NotesBerry

If you are a regular subscriber of planetlotus.org you will have seen a new blogger John Wargo start to post some good stuff.  You may have also picked up that publishers Addison Wesley are a week away from publishing his second book "BlackBerry Development Fundamentals".

I'm pleased to have a review copy in advance of the official publication date.  Before I go on If you are based in the UK, deciding whether to buy this book or not is simple if you have any more than a passing interest in the subject. I've just looked at Amazon and they are retailing this book at slightly less than 15 quid.  At that price you really don't need to listen to me waffle on any more.  For it's overview of the platform, the information about push, and the many many tips it offers you should just go ahead and order the book before Amazon discovers it's worth more!

Like many I am a self taught BlackBerry developer who has made good use of the example code and white papers R|M publishes. Up to now there have been few published books for the platform, less that are terribly useful.

Given the reasonably good official and unofficial online resources why would you need a book?  To be honest there's no shortage of stuff to read but what should you read to give you a foundation to build upon? Who is there to guide you through the chaff and point you in the right direction?  That is where this book, which solidly covers the fundamentals new BlackBerry developers should know, comes in.

My draft copy has sixteen chapters and covers:

• A brief introduction to mobile applications, the technologies and capabilities of the BlackBerry Platform;
• A tour of the various various ways the BlackBerry device can reach the outside world, understanding and configuring the Mobile Data Service*;
• Extensive coverage of the various kinds of push application and how to use them;
• The BlackBerry Browser, and it's special features and some tips on setting up a development environment in Eclipse (I'm wondering if the BlackBerry Web Development Plugin for Eclipse is relevant to the 8.5.1 designer client) or Visual Studio;
• The second half of the book is given over to Java development and the various tooling options including RIM's own IDE, Eclipse and Visual Studio;
• Other technologies like the Plazmic Content Development Kit.

* The MDS Runtime is not covered in the book except to say that RIM have chosen to discontinue support for it.  I'm hoping the final version of the book has a bit more information about the new BlackBerry Widgets but I don't know if it will.

It's a very easy read, and that's a good thing.  Wargo's background in teaching budding developers around the US shines through in the clear and concise way it tackles each topic. The content is relevant and appropriate for it's target audience and there are many asides that will interest more experienced developers.  Time and time again I found myself saying ah that's how that works (the MDS broken down in it's component parts, BlackBerry security, and how to compile Java apps for multiple devices to name just three).

I doubt you will find as much essential information together in one place and written in such an informative and accessible way. It is aimed at the beginning developer and complements RIM's many good resources. What it does really well, I feel, is give you a solid basis on which to progress.  You will read this book and come out confident that you understand how things hang together, what the platform has to offer you  and which of the many options you want to pursue in more detail. It's also a book that you'll find yourself returning to as a handy reference.  Each chapter also contains links to other relevant resources which will save you time finding the best further examples.

There's something for developers who have gone beyond the basics too, as the book is littered with little pieces of useful information I haven't spotted anywhere else.

Without doubt this is a useful book but it is not a cookbook, there are code examples which are welcome but it is more of comprehensive backgrounder than a plethora of lengthy examples and fully worked projects. You will look other online resources to deepen your knowledge at least until John's next book Also there's no Domino specific information here either.

John is working on a companion website for the book: www.bbdevfundamentals.com and runs a personal blog at www.johnwargo.com

To pre-order BlackBerry Development Fundamentals Amazon (US) or BlackBerry Development Fundamentals Amazon (UK).

John Wargo has submitted one or two sessions for LS2010 and based on what's in this book and how it's delivered I'd bet they'd be good.  If I can persuade my wife and the boss of my boss to let me go (the one at work, not my mother-in-law) you'll find me somewhere near the front row.