JavaServer Pages, 3rd Edition

Rating:
Summary: Perfect book to get started
Review: Contents
This book covers JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology and standards. The chapters are as follows:
Part 1 - JSP Application Basics - Introducing JavaServer Pages; HTTP and Servlet Basics; JSP Overview; Setting Up The JSP Environment;
Part 2 - JSP Application Development - Generating Dynamic Content; Using JavaBeans Components In JSP Pages; Using Custom Tag Libraries And The JSP Standard Tag Library; Processing Input And Output; Error Handling And Debugging; Sharing Data Between JSP Pages, Requests, and Users; Developing Custom Tag Libraries As Tag Files; Accessing A Database; Authentication And Personalization; Internationalization; Working With XML Data; Using Scripting Elements; Bits And Pieces;
Part 3 - JSP In J2EE And JSP Component Developments - Web Application Models; Combining JSP And Servlets; Developing JavaBeans Components For JSP; Developing Custom Tag Libraries Using Java; Advanced Custom Tag Library Features; Integrating Custom Code With JSTL; Data Access Strategies;
Part 4 - Appendixes - JSP Elements References; JSTL Actions And API Reference; JSP Expression Language Reference; JSP API Reference; Book Example Custom Actions And API Reference; Web Application Structure And Deployment Descriptor Reference;

Review
So, you're surfing a web site and hit a web page that ends with the extension .jsp. Looks like a regular web page to you, and if you view the source, it still looks like regular HTML. So what is a .jsp page, anyway? This book will tell you everything you need to know, both as to what they are, how they work, and how you can start using the technology in your development projects. Provided you have a basic understanding of Java, this book will work well for you.

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 despair 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.

By getting the 3rd edition of the book, you'll learn about the latest versions of the JSP 2.0 specification, as well as the JSTL specification (version 1.1). These were both released in late 2003, so you are getting the latest and greatest as far as the information goes. Since the author was involved in developing the JSTL standards, he has replaced many of his custom examples with the new standard components that are now part of the language. This is extremely important in that you will be learning core language features as you work your way through the book, instead of how the author had to work around deficiencies in the spec.

Conclusion
If you want to keep moving along in the Java-based 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.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect book to get started
Review: Contents
This book covers JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology and standards. The chapters are as follows:
Part 1 - JSP Application Basics - Introducing JavaServer Pages; HTTP and Servlet Basics; JSP Overview; Setting Up The JSP Environment;
Part 2 - JSP Application Development - Generating Dynamic Content; Using JavaBeans Components In JSP Pages; Using Custom Tag Libraries And The JSP Standard Tag Library; Processing Input And Output; Error Handling And Debugging; Sharing Data Between JSP Pages, Requests, and Users; Developing Custom Tag Libraries As Tag Files; Accessing A Database; Authentication And Personalization; Internationalization; Working With XML Data; Using Scripting Elements; Bits And Pieces;
Part 3 - JSP In J2EE And JSP Component Developments - Web Application Models; Combining JSP And Servlets; Developing JavaBeans Components For JSP; Developing Custom Tag Libraries Using Java; Advanced Custom Tag Library Features; Integrating Custom Code With JSTL; Data Access Strategies;
Part 4 - Appendixes - JSP Elements References; JSTL Actions And API Reference; JSP Expression Language Reference; JSP API Reference; Book Example Custom Actions And API Reference; Web Application Structure And Deployment Descriptor Reference;

Review
So, you're surfing a web site and hit a web page that ends with the extension .jsp. Looks like a regular web page to you, and if you view the source, it still looks like regular HTML. So what is a .jsp page, anyway? This book will tell you everything you need to know, both as to what they are, how they work, and how you can start using the technology in your development projects. Provided you have a basic understanding of Java, this book will work well for you.

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 despair 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.

By getting the 3rd edition of the book, you'll learn about the latest versions of the JSP 2.0 specification, as well as the JSTL specification (version 1.1). These were both released in late 2003, so you are getting the latest and greatest as far as the information goes. Since the author was involved in developing the JSTL standards, he has replaced many of his custom examples with the new standard components that are now part of the language. This is extremely important in that you will be learning core language features as you work your way through the book, instead of how the author had to work around deficiencies in the spec.

