Mastering JSP Custom Tags and Tag Libraries

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
• A comprehensive reference to the Tag Library APIs

The companion Web site contains the JSP, servlets, and custom tags created in this book.

Contents

• Acknowledgments.
• About the Author.
• Introduction.
• Part I : Creating Custom Tag Libraries.
  • Chapter 1. Introducing JSP Custom Tags and Web Applications.
  • Chapter 2. Configuring and Testing the Web Application Environment.
  • Chapter 3. Java Servlet Overview and Architecture.
  • Chapter 4. JSP Overview and Architecture.
  • Chapter 5. Simple Tags.
  • Chapter 6. Tags with Bodies.
  • Chapter 7. Scripting Variables and Tag Validation.
  • Chapter 8. Iteration Tags.
  • Chapter 9. Cooperating Tags.
• Part II: Apache Jakarta Taglibs.
  • Chapter 10. Apache Jakarta Taglibs Project.
  • Chapter 11. Request Tag Library.
  • Chapter 12. Response Tag Library.
  • Chapter 13. Page Tag Library.
  • Chapter 14. Session Tag Library.
  • Chapter 15. Application Tag Library.
  • Chapter 16. Datetime Tag Library.
  • Chapter 17. DBTags Tag Library.
  • Chapter 18. Scrape Tag Library.
  • Chapter 19. Logging Tag Library.
  • Chapter 20. Mailer Tag Library.
  • Chapter 21. Random Tag Library.
  • Chapter 22. Regular Expression Tag Library.
• Part III: Sun's JSP Standard Tag Library.
  • Chapter 23. JSP Standard Tag Library Project (JSTL).
  • Chapter 24. Expression Language and Tags.
  • Chapter 25. Conditional Tags.
  • Chapter 26. Iterator Tags.
  • Chapter 27. Import Tags.
  • Chapter 28. SQL Tags.
• Part IV: Appendix.
  • Appendix A: Tag Library APIs.