Head First Servlets and JSP: Passing the Sun Certified Web Component Developer Exam (SCWCD)

Imagine a world without eBay...unthinkable! How would you get that Farrah Fawcett poster, retired Beanie Baby, or first-edition pet rock? Handling over a gazillion (OK, we exaggerate--it's actually only 1 billion) page views each day, server-side Java makes eBay work. Isn't it time you learned the latest (J2EE 1.4) versions of Servlets & JSPs? This book will get you way up to speed on the technology you'll know it so well, in fact, that you can pass the Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) 1.4 exam. If that's what you want to do, that is. Maybe you don't care about the exam, but need to use Servlets & JSPs in your next project. You're working on a deadline. You're over the legal limit for caffeine. You can't waste your time with a book that makes sense only AFTER you're an expert (or worse one that puts you to sleep). No problem. Head First Servlets and JSP's brain-friendly approach drives the knowledge straight into your head (without sharp instruments). You'll interact with servlets and JSPs in ways that help you learn quickly and deeply. It may not be The Da Vinci Code, but quickly see why so many reviewers call it "a page turner". Most importantly, this book will help you use what you learn. It won't get you through the exam only to have you forget everything the next day. Learn to write servlets and JSPs, what makes the Container tick (and what ticks it off), how to use the new JSP Expression Language (EL), what you should NOT write in a JSP, how to write deployment descriptors, secure applications, and even use some server-side design patterns. Can't talk about Struts at a cocktail party? That'll change. You won't just pass the exam, you will truly understand this stuff, and you'll be able to put it to work right away. This new exam is tough--much tougher than the previous version of the SCWCD. The authors of Head First Servlets and JSP know: they created it. (Not that it EVER occurred to them that if they made the exam really hard you'd have to buy a study guide to pass it.) The least they could do is give you a stimulating, fun way to pass the thing. If you're one of the thousands who used Head First EJB to pass the SCWCD exam, you know what to expect!

Customer Reviews:

Nice `n Fun way to grasp the Technology
Authors of this book made it easy for the readers to understand and memorize the technology in a very distinctive and fun way. I have another book by Hanumant Deshmukh on the same topic which I already read and later bought this book specifically for Expression Language part. Reading Hanumant's book I felt like I read a manual of a Machine but reading Kathy Sierra's one, I found it more interesting and not boring at all. Authors writing style helps to memorize the technology with the help of `visualization'. Kathy Sierra, Bryan Basham and Bert Bates other book on EJB is also an excellent writing. Recently I bought their Design Pattern book and just started reading it. If you are veteran in J2EE this book can refresh many of the topics, if you have few experience in writing Servlet/JSP this will be great for you. If you are not sure what is the meaning of `Servlet', 'JSP' or haven't write any Servlet/JSP before, I do not recommend this book. The exercise and mock exams are also great. There may be few mistakes/errors which I believe already corrected from the publisher's site, so you can refer to that resource to eliminate any confusion. Hope this helps you. Good Luck! - Tazim Khan
--2006-12-20

a fun way to lear
The head first books are great. Really make learning fun.
--2006-11-14

Grat Book
It was great experience working with the book. The language is easy and you can understand JSP with it quite easily. Best book for a fresher.
--2006-11-11

The only book need to pass the SCWCD Exam
I know some may find the style of this book annoying but I loved it. There is lots of repetition to drive points home and the mock exams are well written. There is humor so you don't wake up with drool marks obscuring the most important/boring topic in the book. And finally, just by reading this book and reviewing the DTDs for tomcat's web.xml I was able to pass the SCWCD with flying colors.
--2006-11-05

Outstanding way to learn Servlets and JSP
If you have been a Java Programmer, but never had the chance to spend much time building dynamic Java web applications...then this is the book for you.

Some Head First books are high-in-chatter, but low-in-content. However, Head First Servlets & JSP somehow manages to cover more material than the classic "Core Servlets & javaServerPages" book from Sun Microsystems; And make the learning fun. (ex: Core Servlets doesn't cover JSTL or web security, but Head First Servlets does).

The only downside -- Head First books are great learning books, but not good reference books. So plan to supplement your learning with another Servlet/JSP book, or downloaded materials from the Internet (starting with the Servlet/JSP specifications).

--2006-10-24

- O'Reilly Media