Developing Java Web Applications:
Hands-On

Introduction and Overview

Web application development

• The requirements of a Web application
• Components of an n-tier architecture

Key components of Java EE for Web development

• Servlets
• JSP
• XML

Generating Content with Servlets

Getting started with servlets

• Integrating servlets into the Web application architecture
• Configuring the servlet development environment
• Avoiding common servlet pitfalls

Utilising the Java Servlet API

• Servlet life cycle methods
• Accessing servlet environment variables

Creating Web-based forms for user input

• Adding text fields and drop-down lists
• Linking forms to servlets
• Retrieving form data in the servlet

Accessing Databases with Servlets

Extending servlets with Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)

• Connecting to the database
• Submitting SQL statements
• Retrieving and processing data

Formatting database results

• Constructing an HTML table
• Adding drill-down features

Maintaining State in Java Web Applications

Reading and writing cookies to personalise Web content

• Retrieving cookies from a client request
• Sending cookies to the client
• Circumventing cookie limitations

Managing application state with sessions

• Creating a unique session for each user
• Storing and retrieving Java objects within sessions
• Controlling a session's life span
• Creating application and session event listeners
• Implementing a shopping cart

Creating JavaServer Pages (JSP)

JSP fundamentals

• Design goals of JSP
• Using JSP scriptlets, expressions and declarations
• Communicating with the client using built-in JSP server objects
• Leveraging the JSP 2 Expression Language (EL)

State management with JSP

• Accessing cookies and sessions
• Storing common application data

Designing JSP and Servlet Architectures

Integrating JSP and JavaBeans

• Promoting object reuse
• Separating application logic from the presentation

Calling JSP from servlets

• Forwarding Java objects to JSP
• Using JavaBeans to transfer data
• Servlet and JSP design patterns

Integrating JSP Custom Tags

Leveraging the Tag Extension mechanism

• The role of JSP custom tags
• Applying the JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL)

Developing custom tags

• Creating custom tags with JSP 2 tag files
• Customising tag behaviour with attributes

Developing JavaServer Faces (JSF) Applications

JSF framework overview

• Identifying the JSF core components
• Managing application flow using the JSF navigation model

Building JSF components

• Developing back beans
• Creating views with JSF custom tags
• Defining JSF navigation rules

Deploying Your Java Web Application

• Defining the deployment descriptor
• Creating a Web Application Archive (WAR) file
• Adding role-based application security