Book review: OSGi in Action
Z Jacek Laskowski - Wiki Projektanta Java EE
OSGi in Action by Richard S. Hall, Karl Pauls, Stuart McCulloch, and David Savage (Manning, April 2011)
OSGi's premier book (or a serious contender to become one)
Could a 520-page book ever amount to the primary professional source of hands-on knowledge about a topic such mysterious and misleadingly perceived complex as OSGi since many have already tried and failed? There are a few books about OSGi, however the specification grew up quite large lately, split in 3 different documents. Wouldn't it be nice if there existed a book that would get into the gory details nicely? I'm so grateful I could finally come across such a book - that's "OSGi in Action" from Manning. Manning proved again that their "In Action" series favours only the best authors who are often leaders in their area of expertise. Take it for granted when the authors are the active members of a OSGi framework project - Apache Felix. If their efforts in the project didn't speak for their accountability, the book did. It's a book that delivers on what it promises and the writing wisdom jumps at you when you open the first page.
In fact, the book has remained invaluable from the very beginning to the end. It didn't really matter whether it touched on simple bits like the OSGi layers or more advanced topics like available component models or security - it excelled in providing an in-depth coverage of OSGi in every page leaving a reader with no or a few questions unanswered. Not much head-scratching accompanies the book's reading as it reveals the myriad of choices OSGi offers. I did miss more coverage of Enterprise OSGi, but honestly I could barely endure more reading as almost every page of the book made me squealed in delight. Think about the emotions while trying to rein in your excitement and keeping focused during a 520-page book's reading. That is a grand adventure.
The particular ways the book used to explain every detail of OSGi have extremely influenced the course of my understanding. It looked as if this book were written for me in particular. It is written in a clear and lucid language wasting no space for overly page-consuming code listings. Dozens of well-chosen and often humorous figures adorn its content. The book nails down the merits of OSGi so well focusing on explaining the essentials. No page is a waste. There are samples and their explanations to virtually all problems or misunderstandings I ran across earlier and many more. It's remarkably engaging and is the sort of book you can just dip into now and again. I'm pretty sure the book would suit beginners as well as OSGi practitioners.
