JavaServer Pages, Second Edition

The first part of JavaServer Pages covers the essentials of HTTP and Java Servlets, on which JSPs are based. There is also a guide to installing Tomcat on your Windows or Unix system. The next part, aimed at Web page designers as well as programmers, covers JSP application development. There is material on scripting elements, error handling, managing user sessions, database access, security, and using XML and XSL with JSP. Part 3, for programmers, broadens the scope to include EJB and other Java components, developing custom tags, and achieving highly scalable applications using database connection pools. A comprehensive reference section finishes things off.

The author has been an active participant in the official servlet and JSP working groups, and this book is both well informed and well organized. It provides experts with invaluable tips and insights, while newcomers will find all they need to assess and implement their first JSP applications. --Tim Anderson, Amazon.co.uk

Product Description
Since its inception in 1999, Enterprise Java has taken the Java programming community by storm--developers have realized its potential for building distributed applications. Today, JavaServer Pages (JSP) continues to harmonize how web designers and programmers create dynamicweb sites. JSP builds on the popular Java servlet technology and makes it easier to develop dynamic web applications--even if you're not a hard-core programmer.

JavaServer Pages, 2nd Edition is completely revised and updated to cover the substantial changes in the 1.2 version of the JSP specification, and also includes detailed coverage of the new JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL)--an eagerly anticipated specification of a set of JSP elements for the tasks needed in most JSP applications. This book starts off by illustrating how JSP capitalizes on the power of Java servlets to create effective, portable web applications. It shows how to get started using the Apache Tomcat server, and provides detailed coverage of JSP syntax and features, error handling and debugging, authentication and personalization, and how to use JSTL for database access, XML processing, and internationalization.

JavaServer Pages recognizes the different needs of the two groups of professionals who want to learn JSP: page authors interested in using JSP elements in web pages, and programmers concerned with learning the JSP API and using JSP effectively in an enterprise application. If you're in the latter group, this book also teaches you such advanced topics as integrating servlets and JavaBeans with JSP, using the popular Apache Struts MVC framework to illustrate how it's done. Finally, the author presents how to develop custom tag libraries, using realistic examples that you can use as a springboard for your own JSP libraries.

"This is a complete, comprehensive, and most of all, practical book. The author excels at sharing his vast expertise so web developers can make the most out of JavaServer Pages and related web technologies."

--Pierre Delisle, JSP Standard Tag Library Specification Lead

The book starts off with an explanation of what JSPs are and why you would use them. Basically, it provides a way to generate dynamic web pages using snippets of Java code. Logically, it's much like ActiveServer Pages (ASP) code as provided by Microsoft, only using Java instead of Visual Basic. It then goes into the benefits of generating content in this fashion, and how it's a superior method to other technologies such as CGI and ASP coding. The rest of the book then goes into great detail (with a large number of examples) on the specifics of JSP syntax. The author does an excellent job of meshing the approach of a tutorial with actual detail that can be referenced after you start developing applications.

The author assumes the use of the Tomcat J2EE server package to learn JSP technology. Tomcat is a free download from www.apache.org, and it's easy to load and configure. But don't dispair if you are using a different web server. The examples are very generic and portable, and with very little effort you can adapt the information to whatever platform you use. In my case, I was using the Websphere platform and had no problems using that server to work my way through the book.

Ok... You're a Notes/Domino developer who is wondering why you should care about this stuff. It's not Notes, and you don't know Java, so why bother? Well, there is a whole area of Domino development now codenamed "NextGen" that will allow you to access Domino data and application components within a J2EE environment. Much of this new approach to developing applications based on Domino will involve the use of servlets for business logic and JavaServer Pages to display the traditional forms and views. Furthermore, Domino 6 provides custom tag libraries that do much of the "Notes-y" stuff for you when you are working with JSPs. In order to start moving in this direction with Domino, you'll need to start learning about JSP technology, and this book will start you in that direction. And if you are thinking about working with portals, you HAVE to learn this stuff. Portlets are nothing more than an extension of servlet classes and JSPs to display the data.

Conclusion
If you want to keep moving along in the IBM/Lotus world, servlet and JSP technologies are in your future. While you may not need it right now, you WILL need it. I highly recommend this book as a great starter text on the subject that will grow with you as you learn and work with JSPs.


Examples are very good   October 6, 2003
This second-edition is very good...provides excellent coverage
of all JSP topics. The examples are VERY helpful. (I also use
the free Tomcat V4.x application-server to host the book
examples and example code that I've developed.)


A great book to learn JSP   August 16, 2003
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book is by far the best book to JSP - the latest version. It gave me some ideas. This book is loaded with useful code. This book is great for two kinds of programmer: a beginner and for the experienced developer. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn JSP.

Michael


not for Java programmers   May 23, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Excellent writing style. BUT, I concur with another reviewer - too many details are left out of the first few chapters and there is an over-reliance on the O'Reilly tag library. I like books that do not require me to download sample code and sit in front of a PC to understand. The writing should be self-contained.

Overall - it reads quite well. But my frustration peaked after chapter 8.


Excellent Book!   February 25, 2003
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

This book really gets you up to speed with JSP / JSTL! Clear information on the concepts and the background, lot's of real world examples that allow you to build your own application faster than you ever thought.