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JavaServer Pages, Second Edition Review by C. M. Lowry
Good Introduction to JSP 2.0
This book is a good introduction to JavaServer Pages. It covers a variety of topics such as using Java Beans, the standard tag library, using databases, using XML, Servlets, and Controllers. Additionally, creating your own tag libraries and some advanced topics like threads are covered. Since so many topics are addressed, the coverage is more of an overview. The book focuses on the new JSP 2.0 specification with the new expression tags being emphasized. A sample project is implemented gradually. As new topics are addressed in the book, they are added to the project.
The book has some nice features such as the included CD that has an installation of Tomcat 5 that implements JSP 2.0. The installation includes the working examples and the database already configured for the examples. The examples are organized as a website by chapter which allows the reader to easily navigate to see the example work or to examine the code. This allows the author not to inundate the book with code examples, but rather to add the appropriate amount of code to illustrate a point.
I have a few criticisms for the book. Exercises for the reader should be added to the book to reinforce the text explanations, improve the learning process, and aid the retention of the reader. Likewise more illustrations should be added to the text to break up the blocks of text and enhance the reader's understanding. Perhaps, the MVC pattern could have been introduced earlier in the book since it is generally considered part of good design.
The book is a solid resource for developers moving to JSP. The reader should keep in mind that some of the topics would require more study to prepare for Production quality development.