Head First Servlets & JSP book - Reader Question

[Alvin chew]

hi, good day, was known this book wrote by famous authors, Bryan Basham, Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates , is this book formally use for Web Component Certification exam ? thank you !

[Alvin chew]

is this book cover jsp2.0 ?

[Bahadar Khan]

Yes it is. Actually it is meant for SCWCD exam ( 1.4 version )

[Alvin chew]

where to get table of contents for this Head First Servlets & jsp book ?

[Kathy Sierra]

Howdy,
Here's the table of contents... I don't know *why* we didn't put this online yet. You just reminded me! But I'm typing it in here (so forgive my typos)

1) Why Servlets & JSP
- what web servers and clients do
- two minute HTML guide
- the HTTP protocol
- anatomy of GET and POST
- URLs
- servers, static pages, and CGI
- Servlets demystified
- JSP is what happened when someone introduced Java to HTML


2) Web app architecture
- what is a Container?
- how servlets look in code (what makes a servlet a servlet)
- naming servlets and mapping them to URL patterns in the DD
- intro to MVC
- MVC example
- a working DD
- J2EE

3) Mini MVC tutorial
[ a step-by-step tutorial of building and deploying a small MVC app]

4) Being a Servlet
- Servlet lifecycle
- initialization and threads
- handling GET and POST
- non-idempotent requests
- determining whether it's a GET or POST
- sending and using request parameters
- request and response
- setting and adding response headers
- redirect vs. request dispatcher
- HttpServletResponse

5) Being a Web App
- Init parameters and ServletConfig
- How a JSP can get servlet init parameters
- Context init parameters
- comparing ServletConfig and ServletContext
- ServletContextListener (a tutorial)
- Eight listeners
- attributes and scope
- attribute API and the dark side of non-threadsafe attributes
- trying out synchronization to make attributes threadsafe
- The evils of SingleThreadModel
- Only request attributes and local variables are threadsafe!
- Request attributes and request dispatching

6) Conversational State
- how sessions work
- session ID, cookies, and other session basics
- URL rewriting--something to fall back on
- when sessions get stale; getting rid of bad sessions
- can I use cookies for other things besides sessions
- key milestones for an HttpSession
- don't forget about HttpSessionBindingListener
- Session migration
- Listener examples

7) Being a JSP
- Create a simple JSP using "out" and a page directive
- JSP expressions, variables, and declarations
- the JSP generated servlet
- other implicit objects
- lifecycle and initialization of a JSP
- the three directives
- scriptlets considered harmful? Here's EL...
- actions

8) Script-free pages
- When attributes are beans
- standard actions: useBean, getProperty, setProperty
- polymorphic bean references
- param attributes
- converting properties
- EL
- the dot operator
- the [ ] operator
- EL implicit objects
- El functions and handling "null"
- Reusable template pieces -- two kinds of "include"
- The <jsp:forward> standard action
- She doesn't know about JSTL tags
- reviewing standard actions and include

9) Custom tags and JSTl
- <c:forEach>
- conditional control with <c:if> and <c:choose>
- using <c:set> and <c:remove>
- with <c:import>, there are three ways to include content
- customizing the thing you include
- doing the same with <c aram>
- make your own error pages
- <c:url> for all your hyperlink needs
- the <c:catch> tag. Like try/catch... sort of.
- pay attention to <rtexprvalue>
- what can be in a tag body
- the tag handler, the TLD, and the JSP
- the taglib <uri> is just a name, not a location
- when a JSP uses more than one library

10) Your own custom tag handlers
- Tag Files
- Where the Container looks for tag files
- simple tag handlers
- what if the body uses an expression?
- Classic tag handlers
- Tag handler API
- a very small classic tag handler
- the classic lifecycle depends on return values
- iteration tag lets you repeat the body
- default values from TagSupport
- with BodyTag, you get two new methods
- What if you need tags to work together?
- using PageContext for tag handlers


11) Deploying your web app
- What goes where?
- WAR files
- how servlet mapping REALLY works
- configuring welcome files in the DD
- configuring error pages in the DD
- configuring servlet initialization in the DD
- making an XML-compliant JSP: a JSP Document


12) Keep it secret
- The Big 4 in servlet security
- How to authenticate in an HTTP world
- Top Ten Reasons to do your security declaratively
- Who implements security in a web app?
- Authorization: roles and constraints
- Authentication: four flavors
- The FOUR authentication types
- Securing data in transit: HTTPS to the rescue
- Data confidentiality and integrity sparingly and declaratively


13) The power of filters
- Building a request tracking filter
- a filter's lifecycle
- declaring and ordering filters
- compressing output with a response-side filter
- wrappers rock
- the real compression filter code
- compression wrapper code

14) Enterprise design patterns
- Review of software design principles
- Patterns to support remote model components
- overview of JNDI and RMI
- business delegate is a "go-between"
- Simply your Business Delegates with the Service Locator
- Time for a transfer object?
- MVC revisted
- Struts (and front controller) in a nutshell
- Refactoring the beer app for Struts
- Patterns review

15) Final mock exam


Cheers,
Kathy

[Nicholas Cheung]

Thanks Kathy.

Seems that the chapters for exam is from chapter 4 to 14. Are there any additional chapters (like appendixes) that covers topics that are not listed in the exam?

Nick

[Nicholas Cheung]

is this book cover jsp2.0 ?

