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I'm going to be an intern soon at a bank (this is my first software related job) and I was told that I'm going to be working mostly with:

  • Java (I already know SE)
  • WebSphere
  • DB2

I saw this thread at reddit recently and let's just say I cringed a bit while reading the comments. I'm currently going through Head First JSP & Servlet and using tomcat as container to get myself ahead a bit.

I would like to know your experience regarding working with the above technologies. Is WebSphere really that bad of a server? or is it just the typical reddit hate for Java?

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closed as too broad by MichaelT, GlenH7, gnat, Bart van Ingen Schenau, Ampt Jun 3 at 20:29


This is not a direct answer related to websphere so i will put it as a comment. Considering that this is your first software job, i wouldnt even worry about the good / bad of websphere. Whatever its all about, you WILL learn as long as you keep an open mind. If its not things you should do, you will learn a lot of things that you shouldnt do. These are just as, if not more important, when you are just starting off in your career. Treat everything as a learning experience (and it is) and also remember to take such online flame wars (for the most part) with a touch of salt –  InSane Dec 23 '10 at 2:35

3 Answers 3

That link you provided is pretty accurate. If it's software and it came from IBM and it's not running on a mainframe then watch out.

I work for a large corporation and we're pretty much an IBM shop, IBM mainframe, AIX, WebSphere, MQ Series, Domino/Notes and we pretty much have a permanent IBM team in our building supporting all their crappy software. I'm on the .NET side of our shop but all of my Java co-workers complain endlessly about WebSphere. My own experience with the MQ API's is a nightmare and don't get me started on Lotus Notes (worst app EVER written).

IBM is not a software company, unless you're a mainframer STAY AWAY!!

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Thanks! On another note -- Oh god, what did I get myself into? :( –  Coding District Dec 23 '10 at 2:11
@Max - I feel your pain.... But this is an internship right? It's not forever and believe me, you will learn a bunch... –  Walter Dec 23 '10 at 2:19
Yes, it's an 8 month internship. I'm still more excited more than anything right now though –  Coding District Dec 23 '10 at 2:30
Sorry to say but this has been my experience as well. –  Ali Dec 23 '10 at 14:37

WebSphere is as simple or as complex as you want to make it. If all you're doing is stuff that could just as easily run on Tomcat (which accounts for 90% of what is actually done on WebSphere), you have nothing to worry about at all.

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Nothing wrong with WebSphere at all. Used it plenty of times in our company (large, public). Of course I haven't deployed much on it in recent years so my last experience was with version 5.2 if memory serves. Not sure what they are up to now.

Generally its a J2EE container, so it will behave as most do. If you have specific performance concerns or need a particular service, then you may want to clarify.

If you use IBM's Rational Developer (formerly WSAD, and still based on Eclipse, which IBM wrote, so its pretty much the same as Eclipse), then it should come with built in WebSphere test environments installed, so you can run/deploy your code right on your dev pc.

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