1. Just as there's more to ASP than the SQL statement you listed, there's also more to
J2EE. You'll need to create a connection object and do various other minor tasks. This is normally done in
JDBC. The SQL code is the same as it would be for ASP.
2.
Java has 2 date/time classes - java.util.Date and java.sql.Date. One is more convenient for general date/time manipulation and formatting, the other is designed to fit into databases better. Conversion from one form to the other is fairly simple.
3. "Best" varies with what you need to do. The simplest way to go from an ASP background is probably JSP, as the translation process is pretty much one-to-one. If you feel more comfortable in a code-only environment or have more logic than HTML, servlets are an alternative route - they both compile down to almost the same thing.
J2EE supports 2 different types of Javabeans - simple Javabeans and Enterprise Javabeans. A simple Javabean is more or less equivalent to a COM object, and an EJB to a DCOM object. Beyond that, I recommend you check out your favorite bookstore for J2EE books. If it's anything like the place where I hang out, the only problem
you should have is deciding which book you want - they currently devote as much shelf space to Java as they do to VB, C++ and C# combined.
If you're into online reading and/or frugal living, you can also check out the docs at
http://java.sun.com