Review:Java Servlet Programming

CowboyNeal has taken some time out of his busy schedule to review Java Servlet Programming, a new ORA book out, written by Jason Hunter with William Crawford. Full of tips to extend the usage of the servlets, click below for more informatiion. Java Servlet Programming author Jason Hunter & William Crawford pages publisher O'Reilly & Associates rating 8 reviewer CowboyNeal ISBN 1-56592-391-X summary O'Reilly is known for it's in-depth, tell-all approach to computer related topics. This book doesn't disappoint and features many different ways to use Java Servlets, many of which may not occur to the average CGI scripter. What's Good?

I used Java Servlets almost immediately after their release, and always liked the idea of platform-indepent scripts that could give one the same functionality as CGI scripts. It didn't take long for me to discover that servlets aren't limited to returning only web pages, but this book explores several options that one may not think of right off.

The examples given are of use in practical real-world situations, whether it's connecting to a database to generate pages, editing images on the fly, or writing applets that connect to servlets. After reading the examples, you can easily see where you could utilize the concepts in server-parsed web pages.

Having written countless web scripts in Perl, I was pleased to see all of the major concepts of web scripting covered within the context of servlets. Java Servlet Programming includes a JDBC primer, as well as sections on session tracking and security issues.

What's Bad?

Not much. Seriously, O'Reilly books make up a large part of my personal library because they don't disappoint. The entire Java series is full of great books, and this one continues the trend. If you don't know much Java, this book isn't going to hold your hand through it, as it assumes that you're fairly secure in your knowledge of Java, and that you're comfortable using objects in Java.

Who should buy this book?

If you like Java and think that everything should be written in it, including your web scripts, then this is the book for you. I would consider this the best reference for servlet programming to date, and it beats the hell out of the standard documentation. If you're thinking about brewing up a Java servlet, this is the reference you want.

If you want to buy this book, head over to Amazon.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Introduction
2. HTTP Servlet Basics
3. The Servlet Life Cycle
4. Retrieving Information
5. Sending HTML Information
6. Sendind Multimedia Content
7. Session Tracking
8. Security
9. Database Connectivity
10. Applet-Servlet Communication
11. Interservet Communication
12. Internationalization
13. Odds and Ends

Appendix A: Servlet API Quick Reference

Appendix B: HTTP Servlet API Quick Reference

Appendix C: HTTP Status Codes

Appendix D: Character Entities

Appendix E: Charsets

Index