Sure. The book covers Servlet 2.4, JSP 2.0 and JSTL 1.1, and that's why the book is for 310-081.

Nick

[Rajan Chinna]

What a excellent book it is.....the way they explain things were simply g8, I wish these guys comes up with HF for all Java related technology....

Keep up the GoodWork!!!

[Alvin chew]

what make this book different with core servlet and jsp from martin hall ?

[Bahadar Khan]

Alvin

Follow this link. And you'll find reviews ( including mine too ) that will spell out some differences or novelity that this book carries.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596005407/qid=1098255696/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-0312163-1742308


cheers

[Nicholas Cheung]

what make this book different with core servlet and jsp from martin hall ?

I guess it is quite obvious.

The core book gives you everything you need to know in Servlets and JSP, even though they are not asked in the exams, and the book is not written in the *objective-wise* of the exam.

HF book defintely gives you all necessary info that the exam required you to know, objectives by objectives, plus some additional *for interests* topics.

Nick

[Eusebio Floriano]

Originally posted by Nicholas Cheung:

I guess it is quite obvious.

The core book gives you everything you need to know in Servlets and JSP, even though they are not asked in the exams, and the book is not written in the *objective-wise* of the exam.

HF book defintely gives you all necessary info that the exam required you to know, objectives by objectives, plus some additional *for interests* topics.

Nick

Is HFS similar to HFE that indicates what you are supposed to study and what you are not. Like the famous "What it really means" in the begin of the chapters that explain the objetives and what the exam expects you to know.

Regards,

[Mary Wallace]

Hi Kathy,

Chapter 11 says about deploying a web application. Does it mention about ant.

Regarding maintaing a web application ( which I asked in another forum) is it okay if i deploy a servlet or should i deploy the whole app as war everytime.
I mixed response that time and I would like to know your response.

[Nicholas Cheung]

Is HFS similar to HFE that indicates what you are supposed to study and what you are not. Like the famous "What it really means" in the begin of the chapters that explain the objetives and what the exam expects you to know.

That's the main purpose of the book.

I enjoy reading HFEJB, not only becos of exam, but also the interesting topics that I never think before, even I have worked for EJB for about 2 years.

Thus, I expect Kathy and Bert keep their style in HFS&J as well.

Nick

[Nicholas Cheung]

As ANT is not be tested, I dont think the book focus much on this area, even though Kathy and Bert may put down some *easy to use* magics.

Nick

[Bryan Basham]

Originally posted by Mary Wallace:
Chapter 11 says about deploying a web application. Does it mention about ant.

HFS does not discuss Ant, but I highly recommend it.

Regarding maintaing a web application ( which I asked in another forum) is it okay if i deploy a servlet or should i deploy the whole app as war everytime.
I mixed response that time and I would like to know your response.

It depends on you needs and on what you web container offers. For development purposes, it is useful to update on the changes to the container for each code/compile/deploy/test cycle. However, I would not recommend this technique for the production server; there it would be best to deploy the whole WAR file.

HTH,
Bryan

[Nicholas Cheung]

I wanna ask, does most of the Editors use ANT?

I know WSAD is (so do Eclipse), but are there other ways to complie and create and the deploy the WAR files?

Nick

[Alvin chew]

is this book using tomcat server to test code?

[Bert Bates]

yes - we use tomcat 5

[Nicholas Cheung]

is this book using tomcat server to test code?

As you can expect since it is free and stable.

Nick

[Anselm Paulinus]

Originally posted by Nicholas Cheung:
I wanna ask, does most of the Editors use ANT?

I know WSAD is (so do Eclipse), but are there other ways to complie and create and the deploy the WAR files?

Nick

There is another build and deployment configuration we are currently using known as Lomboz. It integerates seamlessly with eclipse and works very great.
Much better than ANT.

[Mary Wallace]

With Lomboz do we have write deployment script just like Ant?

Originally posted by Anselm Paulinus:


There is another build and deployment configuration we are currently using known as Lomboz. It integerates seamlessly with eclipse and works very great.
Much better than ANT.

[Mary Wallace]

Nick,
Pls dont laugh like this for every answer. Your teeth will get yellow color.

Originally posted by Nicholas Cheung:

As you can expect since it is free and stable.

Nick

[Anselm Paulinus]

Originally posted by Mary Wallace:
With Lomboz do we have write deployment script just like Ant?

Basically Lomboz writes the deployment scripts for you. All you do is to select the folder to deploy to during set up and it does the rest for you.

[Nicholas Cheung]

Basically Lomboz writes the deployment scripts for you. All you do is to select the folder to deploy to during set up and it does the rest for you.

In such sense, all stuffs can be configured by the GUI?

However, as I dont believe that there exists a GUI that covers every setting, in case we need to customize the script, would this be easier than ANT or not?

[Anselm Paulinus]

Nicholas:
I really have to be careful when responding to your questions, not with all the suffixes that trail your name - ain't kidding. What I'm going to do is to refer you to a URL that will help answer some of the questions you have http://www.objectlearn.com/index.jsp.

On a serious note however; I was introduced to Lomboz with the new project we just started this month and I find it to be great. I have not explored all that it offers, but I hope the link helps.

[Nicholas Cheung]

Thanks Anselm.

As I use WSAD, and it does everything for me, including coding, compiling and deploying, thus, I am less experienced in those ANT stuffs.

Again, thanks for the info.

Nick