Science news and science current events, research and discoveries.
Top science news articles and science current events stories from the past week.
Science Resources
Science RSS News Feeds
Earth, Life and Space Science RSS News Feeds.
|
 |
 |
 |
| View Larger Image | Professional BlackBerry
by Craig J. Johnston, Richard Evers
| | List Price: | $39.99 | | Price: | $26.39 | | You Save: | $13.60 (34%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 335357 | | Studio: | Wrox | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 308 | | Publication Date: | July 29, 2005 | | Publisher: | Wrox |
| |
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
- BlackBerrys enable users to stay connected with wireless access to e-mail, calendars, and corporate data; they have a phone and a Web browser in addition to other wireless features
- Written by a BlackBerry insider with assistance from Research in Motion, this book covers support topics ranging from setting up BlackBerry pilot programs to developing applications that let BlackBerry users access corporate data and systems remotely
- Key topics include how to deploy BlackBerrys within the organization, how to create push applications to extend the functionality of BlackBerrys, and how to implement new features of the latest BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) 4.0
- Details rolling out BlackBerrys to users in an easy and controlled manner, planning for disaster recovery, and developing Web-based applications using mobile Web technology
|
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 8 reviews)
|
Valuable but "thin" 
Professional BlackBerry by Craig James Johnston & Richard Evers covers sundry facets of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), deployment of BlackBerry devices as well as BlackBerry-application development. As such it is targeted at system administrators and developers. Having been published in 2005, Professional BlackBerry is of course only current up to version 4.0 of the enterprise software.
After describing the BES system architecture, the authors go into planning the first installation and deployment of the desktop software. Monitoring the BlackBerry environment and user management are followed by an interesting overview of desaster-recovery planning.
Part II is for developers and describes the MDS and its simulators. Pushing content to BlackBerrys is then followed by developing Java applications and The Plazmic Media Engine.
All in all, the book is valuable for the systems administrator or the developers planning to deploy a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, although I found the book is a bit "thin"; I'd have expected more in-depth information on the data flow between a BES and the device itself, as well as some insight to the internal structure of a BES server (configuration, databases, etc.). There is very little information about the myriad settings which can be deployed to devices, and the administration topics are a bit lacking as well. Be it coincidental or not, the WML examples in the development chapter look familiar to the ones in the BlackBerry Developer Journal and are by the same author. Are there no other examples to build upon?
July 14, 2006 | |
Useful content, but a little light
One of few Blackberry books available, "Professional Blackberry" has much of its content aimed at hosting BES servers and integrating handhelds while the other offerings concentrate on the heldhelds themselves and largely treat the server as a black box.
There is still a little time taken to cover features on the handheld such as developing Java applications and using the Plazmic Media Engine for enhanced content, but these are provided as the last two chapters. While they are fine as an introduction, you will need to look for other sources for developing your own content for the Blackberries.
There is a lot to know, and setting up any server is a complicated business, so I have to admit I was a little surprised by the size of the book. At around 300 pages with a third dedicated to appendices, it lacked the depth I was expecting in many areas. The coverage of the combinations of backend possibilities had plenty of useful information, but they were all mixed together and would be difficult to refer to if you were only interested in a single set up.
Overall this isn't a bad effort and a useful book for the task, but I'm hoping later versions will be fleshed out a little more.
November 28, 2005 | |
For BlackBerry Developer 
Finally, a roadmap for BlackBerry application developers. I would have
saved countless hours if I had this book 2 years ago.
I suggest this book for those of you who are about to step into the
area of developing BlackBerry applications. The book is primarily targeting two types of audience, administrators and developers. The first part being administration related, covers planning and installation, including upgrades.
If you are a developer, the first part gives you the big picture. A good understanding of the architecture and the platform goes a long way in taking advantage of the capabilities unique to the BlackBerry. This part also provides you with good understanding on how you could deploy your application to your users. The second part is where most developers would find valuable. It runs the gamut of technologies you can use in the BlackBerry platform, including the use of web portal,
BlackBerry Channel, Java Applications and the Plazmic Media Engine, just to name a few.
These technologies are described here with necessary steps and samples, giving you a jump start into writing your application.
This book is also a good reference for experienced BlackBerry application developers. You can discover other
aspects of application development or other features of the device which may not be that obvious at first glance. The appendix also has good coding tips. I found some of the tips a timesaver.
For a BlackBerry user book, check out BlackBerry for Dummies.
November 21, 2005 | |
BlackBerry Developer
"BlackBerry Professional" caters to BlackBerry system administrators, application programmers, and BlackBerry web developers.
If you are a BlackBerry system administrator, regardless of size of your corporation, "BlackBerry Professional" does a good job walking you through deploying BlackBerries to people in a corporate organization. The book points out potential pitfalls so that you don't make the common mistakes that others would make.
As an experienced BlackBerry developer, I suggest this book as a must read for those who just started programming the BlackBerry. As any BlackBerry developer knows, in order to master the BlackBerry programming arena, one must first understand the BlackBerry infrastructure, because no matter what type of applications you maybe writing, sooner or later, the BlackBerry application has to interact with the BlackBerry infrastructure. "BlackBerry Professional" also goes over some of the hidden tools of Java Development Environment (JDE), the BlackBerry IDE from RIM, and help you write better BlackBerry applications. "BlackBerry Professional" gives you a good grasp of the development tool along with the BlackBerry infrastructure.
In addition, if you are interested in the BlackBerry web programming, this book also gives good primer on how to structure your website to "fit" a BlackBerry screen.
Furthermore, "BlackBerry Professional" also touches on developing Flash-like web animation, using Plasmic CDK, for the BlackBerry.
This is definitely one that will stay off your bookshelf and be on your desk for frequent usage.
Other stuff I recommend:
- BlackBerry for Dummies - BlackBerry user book
- BlackBerry Journal - http://www.blackberry.com/developers/journal/index.shtml
- BlackBerry Goodies - http://www.blackberryGoodies.com/
November 11, 2005 | |
An must-have for BlackBerry administrators
Even though my reading of the book was primarily focusing on the excellent "introduction to BlackBerry programming" part, it does not change the fact that this book aims to present readers a "Big Picture", which I was not able to get from other similar books. The book explains in detail about each key BlackBerry component and eventually how they work together to bring user a BlackBerry experience.
As an IT professional whose work is highly depending upon BlackBerry, I read everything I can, and have strong opinions about what's actually worthwhile, correct, and genuinely helpful. I have read many BlackBerry-related books and this book has advanced to the very top of the list of books that I recommend to people, especially administrators who need to know the "Big Picture".
Another neat thing about this book is that, the author strives to explain technologies with the language that could be understood by people at different levels. Even if you are a BlackBerry beginner and if you want to get a good handle on the whole "BlackBerry" thing, this book should be good starting point for you!
October 26, 2005 | |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| |
|
|
|
|
