JSP works by providing a set of HTML-like tags which are interpreted by the JSP container (which in turn is usually supported by Java servlets) rather than by embedding the page generating code in the program code. This makes it easier to maintain sites. The authors make a good fist of showing how to use JSP with Beans, explaining JSP directives (which specify scripting languages, for example), and using it with JNDI and other Java technologies.

As with so much Web server programming, anything practical requires a mixture of technologies and programming languages to work. JSP is no exception. As a result, most of the book is taken up with examples--ranging from the trivial to the eminently practical - showing how to use JSP for various task types and which Java technologies best expedite it. This isn't the end, though, as JSP can be used with non-Java languages--an adventure fortunately left to the student.

JSP comes late to the dynamic Web page feast, and is certainly no easier than ASP--and arguably more complex than Cold Fusion--but for Java programmers it has the huge advantage of being well integrated with the existing Java technologies. The authors are to be congratulated on an impressive and convincing JSP exposition. --Steve Patient