More Servlets and JavaServer Pages

by Marty Hall

• This book is now freely available online in PDF
  Please see http://pdf.moreservlets.com/.
• Source code archive.
  Code for every example in book; on-line links for every URL cited in book.
• Using Apache Tomcat 5.5.
  Configuration and usage guide for developing and testing servlets and JSP pages under Apache Tomcat.
• Table of contents
• Core Servlets & JSP, 2nd Edition.
  The companion to More Servlets & JSP.
  Visit the home page or check out the free training course materials.

The Java 2 Platform has become the technology of choice for developing processional e-commerce applications, dynamic Web pages, and Web-enabled applications and services. Servlet and JSP technology is the foundation of this platform: it provides the link between Web clients and server-side applications. But the field has been evolving rapidly, and few developers have been able to keep up. In this companion to the worldwide bestseller Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages, Marty Hall shows you how to apply recent advances in servlet and JSP technology. The book provides everything you need to know to leverage the latest servlet 2.3 and JSP 1.2 standards: real-world insight, advanced techniques, industrial-strength code, and hands on coverage of three top servers: Apache Tomcat, Macromedia JRun, and New Atlanta ServletExec.

Part I gives a thorough introduction to programming with servlet and JSP technology.
It shows you how to configure your server, read form data and HTTP headers, handle cookies, track sessions, apply JSP scripting elements, use JavaBeans components, develop JSP tag libraries, and apply the MVC architecture.

Part II provides exhaustive details on Web application development and deployment.
It explains how to register Web applications, how to organize them, how to deploy them in WAR files, how to deal with relative URLs, and how to share data among Web applications. It also gives details on every element in version 2.3 of the deployment descriptor (web.xml).

Part III describes Web application security in detail.
It explains two general strategies for securing your applications: declarative security and programmatic security. Within each of these strategies, it shows you how to use form-based or BASIC authentication and how to protect your network traffic with SSL.

Part IV covers two features introduced with servlets 2.3: filters and life-cycle events.
It explains how to use filters to debug, modify, and optimize the output of previously existing servlets and JSP pages. It also shows you how to use event listeners to respond to major events in the server life cycle.

Part V looks at new tag library developments.
It shows you how to improve your own tag libraries by making use of new capabilities of the JSP 1.2 specification and explains how to streamline your code by using the new standard JSP tag library (JSTL).