01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page i Jakarta Struts FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Mike Robinson and Ellen Finkelstein 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page iv 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page i Jakarta Struts FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Mike Robinson and Ellen Finkelstein 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page ii Jakarta Struts For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 Copyright © 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2004101960 ISBN: 0-7645-5957-5 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1O/RZ/QT/QU/IN 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page iii About the Authors Mike Robinson has been working in the computing field since, well, when minicomputers were popular. He has a master’s degree in computer science and has been an independent Java developer specializing in interactive Web applications since 1998. Mike is an adjunct faculty member in the Computer Science Department at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. If he had any spare time, he would probably spend it hiking. Ellen Finkelstein is the author of numerous best-selling computer books on AutoCAD, PowerPoint, Flash, and most recently OpenOffice.org. She writes regular articles on AutoCAD and PowerPoint in magazines, e-zines, and for Web sites. She is an adjunct Instructor of Management, teaching e-business courses to M.B.A. students. She writes at home so that she can take the bread out of the oven on time. 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page iv 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page v Dedication To MMY, for explaining the organizing power of Natural Law that sustains the existence and evolution of the entire universe and showing us how to make use of this power in our daily lives to achieve maximum results through minimum effort. Authors’ Acknowledgments Mike Robinson First and foremost I have to thank my co-author, Ellen Finkelstein, who initiated me into the ins and outs of writing a book. Ellen is the epitome of cool under the pressure of deadlines. She always manages to have a great sense of humor and shiny outlook regardless of the situation. Thanks for your patience. Thanks to my wife, Pat, who is always my guiding inspiration. Ellen Finkelstein I’d like to start out by thanking Mike Robinson for his extensive knowledge and experience, clear thinking, integrity, sense of responsibility, and great flexibility. Mike is the fountain of knowledge for this book. He is always a pleasure to work with. Thanks to my husband, Evan, and kids, Yeshayah and Eliyah (who want to see their names in a book), who support me while I’m writing, writing, and writing some more. Collectively At Wiley, our esteemed publisher, we’d like to thank Terri Varveris, our acqui­ sitions editor, for her ever-lively support. Both Linda Morris and Susan Pink were our able project editors, keeping track of innumerable details, including chapters, figures, and by how many pages we were over our quota. They kept us on track and made it easy. Thanks to Peter Just, our friend and colleague, who did a thorough and care­ ful job of technical editing, making sure that our terms and code were correct and that we were consistent and clear. He also contributed the material for Chapter 5. 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page vi Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Production Media Development Project Coordinator: Nancee Reeves Project Editors: Susan Pink and Linda Morris Layout and Graphics: Andrea Dahl, Acquisitions Editor: Terri Varveris Lauren Goddard, Denny Hager, Lynsey Osborn, Heather Ryan, Technical Editor: Peter Just Jacque Schneider Editorial Manager: Carol Sheehan Proofreaders: Andy Hollandbeck, Permissions Editor: Laura Moss Carl William Pierce, Media Development Manager: TECHBOOKS Production Services Laura VanWinkle Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Media Development Supervisor: Richard Graves Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01 559575 FM.qxd 3/2/04 3:53 PM Page vii Contents at a Glance Introduction .................................................................1 Part I: Getting to Know Jakarta Struts ..........................7 Chapter 1: Starting with the Basics .................................................................................9 Chapter 2: Laying the Groundwork ...............................................................................25 Chapter 3: Creating a Simple Web Application with Struts ........................................47 Part II: Starting from the Core ....................................89 Chapter 4: Controlling with the Controller ..................................................................91 Chapter 5: Creating the Model .....................................................................................109 Chapter 6: Designing the View .....................................................................................137 Chapter 7: Setting the Configuration ..........................................................................159 Part III: Expanding Your Development Options ...........189 Chapter 8: Exceptions to the Rule ...............................................................................191 Chapter 9: Getting Friendly with Plug-ins ...................................................................209 Chapter 10: Getting a Helping Hand with Tag Libraries ...........................................225 Chapter 11: Working with Page Composition Techniques .......................................249 Chapter 12: Securing Your Application ......................................................................265 Part IV: Putting It All Together .................................279 Chapter 13: Logging Your Actions ...............................................................................281 Chapter 14: Creating the MusicCollection.com Application ....................................287 Part V: The Part of Tens ...........................................327 Chapter 15: Ten Helpful Extensions to Struts ............................................................329 Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Find More Information .......................................................337 Part VI: Appendixes .................................................345 Appendix A: Struts-EL and JSTL Tag Library Syntax .................................................347 Appendix B: Glossary ...................................................................................................375 Index .......................................................................379