Customer Reviews

JavaServer Pages, Second Edition

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is hands down the best introduction to JSP coding. I've been through at least a dozen other publishers and no other book has been so clear and concise with all the relevant issues that plague serious JSP developers today. Usually a book will contain sections that aren't useful or don't deal with real life issues facing corporate programmers. This book handles everything from the most basic example to offering many perspectives of other programming theories. Having read the entire book, I'd have to say this book sets itself aside as THE best rendition of everything that makes for a great technical publication.

Many companies demand that you use best of breed coding methods before they will hire you on as a JSP developer. They want database connection pools, security considerations, localization of content, and they will typically force you to work with a number of different development environments and back-end servers. This book not only gives you the big picture, but it comes with WORKING EXAMPLES! I was able to use this book to learn how to install TOMCAT (the best JSP development environment) and watch the EXACT code in the book function flawlessly. I dare say having bought over 50 technical books in the last 10 years, this is an industry first. And the author examples every single line of code so you never get lost or confused about what is happening.

If you're asking yourself if you should buy this book, and you have a project requiring JSP knowledge and you've done either no or very little JSP coding, Hans will take you through a bottom up approach that will get you on the right path and make you look like an expert corporate programmer. It will be the first technical book in a long time that you've read cover to cover and wished there was more content to be had.

Anyone criticizing this book simply hasn't read it.

This a primer that describes the background JSP and server side programming in Java, as well it is a rather good tutorial for developing JSP. The JSP technology is based on the servlet technology, so it is very useful (I would say a must) to read a book on servlets first. "Java Servlet Programming" from Hunter & Crawford makes a good reading companion. It is complete and generally well written, but I have some points of critique.

The book consists of 3 parts (excl. appendices): a) Part 1 "JSP Application Basics" gives a good theoretical overview of the JSP technology and environment. b) Part 2 "JSP Appication Development" gives a complete overview for the developer of the actual JSP pages. But it also has stuff that is only relevant for Java developers (such a Java primer) and lots of examples that can only be understood by reading the chapters in part 3 of the book, meant for Java developers. c) Part 3 "JSP and J2EE and JSP Component Development" is meant for the hardcore Java developer and describes the development of Java Beans and JSP custom actions. It has very strong chapters about how JSP fits in the J2EE architecture and how it combines with servlets. There is also a short chapter about Java Beans, the description is good but the example is incomplete. The last two chapters about JSP Custom Actions and Database Access Components are difficult and rather messy.

General points of critique: A) The JSP architecture has as weakness that it does not clearly separate development of HTML content and Java code. Basically this technology shifts the burden from the Java servlet developer to the HTML content developer, who is now very afraid to break Java code embedded in the HTML page. This book suffers from the same problem: the chapter about JSP application development is written too much from a Java development background with too less consideration for the needs of the HTML developer. B) Things are not always explained in the right order, which makes examples difficult to understand. Especially the relation between JSP custom actions and tag libraries became clear to me at the very last moment.

I cannot understand why some people did not like this book. It is definetly those kind of books that make O'Reilly one of the most respectful tech editors. I also have Core Servlets and JSP, which is awful compared to this one. The Core book just say 'do that to get that'. It does not say why, when, the advantages, drawbacks, alternatives, etc. It is just a reference book, it does not teach you anything useful, just the JSP syntax, so you may think that you know JSP, but you actually don't. I had this feeling because I first read the Core book. But then when I read the O'Reilly one I realized that I did not know anything about JSP. I was ashamed of thinking I once knew it. To conclude: If you want to be a JSP specialist buy the O'Reilly's book. If you want to know the syntax of JSP by the Core one.

Typical to an O'reilly book, this book is not a bad introduction to Java Server Pages (JSP). It teaches the basics: what is a JSP, what is a Servlet, how to use them, what are the best practices for JSPs, etc. In my opinion it provides a fairly comprehensive tutorial. There is also a chapter about a design model (the MVC model) which the author recommends. However, despite all this I still do not recommend this book. Despite the fact that "Java Server Pages" seems to be a very comprehensive introduction for JSPs, it really isn't. Why do I say this? Three main reasons: First thing, the author uses his classes all across the book, which makes it somewhat useless for the developer seeking to see how to deal with
programming issues. All it teaches you is how to use the author's classes - but nothing besides!! With all due respect, this is a book about JSPs, not about O'reilly classes - and using premade classes considerbly hinders learning!
Second, the author seems to forget there are many ways of using JSPs and almost exclusively focuses on Java Beans. Well, I have been using JSPs for almost two years now, commercially, and WE DON'T USE JAVA BEANS. It's not that I'm saying it is a wrong approach, but it isn't the ONLY approach - which is what the author continuously states. Last, the author was using Tomcat, so there were Tomcat configuration tutorials all over the book. Since I don't use Tomcat (and I assume, many other people don't use it either), I felt as spending so much space on Tomcat was a waste. It would've been better if fewer subjects were covered, but examples on more Application Servers were given. (Similar to "More Servlets" by Marty Hall which gave each example for 3-4 different servers).

