Advanced JavaServer Pages

As a project manager with my first JSP assignment, this book provided the key design principles. When I shared the book with my Java development team, they were even more enthusiastic; they shared the book with two other development teams who are going to incorporate his ideas. One senior Java developer indicated that if he had implemented Gearys framework on his previous JSP project, they could have written a much more robust application with 75% less code. Gearys design patterns take care of most of the application infrastructure; it will allow my development team to focus on coding business-specific components -- and not on the underlying "plumbing".

Geary starts with two excellent chapters on implementing custom tags, which includes a clear explanation of how body tags work, which was something I didnt really understand before reading this book. From there, Geary shows best practices for handling forms, implementing templates and the Model 2 architecture, event handling, internationalization, security, interacting with databases, and XML. The book concludes with a comprehensive case study that uses most of the concepts previously discussed in the book.

The best thing about this book, however, is that it shows you how to apply a number of design patterns discussed in the GOF book for servlets and JSPs. Those design patterns allow you to implement robust Web sites that are easy to maintain and modify. For example, Geary shows how to use the façade design pattern to handle forms and the memento pattern to retain form values. In what is arguably the most interesting chapter in the book (Templates) Geary shows how to use the Composite and Strategy design patterns to implement templates. Templates let you construct web sites with pluggable components, which makes those sites much easier to implement and, more importantly, modify. I have not seen templates covered in any other JSP book.

Finally, Gearys book is extremely well written -- its authoritative and easy to read, contains a great deal of information that you wont find elsewhere, and unlike most technical books, does not contain a bunch of fluff. You wont find rambling discussions of things you already know, useless appendices that repeat what you can easily find in the javadocs, or long code listings that could be much shorter. Every page in Gearys book is packed with useful information thats presented clearly in a logical progression.

I was looking for a book that covered Tag libaries from a technical perspective - and give good reasons for using them.

The book was written as a text book for first year college students to work through the chapters - which start with tediously simple examples - and provide no examples of substance or value. It also assumes "tags are good" - and provides no evidence of it. So - if youre willing to accept what the authorities tell you without challenge or thinking about it - perhaps this book is for you.

From my perspective, the world is full of Java101 books. It doesnt need any more - and certainly not this one.
Anybody looking at the inerworkings of tag libraries should be passed the 101 level. Sorry David - but you missed your audience.