Special Edition Using Java Server Pages and Servlets

The natural follow up for previous readers of Special Edition Using Java 2 who want in depth coverage of JSP & Servlets.

Contents

Introduction

• Who Should Buy This Book
• How This Book Is Organized
• Conventions Used in This Book

Part I - Basic Java Server Pages

Chapter 1 - The Evolution of the Web Server

• The Basic Web Server
• CGI: The Common Gateway Interface
• NSAPI, ISAPI, and Other Loadable Modules
• Active Server Pages
• Servlets
• XML and XSL Stylesheets
• Java Server Pages

Chapter 2 - Getting Started with Java Server Pages

• A "Hello World" Java Server Page
• Using the <% %> Tags in a Java Server Page
• Displaying a Value with <%=
• Inserting Comments
• Declaring Methods and Variables with <%!
• Handling Multiple Threads in a JSP
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 3 - Getting Started with Servlets

• A "Hello World" Servlet
  • Compiling the Servlet
  • Runtime Classpath
  • The HelloWorldServlet In-Depth
• The Anatomy of a Servlet
  • The service Method
  • The init Method
  • The destroy Method
  • The getServletInfo and getServletConfig Methods
• Sending a Response to the Browser
• The HttpServlet Class
• Choosing Between Java Server Pages and Servlets
  • The Advantages and Disadvantages of JSP
  • The Advantages and Disadvantages of Servlets
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 4 - Creating HTML Forms

• A Simple HTML Form
• Using the request Object
• • Handling Multiple Form Values
• Retrieving Form Variables in a Servlet
• JavaScript and Java Server Pages
• • Passing Data to JavaScript
• Different Ways to Do Forms
  • A Practical HTML and JSP Combination
  • Setting Configuration Parameters
  • Locking Output Files
• A JSP Input Form Calling a JSP Form Handler
• Using the Same JSP for the Input Form and Form Handler
• • An Example Input Form and Form Handler JSP
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 5 - Saving Data Between Requests

• Storing Data in Hidden Form Variables
• • Security Concerns with Hidden Variables
• Storing Data in a session Object
  • Using the session Object in a JSP
  • Using the session Object in a Servlet
• How Sessions Work
• Forcing a New Session
• Handling Session Termination
• • The HttpSessionBindingListener Interface
• Handling Sessions Without Cookies
  • Disabling Cookies in Internet Explorer
  • Disabling Cookies in Netscape
• Storing Application-Wide Data
• • Why Do You Need the application Object?
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 6 - Debugging and Error Handling

• Why Debugging Is Tough
• Using Log Files to Debug an Application
  • Using System.out and System.err
  • Using the Servlet Logging API
  • Logging to a File
  • Using Exceptions to Trace Execution
• Using a Debugger
  • Debugging a Servlet with Tomcat
  • Debugging a Java Server Page with Tomcat
• Error Handling
  • Specifying an Error Page for a JSP
  • Specifying Error Handlers for Web Server Errors
• Troubleshooting 

Chapter 7 - Organizing Your Application

• Including Other Files
  • Including Files in a JSP at Runtime
  • Passing Parameters to an Included File
  • Including Files from a Servlet
• Forwarding to Another Page
  • Forwarding to Another Page from a JSP
  • Forwarding to Another Page from a Servlet
  • Passing Parameters to the Forwarded Page
• Passing Java Objects Between JSPs and Servlets
• Making Your Application More Modular
• • A Reusable HTML Table Module
• The Model-View-Controller Paradigm
  • How Does Model-View-Controller Help?
  • An Example Controller
  • An Example View
• Calling Multiple Controllers and Views
• Using an Applet in Your Form
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 8 - More About Saving Data

• Designing the Shopping Cart
  • Creating the Data Objects
  • Creating the ShoppingCart Class
  • Displaying the Contents of the Shopping Cart
  • Adding and Removing Items
  • Completing the Order
• Storing Data in a Cookie
• • Using Cookies in Servlets and Java Server Pages
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 9 - Interacting with JavaBeans