To summarize: I believe that there are better books than this one, however, it does teach the basic technology. After reading the book I can definitely say I learned new things - however, I would still recommend turning to another JSP book.

I have read about 5 servlet and jsp books, but nothing comes close for advanced, clean, portable and well documented JSP tags and code. This book should be called "JSP examples in a nutshell". If you find it easy to learn from examples, this is the book for you. Source code for every example in the book is included (JSP, beans, custom tags, ect.). Even a beginner can be developing JSP in no time at all.

If your a coldfusion developer, after reading this book you may just get rid of your Cold Fusion server and go with JRUN.

A servlet and Java book on the side is also helpfull if you want to round out you server side java development skills and learn all the how's and why's.

This book is a good high-level book to understand primary concepts of jsp development and proper architecture design. The code isn't as tight as it should be, but the core concept is there. Although, I'm glad I have this book I would suggest just sitting down with a coffee and scanning it in a bookstore; you'll experience the same effect. I'm going to purchase Web Development with Java Server Pages (ISBN: 1884777996) and Core Servlets and Java Server Pages (ISBN: 0130893404) next.

If you're bloody new, pick this one up. If you have had any experience at all, I would steer clear from this book.

Being that I usually trust O'Reilly to deliver quality material, I bought this book without even skimming through it at the bookstore. I have to admit, though, after reading it through I'm less than satisified. The first half of the book is aimed at web designers, so the author writes like he's walking on eggshells...trying really hard not to go into details as to confuse a non-developer. Very frustrating. Many topics just reference the 2nd half. Not only that, but much of the book is based on his own custom tags. This is like assuming developers are only going to be using his tag libraries.

Granted, the book does have its strong points. His descriptions and code examples are pretty solid and he keeps things simple and to the point. I think this book could have been better if he didn't try and write the book from two different perspectives. I understand what he's trying to accomplish, but it just doesn't work for me. O'Reilly books work very well as a reference, but they tend to lag behind in their ability to teach. Two stars.

I am a java programmer who needed to learn JSP's quickly and in a way that would allow me to deploy enterprise ready applications. Bergsten's book perfectly fit my needs. The beginning of the book offers a great quick intro to the toys and tools we get to play with and then moves on to more complex discussions including beans, authentication, architecture(MVC), database,custom actions, etc.It is a well rounded and well architected book.

Bergsten also is an author who stands by his product. I have owned the book for almost a month now and whenever I need clarification on some subject matter in the book, if I email him, he emails me right back within a day and with very detailed responses. You try getting that kind of service from Microsoft. HA! And Hans knows his stuff! I have also taken Sun's JSP training. Save yourself $495.00 Bergsten's book is better.

Do yourself a favor, don't keep looking; this is a killer JSP book.

I spent one hour reading this book at Barnes & Noble B&M this weekend. When I entered the store, I planned to buy it. However, I decided not to buy this book when I left. The author noticed that JSP-Servlet-Enterprise JavaBeans architecture is the most complicated one but also the best architecture for enterprise solutions. However, he just discussed how to use JavaBeans. Be aware that this is not a good approach for developing enterprise application. How to control security? How to manage resources? How to control transaction? You may develop a system very quickly using JavaBeans. Later you find that you have to write code for manage transaction, security, connection pool etc. I suggest the author write several chapters discussing JSP-Servlet-Enterprise architecture. The book also contains around 170 pages of API documents. I suggest buying another book: Web Development with Java Server Pages.

Excellent writing style. BUT, I concur with another reviewer - too many details are left out of the first few chapters and there is an over-reliance on the O'Reilly tag library. I like books that do not require me to download sample code and sit in front of a PC to understand. The writing should be self-contained.

Overall - it reads quite well. But my frustration peaked after chapter 8.