Books about Servlets from Amazon.com

It has taken four years, but with Head First Java the introductory Java book category has finally come of age. This is an excellent book, far more capable than any of the scores of Java-for-novices books that have come before it. Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates deserve rich kudos--and big sales--for developing this book's new way of teaching the Java programming language, because any reader with even a little bit of discipline will come away with true understanding of how the language works. Perhaps best of all, this is no protracted "Hello, World" introductory guide. Readers get substantial exposure to object-oriented design and implementation, serialization, neatwork programming, threads, and Remote Method Invocation (RMI).

Key to the authors' teaching style are carefully designed graphics. Rather than explain class inheritance (to cite one example) primarily with text, the authors use a series of tree diagrams that clarify the mechanism far more succinctly. The diagrams are carefully annotated with arrows and notes. Also characteristic of the unique teaching strategy is heavy reliance on exercises, in which the reader is asked to complete partial classes, write whole new code segments and do design work. Though there's little discussion of why the exercises' correct answers are what they are, it's clear that the practice work was carefully designed to reinforce the lesson at hand. If you've waited this long to give Java a try, this book is a great choice. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Java programming language for people with no Java experience, and even people with no programming experience at all. Key concepts read like a list of Java features: Object oriented design, variable type and scope, object properties and methods, inheritance and polymorphism, exceptions, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), network connectivity, Java archives (JAR files), and Remote Method Invocation (RMI)..
Price: $20.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Looking to study up for the new J2EE 1.5 Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) exam?

This book will get you way up to speed on the technology you'll know it so well, in fact, that you can pass the brand new J2EE 1.5 exam. If that's what you want to do, that is. Maybe you don't care about the exam, but need to use servlets and JSPs in your next project You're working on a deadline. You're over the legal limit for caffeine. You can't waste your time with a book that makes sense only AFTER you're an expert (or worse, one that puts you to sleep).

Learn how to write servlets and JSPs, what makes a web container tick (and what ticks it off), how to use JSP's Expression Language (EL for short), and how to write deployment descriptors for your web applications. Master the c:out tag, and get a handle on exactly what's changed since the older J2EE 1.4 exam. You don't just pass the new J2EE 1.5 SCWCD exam, you'll understand this stuff and put it to work immediately.

Head First Servlets and JSP doesn't just give you a bunch of facts to memorize; it drives knowledge straight into your brain. You'll interact with servlets and JSPs in ways that help you learn quickly and deeply. And when you're through with the book, you can take a brand-new mock exam, created specifically to simulate the real test-taking experience..
Price: $28.41 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This new edition of Murach's Java Servlets and JSP makes it easier than ever for Java developers to master web programming It starts by showing how to install and use Tomcat as a web server and NetBeans as an IDE. Then, it teaches how and when to use JavaServer Pages and Java servlets to build well-structured web applications that implement the MVC pattern. Next, it shows how to use sessions, cookies, JavaBeans, Expression Language (EL), the JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL), and custom tags. Then, it shows how to use JDBC and connection pooling to work with a MySQL database. Finally, it shows how to use JavaMail, SSL/TLS, authentication, listeners, and filters. These are the skills that you need to build professional Java web applications. A great read for any Java developer..
Price: $33.08 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Imagine a publisher who wants to "stamp" his ebooks on the fly with the name of the buyer (to discourage sharing). Such a publisher would (and we know one who does) use iText for the task. Developers looking to enhance web- and other applications with dynamic PDF document generation and/or manipulation will find this book unique in content and readability. Based on ongoing examples that encourage learning "in action," they will finally understand PDF and learn how to build applications that produce professional, high-quality PDF documents. While the basic functionality of iText is easy to acquire, this book lowers the learning curve for more advanced functionality. It explains how to use iText to create/manipulate PDF documents on-the-fly in one or more of the following situations:

Due to time or size, the PDF documents can't be produced manually

The content of the document must be calculated or based on user input.

The content needs to be customized or personalized.

The PDF content needs to be served in a web environment.

Documents are to be created in "batch process" mode.

All the examples are written in Java, but they can be easily adapted to .NET by developers using one of the .NET ports: iTextSharp (C#) or iText.NET (#J). While iText is a free Java library and the examples are written from the point of view of the Java developer, nine out of ten examples can be run by .NET developers with only minimal changes..
Price: $28.84 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Java EE is the technology of choice for e-commerce applications, interactive Web sites, and Web-enabled services. Servlet and JSP technology provides the link between Web clients and server-side applications on this platform. Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages, Volume 2: Advanced Technologies, Second Edition, is the definitive guide to the advanced features and capabilities provided by servlets and JSP.

Volume 2 presents advanced capabilities like custom tag libraries, filters, declarative security, JSTL, and Struts. Like the first volume, it teaches state-of-the-art techniques and best practices illustrated with complete, working, fully documented programs.

Volume 2 explains in detail the advanced tools and techniques needed to build robust, enterprise-class applications. You'll learn how to control application behavior through the web.xml deployment descriptor file, how to enhance application security through both declarative and programmatic methods, and how to use servlet and JSP filters to encapsulate common behavior. You'll also learn how to control major application lifecycle events, best practices for using JSTL, and how to build custom tag libraries. Volume 2 concludes with an in-depth introduction to the Jakarta Struts framework.