• The <jsp:useBean> Tag
  • Adding the Bean to the Page
  • Getting Bean Properties
  • Setting Bean Properties
  • Setting Properties Directly from Parameters
  • Initializing a New Bean
  • The Type of an Existing Bean
• A Bean-Based Web Application
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 10 - Performance

• Making Java Server Pages and Servlets Thread-Safe
• Buffering Pages to Improve Performance
• Caching Objects to Reduce Setup Time
• Precompiling Java Server Pages
• Simple Java Optimizations
  • Use the StringBuffer class
  • Parsing Numbers
  • Creating Objects
• Troubleshooting

Part II - Core Components In-Depth

Chapter 11 - JSP and Servlet Lifecycles

• Servlet Lifecycle
  • Servlet Loading
  • Servlet Initialization
  • Servlet Execution
  • Servlet Cleanup
• Java Server Page Lifecycle
  • JSP Compilation
  • JSP Loading
  • JSP Initialization
  • JSP Execution
  • JSP Cleanup
• Reloading Other Classes
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 12 - How the Browser Interacts with the Server

• The HTTP Protocol
• • Viewing the Request Headers Made by a Browser
• Common Request Headers
  • The Accept Header
  • The Accept-Language Header
  • The Accept-Charset Header
  • The User-Agent Header
• Common Response Headers
  • The Content-Type Header
  • The Content-Length Header
  • The Cache-Control Header
• The HTTP POST Command
• GET Versus POST
• HTTPS: Secure HTTP
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 13 - Core Servlet Components

• The ServletRequest Class
  • Accessing Request Parameters
  • Accessing Request Attributes
  • Accessing Protocol-Related Information
  • Retrieving Request Data
  • Handling Uploaded Files
  • Getting Locale Information
• The HttpServletRequest Class
  • Getting Header Values
  • Getting the HTTP Method
  • Accessing the Query String
  • Retrieving Cookies
  • Getting Session Information
• The ServletContext Class
  • Getting the Server Version
  • Initialization Parameters
  • Saving Application-Wide Objects
  • Logging Messages
  • Calling Other Servlets and JSPs
  • Accessing Application Resources
• The ServletResponse Class
  • Setting the Content Type and Length
  • Opening an Output Stream
  • Setting Locale-Specific Information
  • Response Buffering
• The HttpServletResponse Class
  • Setting Header Variables
  • Redirecting the Browser
  • Returning Status
  • Encoding URLs
  • Sending Cookies
• The ServletInputStream Class
• The ServletOutputStream Class
• The HttpSession Class
  • Storing and Retrieving Objects
  • Controlling Session Termination
  • Getting Session Status
• The Cookie Class
• Creating a New Cookie
  • Setting the Domain and Path
  • Cookie Aging
  • Secure Cookies
  • Cookie Protocol Versions
  • Cookie Comments
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 14 - Core Java Server Page Components

• The Built-In JSP Objects
  • The request Object
  • The response Object
  • The out Object
  • The session Object
  • The application Object
  • The pageContext Object
  • The config Object
  • The page Object
  • The exception Object
• The JspWriter Class
  • Sending Output Data
  • Buffer Control
  • Using a PrintWriter
• The PageContext Class
  • Accessing the Built-In Objects
  • Accessing Attributes from the PageContext Class
  • Forwarding and Including
• The JspEngineInfo Class
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 15 - JSP Directives

• The page Directive
  • The language Option
  • The import Option
  • The session Option
  • The buffer and autoFlush Options
  • The isThreadSafe Option
  • The errorPage Option
  • The isErrorPage Option
  • The contentType Option
  • The info Option
  • The extends Option
• The include Directive
• The taglib Directive
• Troubleshooting

Part III - Java Web Application Architecture

Chapter 16 - Introduction to Application Architecture

• The Three Layers of an Application
  • Application Tiers
  • Applications Come Unglued Over Time
  • Physical Versus Logical Tiers
  • How Can You Have Half a Tier?
  • What I Mean by "Tier"
• Single-Tiered Applications
• Two-Tiered Applications
• Three-Tiered Applications
• The Trade-Offs
  • Application Complexity
  • Maintainability
  • Schedule Pressure
  • Development Team Skill
  • Miscellaneous Factors
• Hybrid Architectures

