Addison Wesley JavaServer Pages, Second Edition (JSP 2.0)

Even if you aren't a programmer, you can design Web sites with dynamic content generated by JavaServer Pages (JSPs). That's the idea in JavaServer Pages, a very approachable and patient tutorial suitable for anyone with basic HTML knowledge.

Early sections explain how JSPs and Java servlets work. (In short, JSPs provide an easy way to write servlets, a powerful alternative to CGI scripts or Microsoft Active Server Pages, ASPs). With JSPs, you write HTML with embedded tags, so you don't have to be a Java expert to use them.

The strength of this text has to be the author's practically minded tutorial showing these pages in action. Dozens of short programming excerpts provide a solid tour of basic techniques, including retrieving form variables and generating dynamic content for a sample news Web site. Later, the author delves into the Java programming language itself, along with custom JavaBeans for use within JSPs.

Closing chapters enhance the sample Web site with personalization and even basic e-commerce capabilities. Chances are this case study is all you need to start making use of JSPs and beans successfully on your own. By centering on JSPs first and then working inward to the details of Java, the text can benefit a wide range of readers. Content creators can learn JSPs and gain exposure to some real Java, while serious Java programmers can learn a much simpler approach to writing servlets. Provided you know HTML and the basics of Web development, this easy-to-digest and worthwhile book can let you build Web sites that take advantage of one of today's most powerful server-side technologies. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: History of dynamic content with HTML, CGI scripts, Active Server Pages (ASPs), introduction to Java Server Pages (JSPs) and servlets, JSP comments and basic statements, error handling, request time processing and expressions, implicit JSP objects, retrieving user form variables, properties and serialization, basic Java programming (variables, keywords, objects, and simple class design), JSP scriptlets, conditionals, scoping rules, local, page, request and session scope, managing session information, designing JavaBeans, database and SQL basics, personalization techniques, dynamics ads, adding simple e-commerce capabilities, servlet events and APIs, using servlets with JSPs, introduction to XML and multithreaded programming, sample JSP code, and a case study for a news Web site.

User review
Good Book for Beginners
JavaServer Pages by Larne Pekowsky is geared to the Web designer instead of the Java developer. In the book, there is a tutorial on creating a JSP web site with dynamic content. The book is easy to read and shows the reader how to create a web site using JSP. The book introduces aspects of JSP as needed for the tutorial web site.

The second half of the book introduces the Java code needed for the tags in the first half of the book. It starts with a short chapter on writing Java code, and then introduces Java Beans, Servlets, and JSPs. This section provides as basic introduction to JSP programming. Also, the section introduces the MVC design pattern.

This is is more geared for web designers who want to learn JSP and not for a Java programmer who want to learn JSP. Advanced topics of JSP are not fully covered in this book, so this book is not a complete reference. I would recommend this book to someone just learning JSP.

User review
Good Introduction to JSP 2.0
This book is a good introduction to JavaServer Pages. It covers a variety of topics such as using Java Beans, the standard tag library, using databases, using XML, Servlets, and Controllers. Additionally, creating your own tag libraries and some advanced topics like threads are covered. Since so many topics are addressed, the coverage is more of an overview. The book focuses on the new JSP 2.0 specification with the new expression tags being emphasized. A sample project is implemented gradually. As new topics are addressed in the book, they are added to the project.

The book has some nice features such as the included CD that has an installation of Tomcat 5 that implements JSP 2.0. The installation includes the working examples and the database already configured for the examples. The examples are organized as a website by chapter which allows the reader to easily navigate to see the example work or to examine the code. This allows the author not to inundate the book with code examples, but rather to add the appropriate amount of code to illustrate a point.

I have a few criticisms for the book. Exercises for the reader should be added to the book to reinforce the text explanations, improve the learning process, and aid the retention of the reader. Likewise more illustrations should be added to the text to break up the blocks of text and enhance the reader's understanding. Perhaps, the MVC pattern could have been introduced earlier in the book since it is generally considered part of good design.

The book is a solid resource for developers moving to JSP. The reader should keep in mind that some of the topics would require more study to prepare for Production quality development.

User review
Nice introduction for web site designers
This book is geared for web site designers with no Java experience who are interested in understanding how to incorporate JSP into their web site. The book gives a good introduction to the basics that anyone doing web site development with Java will need to know. Although the book concentrates on incorporating JSPs into a web site it also includes enough information to allow the non-programmer to do some basic programming.

The first half of the book is a basic overview of JSP with a concentration on building dynamic pages by using JavaBeans, JSTL, and the expression language. Anyone who is familiar with ASP or ColdFusion will find this section very easy to follow. Each chapter has examples that help to make the information from the chapter easier to understand. All of the examples are on the included CD and ran without any problem in Tomcat. The second half of the book starts with a brief introduction to the Java programming language. The book then shows how to use Java to write your own JavaBeans. Servlets are discussed along with explaining what an MVC architecture is using Struts as an example. The second half ends by showing how to develop your own tag libraries.

The author has done a good job of explaining the basics of using JSPs but then he tries to cast too wide a net in the second half of the book. Each of the topics is covered too lightly (each topic could have its own book) and will tend to leave the inexperienced reader a bit lost. If you are a web designer and need to understand how to incorporate Java into your site then this book will be very helpful. Read the first part of the book in detail and just catch the major themes of the second half and you will be in good shape.

User review
Step up to JSP
I have always had a desire to learn more about creating web pages. I have only used basic HTML in the past but with this book I hope to step up to a higher level of creativity.
The book is written clearly yet gives extensive coverage. It is a great book for someone like myself, a beginner in this technology, and appears to me to cover advanced topics as well.

It is especially pleasing that the relationships of XML, JSP and HTML and Databases are described. It gives the reader a good idea of how they relate and how they can complement each other.

The included CD with the Tomcat engine was easy to install and the presentation of the examples makes the task of learning much easier. It operated correctly right away and this is something that often is not true with included examples.

It is not an easy task to create a book that works for an introduction yet also has good coverage for the advanced user. I think that Mr. Pekowsky has done that here.

User review
Very good, practical book
This book is more than the title makes you think. I was
pleasantly surprised to find it presents a no-nonsense,
practical coverage of JSPs, custom tags, the Standard
Tag Library, common threading issues, XML, beans and
database basics. It assumes you know very little and
presents everything you need to know to build a working
site in a clear, methodical and understandable way.
Experienced JSP/web programmers will appreciate the
good examples (with JSTL) too.