Ben Forta

JavaServer Pages Application Development

JavaServer Pages Application Development

ISBN: 067231939X

Pages: 400

Publisher: Sams – November 1, 2000

This title is out of print, and there is no newer edition available. You may still be able to find copies online.

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JSP, or Java Server Pages, is a unique language, one that is fast changing the face of web application development. And there is good reason for this.

By now almost everyone has heard of Java, the object-oriented highly portable development language created by Sun Microsystems. In a short time Java has matured into a robust and reliable language, one that continues to gain acceptance within the development community. It is worth noting that Java was never intended to be used purely on the Internet or the Web. Java is a development language (as well as a complete development platform) and can be used to create complete applications, from desktop apps to server apps – and Java can also be used to power Web applications.

But as powerful and popular as Java is, one thing it is not is simple. Well, at least not as simple as scripting languages like Microsoft’s ASP, Allaire’s ColdFusion, or even Perl. Which is why for Web development, scripting languages remain dominant. After all, it is the simplicity of the HTML markup language that helped make the Web the success it is, and it makes sense to keep building the Web on that same simplicity. Developers, when faced with the choice of the power of Java or the simplicity of scripting, more often opted for the latter.

But JSP changes all that. JSP represents a new interface to Java, an interface so important that it is part of the J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) specification. JSP combines the best of both worlds – the raw power of Java and the simplicity of scripting – giving developers a new choice for Web application development. JSP uses an XML based tag based syntax (much like HTML itself), and uses a page oriented metaphor for coding. JSP also provides access to the full spectrum of Java classes and functions, and JSP code is compiled into binary Servlets for faster processing.

JSP truly is the best of both worlds, and this is why JSP is starting to capture the attention of Web developers everywhere.

This book is designed to teach you JSP, even if you have no Java experience what so ever. In fact, as long as you know HTML and the basics of Web page creation you have the knowledge you need to get started.

If you are an HTML developer looking for ways to extend your web sites, then this book is for you. If you have Web application development experience with a scripting language (such as ASP, Perl, PHP, or ColdFusion) and want to harness the power of Java, then this book is for you. And if you are an experienced Java developer looking for a way to leverage your hard earned knowledge in the Web development space, then this book is for you.

From Internet basics to Java acronyms and lingo, from Java fundamentals to JSP syntax, from interaction with Beans to writing your own tag libraries, from database integration via JDBC to e-mail interaction via JavaMail, from security to session state management, from EJB use to LDAP integration, you’ll find it all in this book, and all in a format that is highly readable and very code-centric.

Chapter listing

  • Introduction
  • 1: Understanding JSP
  • 2: Creating a JSP Page
  • 3: Using Scripting Elements
  • 4: Using Available Objects
  • 5: Using Beans
  • 6: Connecting Pages
  • 7: Working with Forms
  • 8: Interacting with Databases
  • 9: Securing Your Applications
  • 10: Managing Session States
  • 11: Integrating with Email
  • 12: Developing Custom Tags
  • 13: Interacting with Enterprise JavaBeans
  • 14: Handling Errors
  • 15: Debugging and Troubleshooting
  • Appendix A: JSP Syntax
  • Appendix B: Using Popular JSP Servers
  • Appendix C: Using Java Methods to Retrieve CGI Environment Variables

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