Mastering JSP Custom Tags and Tag Libraries (Java Open Source Library)

JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology enables developers to write custom tags that can be used as building blocks to quickly create dynamic Web-based applications. Custom tags can be grouped into tag libraries to create powerful collections of reusable code. Two of the most popular tag libraries include Apache's Jakarta Taglibs, a collection of open source tag libraries, and Sun's own Standard Tag Library. In this book, James Goodwill shows how servlet and JSP technologies can be enhanced using custom tags and tag libraries. He demonstrates the programming techniques you need to build your own custom tag libraries, and how you can use two existing custom tag libraries: Apache's Jakarta Taglibs and Sun's new JSP Standard Tag Library. This hands-on, code-intensive guide to building enterprise-strength JSP applications also provides you with: complete information on the new JSP Standard Tag Library and its expression language; a guide to using simple tags, tags with bodies, cooperating tags, iteration tags, and conditional tags; detailed examples and advice for using Apache's Jakarta Taglibs open source tag library; and a comprehensive reference to the Tag Library APIs. The companion Web site contains the JSP, servlets, and custom tags created in this book.