<pre>
Authors : Jason Hunter, William Crawford
Publisher : O'Reilly
Category : J2EE & Distributed Computing
Review by : Ajith Kallambella - sheriff, June 2001
Rating : 10 horseshoes</pre>
The book is a Revised Version of the first edition rewritten to cover the latest
Servlet API specification 2.2 as well as to introduce the major changes in the upcoming 2.3 draft spec. The book begins with chapters covering the history of Servlets and a quick introduction to Web applications/HTTP that offers an insight into the world of Servlets for newbies. The following chapters quickly delve into core topics such as Servlet lifecycle, session tracking techniques, using JSPs with Servlets (there is a lot of emphasis on this in the book),
Applet to Servlet communication and Servlet chaining and collaboration. Brief notes are scattered throughout the book that talks about changes in the 2.2 spec pertaining to specific contexts. The book includes several supplementary chapters that focus on leveraging technologies such as
JDBC, WAP/WML, SSL J2EE and Internationalization. These quick tutorials blend very well with the overall premise of the book and help paint a holistic picture of a typical Servlet application. I found the J2EE refresher and the section on Taglibs very informative and so much better than what many web sites have to offer. The concluding chapters cover Servlets in action - many alternative Servlet frameworks such as Element Construction Set (ECS), XMLC, Tea, and WebMacro/Velocity that stand as evidence to the popularity and applicability of this great technology. This is a must-have book.
The exactitude, clarity and comprehensiveness makes it a worthy addition to any
Java developer's bookshelf.
More info at Amazon.com More info at Amazon.co.uk More info at FatBrain.com
[This message has been edited by Johannes de Jong (edited December 05, 2001).]
