Java servlet programming [covers 2.2 & 2.3 draft

A few years ago, the hype surrounding applets put Java on the map as a programming language for the Web. Today, Java servlets stand poised to take Java to the next level as a Web development language. The main reason is that servlets offer a fast, powerful, portable replacement for CGI scripts. The Java Servlet API, introduced as the first standard extension to Java, provides a generic mechanism to extend the functionality of any kind of server. Servlets are most commonly used, however, to extend Web servers, performing tasks traditionally handled by CGI programs. Web servers that can support servlets include: Apache, Netscape's FastTrack and Enterprise Servers, Microsoft's IIS, O'Reilly's WebSite, and JavaSoft's Java Web Server. The beauty of servlets is that they execute within the Web server's process space and they persist between invocations. This gives servlets tremendous performance benefits over CGI programs. Yet because they're written in Java, servlets are far less likely to crash a Web server than a C-based NSAPI or ISAPI extension. Servlets have full access to the various Java APIs and to third-party component classes, making them ideal for use in communicating with applets, databases, and RMI servers. Plus, servlets are portable between operating systems and between servers -- with servlets you can "write once, serve everywhere." Java Servlet Programming covers everything you need to know to write effective servlets and includes numerous examples that you can use as the basis for your own servlets. The book explains the servlet life cycle, showing how you can use servlets to maintain state information effortlessly. It also describes how to serve dynamic Web content, including both HTML pages and multimedia data. Finally, it explores more advanced topics like integrated session tracking, efficient database connectivity using JDBC, applet-servlet communication, inter-servlet communication, and internationalization Header......Page 1 Cover......Page 2 The Java Series......Page 3 Title Page......Page 4 Acknowledgments......Page 7 Preface......Page 9 1 - Introduction......Page 14 2 - HTTP Servlet Basics......Page 24 3 - The Servlet Life Cycle......Page 52 4 - Retrieving Information......Page 70 5 - Sending HTML Information......Page 114 6 - Sending Multimedia Content......Page 142 7 - Session Tracking......Page 171 8 - Security......Page 193 9 - Database Connectivity......Page 210 10 - Applet-Servlet Communication......Page 238 11 - Interservlet Communication......Page 286 12 - Internalization......Page 308 13 - Odds and Ends......Page 333 A - Servlet API Quick Reference......Page 355 B - HTTP Servlet API Quick Reference......Page 375 C - HTTP Status Codes......Page 398 D - Character Entities......Page 402 E - Charsets......Page 408 Header 1 Cover 2 The Java Series 3 Title Page 4 Acknowledgments 7 Preface 9 1 - Introduction 14 2 - HTTP Servlet Basics 24 3 - The Servlet Life Cycle 52 4 - Retrieving Information 70 5 - Sending HTML Information 114 6 - Sending Multimedia Content 142 7 - Session Tracking 171 8 - Security 193 9 - Database Connectivity 210 10 - Applet-Servlet Communication 238 11 - Interservlet Communication 286 12 - Internalization 308 13 - Odds and Ends 333 Appendices 355 A - Servlet API Quick Reference 355 B - HTTP Servlet API Quick Reference 375 C - HTTP Status Codes 398 D - Character Entities 402 E - Charsets 408 If you do not understand servlets and program in Java this book is for you. I found it very easy to read and comprehend right off the bat. The examples are excellent and you will get off writing servlets very quickly. It is somewhat shallow in complex examples but then again how complex are servlets. Some best practices and commercial examples could have helped a lot. This new edition of this book has been updated to add the new features of the Java Servlet API Version 2.2, and new chapters on servlet security and advanced communication. It also introduces several popular tools including JavaServer Pages (JSP), Tea, XMLC, and the Element Construction Set. Java servlets offer a fast, powerful, portable replacement for CGI scripts. This text covers the information needed to write effective servlets. Topics include: serving dynamic Web content; maintaining state information; session tracking; and database connectivity using JDBC. A Guide For Programmers Familiar With Java Showcases The Versatility Of The Cgi Script Replacements, Including Session Tracking, Developing Dynamic Web Content, And Applet-servlet Communication