While the book includes numerous Java code examples, the lack of a companion CD-ROM is disappointing. And while there is a reference to the publisher's Web site, it wasn't easy to find the URL in the book. The writing is also a bit choppy in places.
To illustrate many of the concepts in the book, a complete sample application is presented. The author uses an online movie catalog system as the book's case study. This example includes database access, user interface implementation, and simple shopping basket features to put the technology in good perspective.
Developing Java Servlets expects readers to have expertise in Java and a basic understanding of object-oriented programming going in. As long as you have this background, it is a solid manual to the cross-platform server processing architecture. --Stephen W. Plain
Topics covered: Development environment, communication details of servlets, and using servlets to access databases with the Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) architecture.