Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages, Vol. 1: Core Technologies, Second Edition

Rating:
Summary: Recommended - reused many times
Review: I purchased this book over a year ago - and it has been one of those very few Java books I've pretty much read from cover to cover; and continue to go back too.

I lead a team of several Java/JSP developers - where our site is completely dynamic. The book contains answers to may questions like - how to ensure the browser doesn't cache your dynamic pages!

It was also refreshing - in that it doesn't treat the reader like he's never coded or seen java before. The market is full of Java101 books - but significantly sparse with good books for experienced "seasoned" professional developers looking to bone up on a new technology or area of Java.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time and money with anything else
Review: I saw over 190 reviews and an average of near five stars for this book. There's nothing new to say - this book is very practical without being simple and deals with the things that you need to get this stuff to WORK. There are other good books out there, but they're too busy making this stuff into rocket science whereas Marty's book breaks it down into something that is manageable - that is a sign of a good technical writer.

Seriously, I don't know how many books I bought that are related to Java - but they all need to be written like this one. Don't waste your time with anything else.

Rating:
Summary: excelent Book
Review: this one of the most beautiful books about java servlets & jsp examples are demonestrated and very good explanations

Rating:
Summary: Core servlets belong in your library...
Review: An excellent book. The example code classes are meaningful, actually compile and work.

I was so impressed with this book that I bought Hall's Core Web Programming book too.

Would love to see him write a book for the client on DHTML and Javascript. Our firm will not use Java on the client.

Rating:
Summary: Book Review
Review: In short.....WOW!!!

I am an experienced web programmer and decided that it was time to add Java to the list. I was looking for a book that would provide me the information I need but not a a beginner's level. Well, this book did exactly that. I provide great insight on what Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages were and how to quickly implement them.

In addition, it showed and discussed more than just the standard "Hello World" examples. This is a book that I would recommend for anyone looking not only to learn Java but who is looking to implement it.

Thanks to Mr. Hall for writing a great book...

Rating:
Summary: useful for new starters
Review: I found this book very useful for new starters, because it introducted in detail how to install and configure different types of web servers. The updated information on the related website also provide valuable help. However, I still met some troubles in configuring the tomcat4.0.1 even though I followed the instructions step by step.

Rating:
Summary: Not so good at explaining concepts
Review: I am a hard-core JSP developer. I do not own this book. However, one of my friends show me two paragraphs of the book that he did not understand.

These 2 paragraphs were poorly written.

"Chapter 12.2 Including at Rquest Time".
It is talking about <jsp:include> action. One sentence said,
"On the other the page has been already been translated into a servlet by request time, so the included files cannot contain JSP."

The words "cannot contain" is very misleading. It should say something like, "<jsp:include> cannot make the including JSP contains the *source* of included JSP."

Rating:
Summary: An "old way" programming book, but still a very good one
Review: After reading the review from javauser1 I have to agree with him about that it will be better to have a second updated edition than a new book (More servlets...), but that is just marketing.
I have read it from the beginning and although is the "old way" and outdated, I think is the best way to learn something. I think, How can we go deeply if we don't know the surface? We need the basics and Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages fullfil my requirements for developing web applications. I recommend this book to be a beginners and intermediates programmers reference for web programming.
It teachs a lot of issues

Rating:
Summary: This book should be called "Core Minus The Real Core..."
Review: While this book may have been widely accepted in the old days, the technology improvements made by Sun to JSP/Servlets (and the wide vendor adoption of JSP 1.1 and Server 1.2) have rendered this "core" book as inadequate by contemporary standards. The author obviously realizes this, but rather than doing what most authors do (release a second edition), the author unconventionally released a "more..." book to fill in the gaps. This would be fine if the gaps were small or non-essential secondary topics, but the gaps are HUGE and actually represent the "core" of contemporary JSP and Servlets: web applications, application security, error handling and more.

I'm an architect that purchased this book because I am trying to recommend a good Servlet and JSP book to staff developers who are intestered in doing Java Web Development.

