Product Description

JavaServer Pages, together with the Java Servlet API, provide the dynamic web content presentation layer for the Java 2 Enterprise Edition. JSPs and Servlets integrate tightly to enable scalable and portable applications, and are widely supported. This book extensively covers the next generation of these technologies, JSP 1.2 and Servlets 2.3, which are nearing completion under the Java Community Process and provide major enhancements to Java's web programming model.

This book looks in depth at these core components of the forthcoming J2EE 1.3 platform, preparing you for building the next generation of web solutions. You'll learn about the enhancements to the JSP tag library model; the new filtering and application event facilities; how to architect web applications to ensure clean separation of presentation and logic; and the increasingly popular Jakarta Struts framework. The book also addresses using JSP with XML and XSLT; databases access with JDBC; and how JSP and Servlets fit into the overall J2EE platform alongside Enterprise JavaBeans, JavaMail, and other J2EE technologies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1071301 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1000 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In essence, JSP (Java Server Pages) do the same job as ASP and use similar, HTML-alike code to do it. At an implementation level the JSP code is converted on the fly to a Java Servlet which produces the Web page so it's no surprise to find Professional JSP covers Servlets as well.

It's been updated to cover JSP 1.2's new features--including the ability to write JSP in the language de jour, XML--and Servelet 2.3, which adds an "official" way of chaining servlets.

As Professional JSP starts with Servlets the book's title seems a little odd, but really you need both JSP and Servlets for effective J2EE presentation programming.

With 18 authors and 21 technical reviewers it's unsurprising that though technically accurate and thorough to a fault Professional JSP has a distinctly disjointed feel, often reading more like a collection of loosely related essays on the subject (which is how it probably started out) than a fully integrated guide. On the plus side, this isn't a problem if you're already a Java programmer looking to extend your skills, but it won't suit those looking specifically for a guide to JSP. Those will probably find a dedicated title such as JavaServer Pages more useful.

The real strength of Professional JSP is in demonstrating how JSP integrates with Servlets, Javabeans, XML and related technologies on the server, and how to design your server side applications to make the most appropriate use of JSP alongside these other technologies. --Steve Patient

From the Publisher
This book is for professional Java programmers who want to use JSP and Servlets to create the web front end of their J2EE applications, and to see how these technologies separate presentation from the generation of dynamic content. No knowledge of JSP or Servlets is required, but the reader is assumed to be familiar with the Java language and core APIs. Some knowledge of XML and EJB will be of benefit, but is not essential.

About the Author
Based in London, Simon Brown is a senior software engineer with over 4 years experience of Java and related technologies. He has acted as technical lead and mentor to others as well as writing and delivering training material. Outside of work he has spoken at several Java events including JavaOne 2000, and has an article published on javaworld.com. Simon has a First class BSc (hons) degree in Computer Science from the University of Reading and is a Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE, and a Certified Developer for the Java 2 Platform. He can be e-mailed at simon_g_brown@yahoo.com.

Robert Burdick is an industry veteran with 14 years software design and development experience. He is president and founder of wAppearances, a consulting and training firm specializing in mobile and wireless computing.

Darko Cokor, born in 1970, graduated in 1997 from Zagreb with a major in Computer Sciences and is now working towards his Mr.Sc. He currently works as a Senior Consultant with all things Java, Perl, Apache, Servlet, Linux, JSP and much more.

Jayson Falkner is a full time student at the University of Miami pursuing a degree in Information Technology. He has been programming in Java for the past year and a half and is now focusing on JSP. Jayson is the CTO of Amberjack Software LLC and Webmaster of JSP Insider. In his spare time Jayson likes to program in binary and write not-so-funny jokes using XML.

Ben Galbraith first started programming when he was eight years old. He spent a considerable amount of his youth as a hobby programmer. In his late teens, he was hired by a Silicon Valley computer manufacturer to develop Windows-based client-server applications. In 1995, Mr. Galbraith began developing for the web and fell in love with Unix, VI, and Perl. After some years as an Internet consultant, Mr. Galbraith now leads the Java development team at an insurance company in Salt Lake City. He regularly lectures, evangelizes and gives classes on Java technology.

Rod Johnson is an enterprise Java architect specialising in scalable web applications. He is currently designing a J2EE solution for FT.com, Europe's largest business portal. After an arts degree majoring in music and computer science, Rod completed a Ph.D. in musicology before returning to software development. Rod has worked with Java on both client and server since its release, and has concentrated on Internet development since 1996. His main interests are J2EE architecture, EJB and OO web development. He can be reached at rod.johnson@bigfoot.com.

Larry Kim is a Technologist with netNumina, a systems integrator of customized distributed financial applications. He completed an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and is finishing graduate studies in distributed computing. He was the former Product Manager for the JRun Server at Allaire, and has co-authored several other books on Java Server Programming. Please come see his technical session on JSP web application frameworks & tag patterns at JavaOne 2001, the official Sun Microsystems Java Developer Conference.

Casey Kochmer's professional programming experience spans the past 11 years. Since 1996 his emphasis has been on web development using the server side web languages. Now actively promoting JSP, Casey is a co-founder of JSPInsider.com, a web site devoted to technical support for programmers making the jump to this development environment. Casey is also President of Amberjack Software LLC.

Thor Kristmundsson is a Freelance Developer specializing in distributed computing. He lives in Aalborg, Denmark with his wife Unnur and son Arnar (4).

