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Help for Sever-Side Java Developers O'Reilly Releases JavaServer Pages, Third Edition
JavaServer Pages (JSP) has built a huge following since the release of JSP 1.0 in 1999, providing Enterprise Java developers with a flexible tool for the development of dynamic web sites and web applications. While new point releases have incrementally improved the rough areas of the first version of the JSP specification, JSP 2.0, released late in 2003, takes this technology to new heights.
"JavaServer Pages, Third Edition" (O'Reilly, US $44.95), by Hans Bergsten is completely revised and updated to cover the JSP 2.0 and JSTL 1.1 specifications. The book includes detailed coverage of the Expression Language (EL) incorporated into JSP 2.0, the JSTL 1.1 tag libraries and the new function library, the new tag file format that enables custom tag library development without Java code, the simplified Java tag library API, improvements in the JSP XML syntax, and more. Further, it details setup of the Apache Tomcat server, JSP and JSTL syntax and features, error handling and debugging, authentication and personalization, database access, XML processing, and internationalization.
Readers of the previous edition of "JavaServer Pages" will note that many of the custom components used in the second edition have now been replaced with equivalent standard components from JSTL, a specification to which the author contributed. In fact, Bergsten helped shape the standard based on many of the ideas explored in the first and second editions of this book.
The examples in the book guide readers through solutions to common JSP design problems, from basic issues, such as retrieving and validating user input, to more advanced areas, such as developing a database-driven site, authenticating users, providing personalized content, caching data for better performance, and implementing internationalization. "The latter part of the book describes how you can combine JSP with other Java technologies," Bergsten explains. "In particular, I describe the combination of JSP and servlets using the popular Apache Struts framework, and provide an overview of how JSP fits into the larger scope of J2EE."
"JavaServer Pages" recognizes the different needs of the two groups of professionals who want to learn JSP: page authors interested in using JSP elements in web pages, and programmers concerned with learning the JSP API and using JSP effectively as a part of an enterprise application. Readers in the first group will learn from the practical web application examples in the second part of the book. Those in the latter group will appreciate the detailed coverage of advanced topics in the third part, such as how to integrate servlets and JavaBeans components with JSP using the popular Apache Struts MVC framework, and how to develop custom tag libraries using the JSP API, with realistic examples that they can use as a springboard for their own libraries.
"This book is both well informed and well organized. It provides experts with invaluable tips and insights, while newcomers will find all they need to assess and implement their first JSP applications."
--Tim Anderson, Amazon.co.uk
Chapter 11, "Developing Custom Tag Libraries as Tag Files," is available online.
by Hans Bergsten, 764 pages, $44.95 US, $69.95 CA
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