Conclusion
If you want to keep moving along in the Java-based 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.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointinly basic
Review: Coverage is okay, but the book assumes so little knowledge that it is very frustrating for an experienced web developer who just wants to add JSP to his toolbox. It spends quite a while in the middle of chapters on such basic programming knowledge as using parentheses to change the order of mathermatical operations and using "!" as a logical negator. It also explains from scratch HTML concepts like relative and absolute links, and basic form elements.

If the book were better organized, these basic concepts might have been explained in introductory chapters which one could skip (if they were even included in the first place - it seems to me that anyone who needs these things explained isn't ready to be learning JSP, though I could be wrong). But since they're embedded in the middle of JSP discussion it is hard to just skip them - and I often find myself skimming over new material simply because I've gotten into the habit.

It's not a bad book, but it needs to be better targeted at an audience of a specific skill level. For an O'Reilly book it's very disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Good for a Hands-On Learner
Review: I have been teaching myself JSP for a project at work. This book has been very helpful. I was able to install the needed software and example files from the book on my laptop, and find meddling with the files as I read the chapters a great way to learn.

Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: I purchased the book based upon the O'Reilly reputation but I was very disappointed in this product. I don't feel the examples progress in complexity in a way that is conducive to learning. Often, the author refers to examples in previous chapters as he builds code relevant to the current chapter. Why should the reader have to go 4 chapters back to see the code that will allow you to navigate to the page under discussion? He also has an over reliance on code snippets instead of sacrificing the page real-estate to show the entire example for the sake of clarity. I also was surprised that the focus of the book is entirely on the JSTL with very little discussion of the core Java language.

Rating:
Summary: Good content, but bad organization
Review: I started reading "JavaServer Pages, 3rd Edition" hoping to get a good grasp of JSP.
After 3 days I was wondering why I was still confused about JSP.
Then I started reading the JSP chapter in "Java Servlet Programming, 2nd Edition by Jason Hunter" and suddenly everything made sense. I am *much* more comfortable with the coverage of JSP in "Java Servlet Programming, 2nd Edition". The JSP chapter in "Java Servlet Programming, 2nd Edition" is much more logically organized, and easy to follow.
"JavaServer Pages, 3rd Edition" may have all the correct information, but I found the organization of the book to be confusing.

Rating:
Summary: A technical user's manual that goes into express detail
Review: Now in an updated third edition covering JSP 2.0 and JSTL 1.1, JavaServer Pages is an extremely practical guidebook especially recommended for server-side Java Developers, uses explicit instruction, examples, and sample codes to instruct the reader in JSP application basics, development, and applying JSP in J2EE and JSP component development. A technical user's manual that goes into express detail, offering explicit syntax and step-by-step discussion of technical applications. No professional level Java reference collection can be considered complete or up to date without the inclusion of Hans Bergsten's JavaServer Pages.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book covers a lot of material, and tries to keep you focused on good coding practices. I'm not sure I'd recommend this to a beginner, but definately worth a read for mid-level programmers and above. This book covers a lot of ground.

Rating:
Summary: Separate your java and HTML
Review: Very recently (late 2003), Java Server Pages underwent a major official upgrade to Version 2. In part, this was driven by success. The sheer popularity of Version 1, which dates from 1997, also let to many ideas for improvements. Bergsten devotes the bulk of this book to explaining these. Some of you who coded with Version 1 and used earlier texts may notice the heft of this, compared to those.

Look, there is one immediate reason, as explained by Bergsten, why Version 2 is better than Version 1, and why you should migrate, presumably with the help of this book! If you wrote JSPs, like me, then your java code is generously littered with out.println(), wherein are strings with HTML tags. We can all appreciate Version 1 for its power and ingenuity in making dynamic web pages. But that interleaving of java and embedded HTML looks kludgy. (It is!) But aside from aesthetics, it scales badly with the size of the website you are supporting. And it is hard for you, the developer, and the HTML page designer to interact.

The key innovation is how Version 2 lets you separate the java and HTML far more cleanly. Not a complete refactoring, perhaps. But close enough to justify you investing some time in moving to it. The payoff should be considerable.

How does Version 2 do this? Well, you should read the book to find out.