Chapter 17 - Browser-Server Interaction

• Designing Your Web Screens
• Redrawing the Entire Page
• Organizing the Presentation into Frames
• Sending Data to a Hidden Frame
  • Sending Data to the Browser
  • Handling Multiple Calls
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 18 - A Single-Tiered Web Application

• Storing and Retrieving Data
• Locking a File
• Storing Data in a Text File
• Storing Data with Object Serialization
• Storing Data in a Random Access File
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 19 - Building a Two-Tiered Web Application

• Creating a Connection Pool
• Mapping Objects to Database Tables
  • A Poor-Man's Object-to-Relational Mapping
  • An Example Data Object
• A Two-Tiered Problem Reporting System
  • The Login Screen
  • The Main Menu
  • Querying for Existing Problem Reports
  • Creating and Updating Problem Reports
• Database Locking
• Building a Better Connection Pool
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 20 - Designing a Three-Tiered Application

• Stubs and Skeletons
• Single-Client Versus Multi-Client Objects
  • Scalability
  • Maintainability
  • Striking a Balance
• Optimizing Data Access
• Database Locking
• Three-Tiered Application with Enterprise JavaBeans

Chapter 21 - Using RMI in a Web Application

• Using a Single RMI Object for All Requests
• Using One Object Per Browser Session
• An Example RMI Application
  • The Database Interface
  • The Remote Interfaces
  • Implementing the ServiceRequests Interface
  • Implementing the RemoteServiceRequest Interface
  • Creating the Web Interface
  • Editing Service Requests
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 22 - Using CORBA in a Web Application

• Using One CORBA Object for All Sessions
• Using Separate CORBA Objects for Each Session
  • Using CORBA Structs
  • Dealing with Null Strings
  • Alternatives to Null
• An Example CORBA Application
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 23 - Using Enterprise JavaBeans in a Web Application

• What Is Enterprise JavaBeans?
  • Entity and Session Beans
  • Containers
  • Persistence
  • Transactions
  • Connection Pooling
  • Object Pooling
• How EJB, Servlets, and Java Server Pages Fit Together
• Creating an Entity Bean
  • Creating the Entity Bean Implementation
  • Creating the Home Interface
  • Creating the Remote Interface
• Creating a Session Bean
• Creating a Stateless Session Bean
• Accessing EJBs from Java Server Pages
• Packaging a Complete EJB and JSP Application
• Troubleshooting

Part IV - Taking JSP and Servlets Beyond HTML

Chapter 24 - Creating an XML Application

• A "Hello World" XML Page
  • Sending XML from a Java Server Page
  • Sending XML from a Servlet
• A Few Simple Rules for XML
• Why Use XML with JSP and Servlets?
  • Automatically Generated XML
  • Parsing XML with SAX and DOM
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 25 - Adding XSL Stylesheets to Enhance an XML Application

• What Is XSL?
• A Simple XSL Stylesheet
• Navigating an XML Document with XPath
• Applying XSL Templates on the Browser
• Applying XSL Templates from a Servlet
• JSP or Stylesheets?
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 26 - Creating a Wireless Web Application

• A Wireless "Hello World" Page
• • Viewing the Wireless Hello Page
• A Brief Introduction to WML
  • Navigating Between Cards
  • Creating Input Forms
  • Processing Form Input
• Detecting Wireless Clients in a JSP or Servlet
• A Wireless Score Entry and Reporting System
• • Deploying the Scores Application
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 27 - Creating On-the-Fly Graphics

• Images Aren't Just Static Files
• Sending Images from a Servlet
• Uploading Images to a Servlet from Java
• Uploading Images to a Servlet from a Browser
• Performing Online Image Processing
  • Adding Captions to Images
  • Embossing Images
  • Edge Detection
  • Lighting Effects
• Troubleshooting