Complete source code for all examples is available free for unrestricted use at www.volume2.coreservlets.com. For information on Java training from Marty Hall, go to courses.coreservlets.com.

Volume 1 presents comprehensive coverage of the servlets and JSP specifications, including HTTP headers, cookies, session tracking, JSP scripting elements, file inclusion, the MVC architecture, and the JSP expression language. It also covers HTML forms, JDBC, and best practices for design and implementation.

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Price: $22.69 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the Java universe, the interface layer of the ubiquitous model-view-controller (MVC) software design paradigm is handled by either servlets of JavaServer Pages (JSP). The second edition of Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages, like its predecessor, documents these handy technologies fully and practically. Far more than a straight API reference, this book presents examples--complete with code and a listing or screen shot showing results--wherever possible. It's a fantastic strategy for communicating to programmers what they need to do in order to achieve the effects and behaviors they desire. What's new in the second edition? Lots, in terms of its eponymous software development environments: The book covers servlets 2.4 and JSP 2.0. The examples are more refined, too, and more attention is paid to supporting technologies like Web and database servers.

The didactic approach of authors Marty Hall and Larry Brown is recipe-like. They typically begin with a statement of a problem to be solved, then discuss relevant aspects of the servlet or JSP API. A series of code listings follows, and screen shots showing results bring up the rear. The net effect is that it's easy to spot relevant sections in the table of contents, it's clear how implementation works (thanks to the extensive listings) and there's no doubt about what the results are supposed to be. More elaborate examples show how servlets and JSP work in shopping cart, auction, and other applications. This is a significant and worthwhile update to an important Java book. --David Wall

Topics covered: Java servlets 2.4, JavaServer Pages (JSP) 2.0 (including the new expression language), HTML forms, JDBC database connectivity, and the details of how servlets and JSP are implemented in Apache Tomcat, Caucho Resin, and Macromedia JRun..
Price: $25.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If you've adopted Java as your organizational language, you're probably using, or planning to use, some sort of multitier design to maximize maintainability while making your data store accessible to as many applications as possible. The Jakarta engine ranks as the interface server of choice in that environment, and the Jakarta Struts Framework 1.1 makes it far easier to implement multitier information systems. Programming Jakarta Struts is the best how-to documentation around--in print or on the Internet--on the subject of using Struts to their greatest potential. Chuck Cavaness's book is comprehensive, detailed, critical of its subject where appropriate, and generally invaluable to anyone implementing the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern in Java with the assistance of Struts.

Thankfully, Cavaness opens with an overview of the MVC pattern with a focus on how you're meant to implement it under Struts. For anyone thinking that implementing MVC sounds like more trouble than it's worth, this clarifies why such design usually pays off in the long run. After that, it's into the particulars, which include code listings (lots of them, delightfully commented) and crystal-clear block diagrams that show the flow of messages among objects. There are also many database schema charts that show how the authors structure data in the storefront and shopping cart application that spans the whole of this volume. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Jakarta Struts Framework 1.1 and how to use it to implement the Model-View-Controller (MVC) software design pattern. All the important features of Struts 1.1 get attention, including exception handling, the validation framework, internationalization, logging, and templating with the Tiles framework..
Price: $7.54 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Java programmers know how finicky Java can be to work with. An omitted semi-colon or the slightest typo will cause the Java command-line compiler to spew pages of annoying error messages across your screen. And it doesn't fix them--that's up to you: fix them, compile again, and hope that nothing goes wrong this time.

Eclipse, the popular Java integrated development environment (IDE) provides an elegant and powerful remedy for this common, frustrating scenario. It doesn't just catch your errors before you compile, it also suggests solutions. All you need to do is point and click. And it's free--what could be better? Still, if you're like most programmers, mastering a new technology--no matter how productive it will make you in the long run--is going to take a chunk out of your productivity now. You want to get up to speed quickly without sacrificing efficiency.

O'Reilly's new guide to the technology, "Eclipse," provides exactly what you're looking for: a fast-track approach to mastery of Eclipse. This insightful, hands-on book delivers clear and concise coverage, with no fluff, that gets down to business immediately. The book is tightly focused, covering all aspects of Eclipse: the menus, preferences, views, perspectives, editors, team and debugging techniques, and how they're used every day by thousands of developers. Development of practical skills is emphasized with dozens of examples presented throughout the book.

From cover-to-cover, the book is pure Eclipse, covering hundreds of techniques beginning with the most basic Java development through creating your own plug-in editors for the Eclipse environment. Some of the topics you'll learn about include:

Using Eclipseto develop Java code

Testing and debugging

Working in teams using CVS

Building Eclipse projects using Ant

The Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT)

Web development

Developing Struts applications with Eclipse

From basics to advanced topics, "Eclipse" takes you through the fundamentals of Eclipse and more. You may be an Eclipse novice when you pick up the book, but you'll be a pro by the time you've finished..
Price: $19.05 [Notify me when price goes down.]