As the publisher, I'd like you to know the reasons why I think you'll learn Java web programming faster from this book than from any other on the subject:
Unlike most books about Java web programming, chapter 3 of this book provides a crash course in HTML. Since this is essential background for the use of JSPs, this means you won’t have to use a second book to figure out how HTML works.
Unlike most books about Java web programming, three of the early chapters (4 through 6) show you how JSPs work, how servlets work, and how to use the Model 2 architecture to get the most from JSPs and servlets. From that point on, you’ll learn to use servlets when they’re appropriate for the task at hand and JSPs when they’re appropriate. As a result, you won’t waste your time learning how to use servlets for tasks that should be handled by JSPs.
To make it easy for you to learn on your own, the CD that comes with this book provides all of the software that you need including Java, Tomcat, and MySQL. It also provides all of the examples and applications that are presented in this book so you can run them on your own PC.
Like all of our books, this one includes hundreds of examples that range from the simple to the complex. That way, you can quickly see how a feature works from the simple examples, but you’ll also see how the feature is used in more complex, real-world examples.
If you page through this book, you’ll see that all of the information is presented in "paired pages," with the essential syntax, guidelines, and examples on the right page and the perspective and extra explanation on the left page. This helps you learn faster by reading less...and this is the ideal reference format when you need to refresh your memory about how to do something.