Customer Reviews

JSP: JavaServer Pages

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was very well written with lots of examples and with very clear and patience type of explanation.

Pros:
1. The very clear and well-organized layout of this M&T Books is definitely a PLUS for easy reading.
2. Even though this book was written for JSP 1.0 or 1.1 that used a lot of scriptlets but the codes are not clutters especially with Java Beans.
3. The online message board case study is one of the fine examples.

Cons:
1. It has omitted the detail of how to compile the Java code especially those with packages. This may be tough for those are new to Java programming.
2. Limited to Microsoft Access database. Since this is a Java related technologies, the cross-platform RDBMS should be used such as the freely available open source databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL (with cygwin).
3. The rather restrictive Hungry Minds, Inc. End-User License Agreement imposed on the accompanied CD. So, the book's examples may within the scope of this agreement. Most of the books published to date have used GPL license for their accompanied codes.

Barry Burd does an excellent job covering what you need to know to come up to speed quickly. He covers all the bases and explains it in a way that makes it easy and fun to learn. I will be looking for more of his books in the future.

Yes, another (well-deserved) 5-star review. The author does not get bogged down in covering every feature of JSP but rather focuses on the ones that are either essential in practice or that help establish a conceptual foundation. The author is not only an expert in the subject, but understands the newcomer too. This makes the presentation highly effective. (My favorite example of this is his gentle JFK-esque warning in the introduction to Java Beans: "don't ask yourself why you may or may not need [JavaBeans]... Instead, ask yourself how can you integrate these ... into the way you think about solving programming problems".)

One more point-- if you're an experience Java programmer, don't be put off by the fact that he explains elementary Java along the way. Those parts are easily skimmed over. This is the fastest way to get into the essence of JSP that you'll find.

The book provides an excellent basis for someone wanting to get into JSP coding, without the usual dribble that one gets from a 5000 page book. A really good buy.

I bought this book based on the stellar reviews it has been given here. But alas, I have ended up disappointed. The book does have it's good points: a well-compiled CD, an easy to grasp and friendly style among the main ones. But what disappointed me is that though Mr. Burd assured me that I could do 90% of JSP without knowing a lick of Java (haven't tackled that one yet), I found myself lost most of the time; and now am left with the 10% rather than the 90. The reason that I found myself so frustrated is that as a professional web designer/programmer, I'm not content to simply copy code from a CD and let it at that - I'm the type that likes to write it from scratch, and you need thorough and complete explanations for that; something I didn't find in this book.

Though the book seems to be directed at those with no previous knowledge of the field, I found it assumed much, and while I can't say I learned nothing about JSP and the Java language, I didn't come away from this book with much more than a handfull of features of either, and a few vague ideas and definitions. Put differently, he skips much crucial information for those who really haven't had any exposure to JSP or Java.

Perhaps after I learn Java this book will have more meaning for me - as such, I can't recommend it to anyone setting out to learn JSP. Though for those with a bit more background - go ahead, give it a whirl, it could be just what you're looking for.

I liked this book, very well written in simple english. Very easy to understand JSP's in and out.

A very good book. I enjoyed reading it. I found it easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn JSP