Imagine a world without eBay...unthinkable! How would you get that Farrah Fawcett poster, retired Beanie Baby, or first-edition pet rock? Handling over a gazillion (OK, we exaggerate--it's actually only 1 billion) page views each day, server-side Java makes eBay work. Isn't it time you learned the latest (J2EE 1.4) versions of Servlets & JSPs? 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 Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) 1.4 exam. If that's what you want to do, that is. Maybe you don't care about the exam, but need to use Servlets & 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). No problem. Head First Servlets and JSP's brain-friendly approach drives the knowledge straight into your head (without sharp instruments). You'll interact with servlets and JSPs in ways that help you learn quickly and deeply.
It may not be The Da Vinci Code, but quickly see why so many reviewers call it "a page turner". Most importantly, this book will help you use what you learn. It won't get you through the exam only to have you forget everything the next day. Learn to write servlets and JSPs, what makes the Container tick (and what ticks it off), how to use the new JSP Expression Language (EL), what you should NOT write in a JSP, how to write deployment descriptors, secure applications, and even use some server-side design patterns. Can't talk about Struts at a cocktail party? That'll change. You won't just pass the exam, you will truly understand this stuff, and you'll be able to put it to work right away. This new exam is tough--much tougher than the previous version of the SCWCD. The authors of Head First Servlets and JSP know: they created it. (Not that it EVER occurred to them that if they made the exam really hard you'd have to buy a study guide to pass it.) The least they could do is give you a stimulating, fun way to pass the thing. If you're one of the thousands who used Head First EJB to pass the SCWCD exam, you know what to expect!
1 Why use servlets & JSPs : an introduction
2 Web app architecture : high-level overview
3 Mini MVC tutorial : hands-on MVC app
4 Being a servlet : request and response
5 Being a web app : attributes and listeners
6 Conversational state : bean/entity synchronization
7 Being a JSP : writing JSP code
8 Script-free pages : writing scriptless JSPs
9 Custom tags are powerful : using JSTL
10 When JSTL is not enough : custom tag development
11 Deploying your web app : web app deployment
12 Keep it secret, keep it safe : web app security
13 The power of filters : wrappers and filters
14 Enterprise design patterns : patterns and struts