Jakarta Struts Pocket Reference [Paperback]

Chuck Cavaness (Author), Brian Keeton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pocket Reference | Publication Date: June 2003

Web tier frameworks have soared in popularity over the past year or so due to the increasing complexity of Java itself, and the need to get more work done with fewer resources. Developers who used to spend hours and hours writing low-level features can use a well-written framework to build the presentation tier so they start coding the "good stuff" sooner--the business logic at the core of the program. The Jakarta Struts Framework is one of the most popular presentation frameworks for building web applications with Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages (JSP) technologies. If you work with the Struts Framework, then you know it speeds development time. You also know that many of its features are made up of components that are used repeatedly. Having to stop to check each component's parameters and programming details can be a time waster. The answer? The Jakarta Struts Pocket Reference. This portable book gives you easy access to the facts you need to get your job done.

The Jakarta Struts Pocket Reference is a quick reference to all the core features of the Jakarta Struts framework. An excellent companion to Programming Jakarta Struts, the pocket reference contains detailed information on the extensive Struts tag libraries, which were described in less detail in the larger work as they were still in development at that time. This little book also provides convenient coverage of the following:

• Configuration
• Built-in Action classes
• Action forms
• Complete Tag Reference (struts 1.1)

and much more.

O'Reilly's Pocket References have become a favorite among programmers everywhere. By providing a wealth of important details in a concise, well-organized format, these handy books deliver just what you need to complete the task at hand. When you've reached a sticking point and need to get to the answer quickly, the new Jakarta Struts Pocket Reference is the book you'll want close at hand.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chuck Cavaness is a graduate from Georgia Tech with degrees in computer engineering and computer science, has built Java-based enterprise systems in the healthcare, banking, and B2B sectors. Working at an Internet company to design and develop software architecture, Chuck has spent many frustrating hours figuring out the dos and the don'ts of web applications. With each enterprise system he's developed, Chuck has learned several valuable lessons about building "real-world" web applications, information that he's made available to developers who haven't had the opportunity to work on large systems. Chuck is the co-author of Special Edition Using Java 1.3 and Special Edition Using EJB 2.0, both available from QUE.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596005199
• ISBN-13: 978-0596005191
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,003,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Computers & Internet > Programming

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good reference once you know the basics..., January 17, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jakarta Struts Pocket Reference (Paperback)

Review
I recently worked my way through a Struts tutorial and really liked the approach for building web applications. However, the Struts architecture has a lot of configuration files and standard components that are interrelated when building an application. It's difficult to keep all the pieces in the right place in your mind as you're first coding with Struts. This is where the Jakarta Struts Pocket Guide comes into play.

The authors use a straightforward, documentation style of writing to give you just the core information on all the pieces that make up the Struts architecture. There's no conversational instruction on how to use or how to learn Struts. It is assumed you have the basic knowledge and need to understand the details of each piece. The format usually shows a piece of Java or XML code, explains what that piece does, and then documents each parameter that comes into play. So instead of wading through 50 pages of a book to figure out the web.xml file, you can find the core information here in six pages. You may need additional resources if you want to learn more about a particular feature, but this book will quickly show you that the feature exists and what it is meant to do.

If you're looking to learn Struts for the first time, hold off on this book until you've gone through a learning guide of some sort (like Programming Jakarta Struts by Chuck Cavaness). You'll need that level of instruction to get up to speed on the architecture. Once you have that down, you'll be able to use the pocket guide to find answers to your day-to-day questions on how the different parts work.

Conclusion
If you have already worked your way through a Struts book or if you use Struts on a daily basis, you'll find this a valuable little guide to give you focused answers on a timely basis.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, time-saving, January 19, 2005

By 

Szilágyi Donát (Dunakeszi, Hungary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jakarta Struts Pocket Reference (Paperback)

If the reader is not completely new to Struts, this book with the examples zipped with the Struts framework might be enough to develop a Struts based application.

The book has two main parts:

Intro to the usage of Struts and its most important components. (35 pages)
This part is quite good in relation to its size. The Validator framework could get more space.

Tag Reference. (85 pages)
Includes many short examples. Tiles are also included.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent value 4.5 stars, June 7, 2004

By 

Jol (Melb, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jakarta Struts Pocket Reference (Paperback)

Covers all of the bare bones and some of the guts of the topic in 125 pages. Not for complete beginners, but if youve read the limited docs on the web then this is the next step. Covers web and config xml in just enough detail, explains, form beans, beans in general, actions validation. The tag reference is 70/125 pages which makes sense as this so important to a struts app. Does justice to the html and logic tags. Great size for the desk or train. More books should be in this cut down format - it stops the authors rambling and gets to the point. for USD-10 you cant go wrong. Well edited - no mistakes. I got this with another (not as good but bigger) struts book and the two complement quite well. Go for it.