Javaserver Pages: Amazon.co.uk: Larne Pekowsky: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

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

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 off 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 author creates a valuable text that 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, amazon.com

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 serialisation, 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, personalisation 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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

This book teaches beginner programmers how to create dynamic web sites with JavaServer Pages (JSP) using many examples. This tutorial/reference brings JavaServer Pages to the huge audience of non-programmers and allows them to get the most productivity from JSPs, with the least effort. This second edition covers the latest release of the JSP specification (2.0), including overviews of some related technologies such as servlets, the Java standard tag library (JSTL), Jakarta Struts, and databases. The second edition of this bestseller includes a number of standard extensions to JSPs, as well as a number of best practices that have been developed since the first edition was written.Over the past few years, JavaServer Pages have become a popular and important technology for building dynamic web sites. Several commercial implementations, as well as wide-spread open-source ones, already exist and are in wide use. Unlike Microsoft's Active Server Pages, JSPs do not tie the developer to any particular platform, and are available to developers at no cost.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Too complex for web developers, too basic for programmers 29 Dec 2000

By Robert S. Johnson

Format:Paperback

This book promises much, but fails to deliver. The code samples are full of misprints, and frequently the chapters are overly simple and aimed at people with little or no programming experience. Later on they casually mention that a complex installation and configuration needs to be done, but no instructions are given. Misprinted or buggy code accompanies all but the simplest examples. I would recommend Professional Java Server Pages or Professional Java Server Programming (J2EE edition), both by Wrox, as a more comprehensive and accurate tutorial / manual

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2nd Ed - Nice introduction for web site designers 10 Nov 2003

By Thomas Paul

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.

Superb for programmers and non-programmers 12 Sep 2000

By A Customer

I disagree wholeheartedly with the previous reviewer. I am an experienced Java programmer and found the book an excellent intorduction as to how JSP's are usefull for both programmers and non-programmers.

However if you allready understand JSP's this will be too simple for you.