Part V - Advanced Techniques

Chapter 28 - Packaging a JSP Application

• A Simple WAR File Example
• Installing a WAR File Under Tomcat
• Installing a WAR File Under JRun
• WAR Configuration Options
  • General Application Options
  • Servlet Options
  • Others
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 29 - Extending JSP with New Tags

• A "Hello World" Tag
• Packaging and Installing a Tag
• Conditional Includes Using Custom Tags
• Accessing Tag Attributes
• Processing Body Content with a Custom Tag
• Adding Scripting Variables
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 30 - Internationalization

• Detecting the Browser's Preferred Locale
• Using Locale-Based Text Formatters
  • Creating a Locale Object
  • Formatting Dates
  • Formatting Currency
  • Getting a Locale for a Browser's Preferred Language
• Using Resource Bundles in Web Pages
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 31 - Security

• Role-Based Security
• Basic Authentication
  • The <security-constraint> Tag
  • The <login-config> Tag
• Creating a Custom Login Form
• Checking Security Roles Programmatically
• Using Client Certificates for Authentication
• Troubleshooting

Chapter 32 - XML Syntax for JSP

• The XML JSP Syntax
• The HelloWorld JSP in XML
• Translating XML JSP Syntax
• Troubleshooting

Appendix A - JSP Syntax and API Reference

• JSP Syntax
  • Code Scriptlets
  • Expressions
  • Declarations
  • Comments
  • Directives
  • Built-In Objects
  • Actions
  • XML Syntax
  • Root Document
  • Code Scriptlets
  • Expressions
  • Declarations
  • Directives
  • Tag Libraries
• Java Server Pages API
  • javax.servlet.jsp
  • javax.servlet.jsp.tagext

Appendix B - Servlet API Reference

• The javax.servlet API
  • Interfaces
  • Classes
  • Exception
• The javax.servlet.http API
  • Interfaces
  • Classes

Appendix C - Apache and Tomcat

• Where to Get Tomcat
• Installing Tomcat
  • Installing Tomcat on Windows
  • Installing Tomcat on Linux or UNIX
• Running Tomcat Standalone
• Running Tomcat Under Netscape Server for Windows
• Running Tomcat Under IIS
• Running Tomcat Under Apache
  • Running Tomcat with Apache for Windows
  • Running Tomcat with Apache for Linux
• Tomcat Configuration
• Working Directory
• Logging
• Setting the Classpath
• Authentication
• Special Tomcat Features
  • WAR File Installation
  • JSP Compiler

Appendix D - JRun

• Where to Find JRun
• Installing JRun for Windows
• Installing JRun for Linux
• Starting JRun
• JRun Administration
• Connecting JRun to Other Web Servers
  • Connecting JRun to IIS or PWS
  • Connecting JRun to Netscape Web Server
  • Connecting JRun to Apache
• Using JRun as a Standalone Web Server
• Working Directory
• Installing Web Applications
• Setting the Classpath
• Log Files
• JRun Special Features

Appendix E - ServletExec

• Where to Get ServletExec
• Installing the ServletExec ISAPI Plug-In
• Installing the ServletExec NSAPI Plug-In
• Installing the ServletExec Standalone Server for Windows
• Installing the ServletExec Standalone Server for Linux/UNIX
• ServletExec Administration
• Working Directory
• Installing Web Applications
• Log Messages
• Setting the Classpath
• ServletExec Special Features

Appendix F - Resin

• Where to Get Resin
• Installing Resin on Windows
  • Unpacking Resin with WinZip
  • Unpacking Resin from the Command Line
  • Testing the Installation
• Installing Resin on Linux/UNIX
• Running Resin Standalone
• Running Resin Under Another Web Server
• Running httpd or srun as Windows NT Services
• Resin Administration
• Working Directory
• Installing Web Applications
• Logging
• Setting the Classpath
• Adding Authentication Users
• Resin Special Features
  • JavaScript Java Server Pages
  • XSL

Index