My course only slightly covers struts, is it worth while teaching myself how to use/incorperate struts? or are struts only the flavor of the month, which is going to lose favor soon.
I think Struts is useful in many ways. It cuts down on the amount of time to build web applications (once you become familiar with it), and it shows good examples of how design patterns solve common problems.
As for Struts' durability, I don't know of many projects that are being started that aren't using a framework of some kind, and Struts is by far the most popular. Open source projects become popular because they solve a problem, and Struts is very popular. The more applications are written in it, the less likely it will go away (for reference, see Microsoft Windows).
is you book relevent to a java web developer?
I certainly hope so! It covers the evolution of Java web development from servlets, through JSP, custom tags, and finally design patterns and frameworks. I think it benefits any Java developer starting to do web development because it provides context and shows best practices.
ps. sexy looking book cover.
Thanks, I posed for it myself!
Seriously, it is the publisher's branding technique, which uses paintings from a catalog from the late 18th century of regional costumes (or, in my case, lack of). If you look at their other titles, they have a similar look and feel. I chose the Marquesian Warrior, who happens to be a cannibal, out of the 3 options they gave me. He was the most striking.
Neal Ford<br />Author, <i>Art of Java Web Development: Struts, Tapestry, Commons, Velocity, JUnit, Axis, Cocoon, InternetBeans, WebWork</i><br /><a href="http://www.nealford.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.nealford.com</a>