This is a great book for getting started with Servlets and JSP and learning the "old way" of how to implement Servlets and JSP as a haphazard grab bag of individual web components. But don't buy this bought and expect to pass serious code reviews by well informed colleagues. Two years ago, it would have been a great book. Now, its outdated and non-comprehensive of what Sun themselves consider to be "core" JSP and Servlets.

Do not expect any coverage of Sun's J2EE best practice recommendation for using JSP and Servlets to create robust "Web Applications". That fundamental piece of knowledge, which should be taught from the ground up, is now lumped into this book's sequel. What a mistake that that was! Rather than coming out with a much needed second edition of this book which would have sustained HUGE successes, the author decided to publish another book "More Servlets and JSP" to cover the really critical topics that were omitted from this book. The result: you buy two books when you should only need one (good for the seller i guess) and end up with an out of sequence set of topics that force you to learn the old way first, develop bad habits and at the very end of the learning process (when you are done with the "core..." and start reading the second "more..." book, you learn that you should forget what you learned in the first book, stop using the bad habits taught in book 1 and do it the right way.

The author covers the "guts" of the API well, but fails to describe the J2EE architecture and how important it is to use JSP and Servlets to deploy well architected "web applications". There is also no distinction made between web sites and web applicaitons. The following topics are omitted or given cursery treatment, yet they are supported by all major JSP/Servlet vendors, they are core objectives of the Sun Java Web Component Certification Exam and in my opinion, they make or break real world web applications:

The handling of web.xml is limited to JSP custom tags, and no emphasis is made that web.xml is a powerful AND recommended Java standard that can be used to encapsulate the configuration of a web application in a portable way for implementing servlet startup configuration, servlet mappings, web application security and servlet initialization parameters. The reader is left with the impression that web application configuration is a "vendor dependent" headache (see page 35), when in fact Tomcat, JRun, and WebLogic have been using web.xml to some degree since as early as 2000. Also, the treatment of error handling, a "core" part of a robust web application, is totally insufficient.

Another problem is that ServletContext, the primary API for sharing global resources among JSPs and Servlets a web application, is not even covered at all under Servlets. It is not mentioned until the JSP section (Chap 10, page 245).

I'm not one to complain without proposing a solution. To the authors. This book would sustain its life in the industry and leave little to be desired if a second edition were released with the following topics given more substance and added as new chapters around or after Chapter 7:

Developing a Web Application
- Describe the requirements of robust Web application models
- Describe the Web application descriptor file and web.xml tags , , , and
- Deploy a Web application using deployment descriptors

Sharing Resources Using the Servlet Context
- Describe the purpose and features of a servlet context
- Develop a servlet context listener that manages a shared Web application resource

Handling Errors in Web Applications
- Describe the types of errors that can occur in a Web application
- Declare an HTTP error page using the Web application deployment descriptor
- Declare a Java exception error handler page in the deployment descriptor
- Create an error handling servlet
- Write servlet code to log exceptions
- Write servlet code to capture a Java technology exception and forward it to an error handling servlet

Configuring Web Application Security
- Explain the importance of Web security
- Use the deployment descriptor to configure authorization for a Web application resource
- Use the deployment descriptor to configure authentication of users of a Web application

I refuse to buy the "More..." book. I want ONE book (not TWO) that present the "core" topics in a logical sequence. I'm definitely not alone: our local book retailers are slashing prices on the "more..." because its not selling.

TO OTHER READERS: If a second edition of this book comes out that covered the "core" JSP and Servlet topics above, then I would highly recomend the book. Until then, check out O'Oreily.

TO THE AUTHORS: Follow the advice of the GE Chairman. Every year, lose your losers and save your winners. "Core" was a winner, it may be in jeopardy of being a "loser" and it could be a huge "Winner" again. My 2 cents is to lose "More" and save "Core".

Rating:
Summary: CORE SERVLETS!!!
Review: Isnt' this book Core Servlets only? Not much about JSP's. I'm slightly disappointed for JSPs...

But it's also good, I hope there's a second edition to this... it's kinda outdated for 2002, with Apache 4.02 and the new specs for Servlets and JSPs.