Sing Li, bitten by the microcomputer bug since 1978, has grown up with the microprocessor age. His first personal computer was a $99 do-it-yourself Netronics COSMIC ELF computer with 256 bytes of memory, mail ordered from the back pages of Popular Electronics magazine. Currently, Sing is an active author, consultant, and entrepreneur. He has written for popular technical journals and is the creator of the "Internet Global Phone", one of the very first Internet phones available. His wide-ranging consulting expertise spans Internet and Intranet systems design, distributed architectures, digital convergence, embedded systems, real-time technologies, and cross platform software design. Recently, he has completed an assignment with Nortel Multimedia Labs working in Computer Telephony Integration, and Advanced Callcenter Management products. Sing is a founder of microWonders, an emerging company specializing in products to fulfill the ubiquitous "computing anywhere" vision. He is also an active participant in the Jini community.

Dan Malks is an Enterprise Java Architect with Sun Microsystems, working in the Sun Java Center in McLean, VA. He received a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from John Hopkins University in 1996 after having earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary in1987. While focusing on Object-Oriented technologies, he has developed in a variety of environments, including Smalltalk and most recently Java. He has published a number of articles about Java in leading industry periodicals, in addition to being a contributing author to Pro JSP. Currently, he has been focusing on Distributed, Service-based architectural designs, patterns and implementations.

Mark Nelson is currently a software engineer for Distributed Object Technologies (DOTech), a Sun Microsystems Authorized Java Center. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Mark holds a degree in Computer Engineering. He has been developing in Java since 1996 with a focus on applications and server side programming. Mark can be contacted at mark@dotech.com.

Grant Palmer has worked as a scientific programmer in the Space Technology Division at the NASA Ames Research Center for the past 15 years. He has worked with Java since 1996 developing programs for scientific applications as well as converting older FORTRAN and C codes to the Java platform. Grant lives in Chandler, Arizona with his wife, Lisa, and his two sons, Jackson and Zachary. In his spare time, Grant enjoys skiing and gardening, and is a competitive swimmer. He also likes to watch movies and read historical fiction.

Bob Sullivan has been building large-scale software systems for almost 20 years. He is a co-founder of Distributed Object Technologies (DOTech), Inc., a Sun Microsystems Authorized Java Center that enables its clients to leverage Java, XML and related technologies to construct IT systems and solutions that provide a competitive edge. He has been developing and teaching Object Oriented systems since 1985. Prior to starting DOTech, he was a Systems Engineer with Sun Microsystems where he architected enterprise solutions for large corporate customers. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Hartford (1982), and a Masters of Science in Computer Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1987). He can be reached at sully@dotech.com.

Geoff Taylor is a Senior Software Engineer and has worked at Kainos Software Ltd for the last 8 years. He wrote his first web application in PL-SQL in 1995 (back when web programming was hard) and is impressed with how much simpler it all is now. He can be reached at g.taylor@kainos.com.

John Timney is a postgraduate of Nottingham University having gained an MA in Information Technology following a BA Honours Degree from Humberside University. John currently works for Syntegra at their Newcastle office and specializes in Internet development. His computer expertise has gained him a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award.

Sameer Tyagi writes regularly for online and print publications. He has over four years of experience in software design and development and specializes in server side Java based distribution applications. (N-Tier architectures, JDBC, JNDI, EJB, JMS, RMI, JSP, Servlets et al). He has a Bachelors in Electronic Engineering and numerous other certifications.

Geert van Damme studied Mathematical Psychology and Philosophy but ended up working in the IT business after a short while. In 1997 he started his own development and consulting company Darling, currently focusing on server side Java. Since then he has worked as an independent consultant on a number of projects. He can be reached at geert.vandamme@darling.be.

Steve Wilkinson is a hands on software developer with over 13 years experience. Steve is currently a Principal with Elkhorn Creek Software Inc. where he concentrates on design and implementation of web based applications using Java technologies. Steve has been using Java technologies since 1996. He has worked on projects for companies that range from start-ups to fortune 500 companies like Sun Microsystems, MCI, BellSouth and IBM. In these previous positions, Steve has used various Java technologies, such as RMI, Java Servlets, JHTML, JavaServer Pages, Java Applications and Java Applets. Steve has written on Pro JSP.

Customer Reviews

Adds up to less than the sum of its parts
This book covers a lot of ground, not just JSP, but only superficially. There is little sense of coordination between the individual writers and chapters. Just when you are starting to get to grips with a topic, you are thrown onto something completely different. Like a lot of Wrox books, this one suffers from too many independent writers, and it could really use a comprehensive example project that could be used to demonstrate all the different topics. I worked through most of this book but still don't feel much the wiser on how to design a JSP site. Maybe other readers will fare better.

Starting with servlets was a mistake
I was expecting a coherent and well-structured introduction to JSP here. I was under the impression that JSP was (mostly) developed not only as a cross-platform replacement for ASP and PHP but also to largely replace servlets, which were more difficult to understand and maintain.

I read Chapters 1 and 2 with no problems. Then came a 70 page chapter on servlets, not what I had bought this to learn about! Thinking I could safely skip this chapter and return to it if and as needed, I was disappointed to find that just about the first thing Chapter 4 does is refer you back to a diagram in the previous chapter! Surely JSP in its abstraction could have taken precedence, or was this initially intended as an introduction to servlets, with JSP as an appendage?

Plus, was the first thing I desired to know about JSP a complete list of all the JSP directives? I think not! This book rapidly found its way back to my bookshelf.

Disjointed, repetitive and useless as a reference manual.
The problem with this book is very evident from the picture on the front cover. If ever a book was a case-in-point of the proverb "too many cooks spoil the broth" then this is it. Sixteen authors! I ask you.

Each chapter in isolation is actually pretty good, however, when they are all bundled together you get a book that is disjointed, repetitive and useless as a reference manual because the information for the subject you are interested in is probably contained in numerous sections and explained in differing styles.

In summary, another one of many recent IT technical books that is obviously trying to sell itself on size rather than quality of material.