In addition to studying the materials for the exam, this book actually helped me to code better. It's like having a cake and eat it too!

I just passed the exam a week ago. Actually I did quite well - thanks to this book. Else my chances would have been slimmer. Some people are complaining about some jokes that are attached along in this book - I call them good humor! Trust me, it helps when the materials are long and monotone - especially chapter 2! zzz...

The LearnKey master exams CD included in the book really convinces me that I was going to pass the exam the first time through. The explanations for each question are provided in detail; they helped reinstating the points that I miss while reading the book.

I actually read the book the first time through and then did some external readings. I just wanted to make sure that I got every point covered. Then I came back to the book, read the 2 minute drills and did the questions. One thing about this exam is: you have to test/write the codes. Else, you might not pass the exam. I actually used the codes in this book and then went from there - by writing all possible scenarios that could happened with that example code; compiling them and running them.

It's hard work but the payoff is sweet...

I have to admit that this is not a book that I would read on spare time. I don't know whether it's the flow of the structure or what. But I always get lost in the "too much" information supplied. Hence I cannot give it 5 stars.

For reference, this is a book to keep if you're developing ASP for one reason; as you become more comfortable with ASP, this book provides answers to your "no-more" beginner questions.

I have to admit that this is not a book that I would read on spare time. I don't know whether it's the flow of the structure or what. But I always get lost in the "too much" information supplied. Hence I cannot give it 5 stars.

For reference, this is a book to keep if you're developing ASP for one reason; as you become more comfortable with ASP, this book provides answers to your "no-more" beginner questions.

With plethora of web languages and tools out there, getting overwhelmed is an understatement. No wonder there are so many spaghetti codes out there when it comes to web programming.

Also, another dilemma arrives; if you need to design a JSP application, where do you start? Do you learn Java first and start writing the java servlets first, followed by the JSP tags? Or do you learn html/xhtml first, or XML etc?

I honestly think there are no right or wrong answers. It depends on the individual. If you already know java, more power to you. Hence, learning how to write java servlets would be a breeze. Or if you already know VB, you would cut 1/2 of the time understanding VBScript.

The truth is; web programming is so difficult to comprehend. You just don't know where to start. However, Henry Ford once said, "Nothing is too difficult if you break them into smaller pieces." Therefore, when it's too complicated, stick with the obvious(the basic) - XHTML!

After 6 years of writing client-server applications, I finally have a chance to write my first web application. This book taught me how to write XHTML syntax in one week! My mind was beleagured with questions before I read this book. Upon finished reading this book, I began to understand how to approach the application. It came with intuition!

To reiterate, this book will give you the solid foundation before you dip your feet into the web environment and start using the other languages, i.e. asp, jsp, xml etc. XHTML or HTML is compulsory. There are no shortcut...

This book teaches you how from the beginning especially on what methods to adopt when fetching, updating, deleting, or inserting records. You will find out all those chapters on connected/disconnected recordset to be very helpful.

In our new app, I am supposed to create a middle-tier and take advantage of connection pooling. This book also has a detail description on how you can go about implementing a three-tier.

A beginner may find this book to be a bit challenging since there are a lot of ideas need to be digested. However, for someone who has some ideas on design and need to find out what is the best way to execute it, in this case writing a good vb app, this is the book for you.

Every idea goes through a refinement process. I thus see this new book as a better version of the first; along with some new ideas that sure will change my perception about life again. Human being needs to be constantly reminded. With this new version, I can look at the same idea from a different angle.

I do not have any complaints about this new book. After all, Hyrum did change my life and save myself from getting an ulcer. Thank you Hyrum!

The song "Dream of Mirrors" is probably my favorite song in the album. There are so many tempo changes in there that really make my mood swings every time I listen to it. The more you listen to it, the more you realize how talented the group is in terms of knitting all the melodies into one song.

They + Dickinson are 'brave' enough to come back and I therefore have to give them two thumbs up!

This book totally turned the notion around. In order to experience inner-peace, the to-do list, which they called prioritized daily activities, has to be tied directly to your governing values.

All the ideas in this book are principle-oriented. That means they have been tested in the real world to bring happiness in life - if you apply them deliberately. It has changed my life two years ago, and hopefully it will change yours.