To learn more about these technologies, I've set up a website about Hermosa Beach, where I've lived since 1994. It contains information about the city and what's going on, pictures, slideshows and reference lists with maps for hotels, restaurants, clubs, etc. It's a work in progress and I'll add more features as time permits. Check it out if you want to see what I'm up to nowadays.

March 30, 2005. Easy to use tabs for JSP pages
I've added a reference to a new tag library in the Resources section. It's the Ditchnet JSP Tabs Taglib, an Open Source (LGPL) tag library that combines DHTML, JavaScript and JSP to provide GUI-like tabs for web interfaces. Check it out.

January 7, 2005. Customizing JSF messages
An article I wrote for Oracle's Technology Network is now available online. The article provides some general advice on web application interface development and describes how you can use generic attributes and a PhaseListener to customize the standard JSF error messages in a very flexible way.

August 20, 2004. Handling Events in JSF
ONJava.com has published excerpts from Chapter 8 of my JavaServer Faces book as a two-part article. Part 1 describes the basic mechanisms and Part 2 shows how to apply them for the sample application.

June 9, 2004. Improving JSF by Dumping JSP
My latest article, Improving JSF by Dumping JSP, is now published on the ONJava.com site. It describes the problems with the JSF/JSP mix and shows how to elimiate them by using a custom JSF presentation layer. You're welcome to download the example application to study it in more detail

June 8, 2004. JavaServer Faces examples updated
A new version (1.0.2) of the JavaServer Faces examples is now available. It contains a fix for a bug in the BarRenderer and a couple of improvements for the XMLViewHandler. See the release notes in the examples ZIP file for details.

June 1, 2004. The JSF 1.1 specification released
The JSF 1.1 specification was released last week, correcting a number of clear errors and clarifying a few underspecified areas. I anticipated most of these changes when I wrote the JavaServer Faces book, so it already covers most of the changes. For details, see this FAQ entry

May 13, 2004. My JSF book available on Safari
JavaServer Faces is now available online as part of O'Reilly's Safari Bookshelf service.

May 12, 2004. JSP 2.0 article, part 4, on ONJava.com
Part 4 of my JSP 2.0 article series is now available on OnJava.com. It describes two new, simpler ways to develop tag handlers: tag files and the simple tag handler API.

May 5, 2004. JavaServer Faces examples updated
A new version (1.0.1) of the JavaServer Faces examples is now available. It contains a work- around for a JSF RI bug that caused the custom ViewHandler examples to fail when accessed through Internet Explorer. See the release notes in the examples ZIP file for details.

April 29, 2004. JavaServer Faces book available
My JavaServer Faces is now released and for sale in bookstores and online at sites like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. See this page for details.

April 21, 2004. JSP 2.0 article, part 3, on ONJava.com
Part 3 of my JSP 2.0 article series is now available on OnJava.com. It discusses improvements and new features for JSP pages as XML documents.

April 19, 2004. Site and URL changes
In preparation for the release of my latest book, JavaServer Faces, I've renamed and rearranged the content on this site a bit. The new official URL is www.hansbergsten.com. The old www.TheJSPBook.com URL will also point to this site for some time, but it will eventually be deactivated. If you link to the site, please change your link URLs.

The site now contains information about all my books, recent articles, consulting services, and references to many other useful server-side Java resources. Please let me know if you have suggestions about other information or features for this site.

March 3, 2004. JavaServer Faces 1.0 released
The long awaited JavaServer Faces (JSF) 1.0 specification is finally available in its final form. JSF is the latest addition to the Java web tier technology toolbox, allowing you to use a design model similar to the one used for traditional GUI programming for web application development.

I contributed to the specification as a member of the JSF "expert group" (EG) and have written a book about how to use this new and exciting technology. The book is scheduled for release late April 2004, and you can pre-order it now at Amazon.com and other online book stores.

January 22, 2004. 3rd Edition at Safari
JavaServer Pages, Third Edition is now available online as part of O'Reilly's Safari Bookshelf service.

December 19, 2003. 3rd Edition available
The third edition of my JSP book is now available in stores and online, e.g., at Amazon.com and other shopping sites.

It covers the new JSP 2.0, JSTL 1.1 and Servlet 2.4 specifications (i.e., J2EE 1.4) with exiting new features such as tag files (JSP-like files for developing custom tags), use of the Expression Language in template text and any element attribute value, more powerful XML format support, and a simplified API for Java tag handlers.

December 15, 2003. The JCP turns 5
The Java Community Process (JCP), through which all Java specifications are developed, celebrates its five year anniversary in December. As an active JCP participant, I'm interviewed in an article that discusses what the JCP has gone through since its inception and what's in store for the future.

December 3, 2003. JSP 2.0 article on ONJava.com
Part 2 of my JSP 2.0 article series is now available on OnJava.com. It discusses improvements in error handling and the new deployment descriptor features.

November 25, 2003. JSP 2.0 and JSTL 1.1 released
The final specifications for JSP 2.0 and JSTL 1.1 are now released. To learn about the new approach to JSP development that these specs make possible, I suggest you pick up a copy of the 3rd edition of my JavaServer Pages book.

November 5, 2003. JSP 2.0 article on ONJava.com
If you're curious about what's coming in JSP 2.0, you may find my new JSP 2.0 article series at ONJava.com interesting. Part 1 takes a look at the JSP 2.0 EL and the JSTL 1.1 EL functions. Future parts will explore other new features.

October 16, 2003. New book about JavaServer Faces
JavaServer Faces (JSF) is the latest addition to the Java web tier technology toolbox, allowing you to use a design model similar to the one used for traditional GUI programming for web application development.

I joined the JSF specification group about a year ago to help getting this specification done, and now we're finally seeing the end of the tunnel.

In parallel with the specification work, I've been writing a book about JSF. It's scheduled for release early 2004, but you can pre-order it now at Amazon.com and other online book stores.

October 9, 2003. 3rd Edition announced
The third edition of my JSP book is making its way through production and should be in the book stores sometime in December.

It covers the new JSP 2.0, JSTL 1.1 and Servlet 2.4 specifications (i.e., J2EE 1.4) with exiting new features such as tag files (JSP-like files for developing custom tags), use of the Expression Language in template text and any element attribute value, more powerful XML format support, and a simplified API for Java tag handlers.

You can pre-order the book now at Amazon.com and other online book stores.

April 22, 2003. Vesica Pisces Halfway to Naked released
Okay, this has nothing to do with the book or the site, but my friends Vesica Pisces's new CD Halfway to Naked hit the stores today. It's a great album, produced by Jack Douglas of Aerosmith (and many more) fame. If you like good ol' down-to-earth rock, check it out at their web site.

February 21, 2003. JSP Code Conventions added
Sun has released a pretty good set of Code Conventions for JSP. They are now included in the resource collection on this site.

December 23, 2002. Java Enterprise Best Practices released
Java Enterprise Best Practices (O'Reilly) has just been released. This book brings together practical tips based on the experience of O'Reilly writers such as Jason Hunter (servlets), Brett McLaughlin (XML) and George Reese (JDBC), and includes a JSP chapter by me. Buy it now at Amazon.com.

October 30, 2002. JSTL Part 3 at ONJava.com
The third (and final) part of my article series about JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) 1.0 is now available at ONJava.com.

October 8, 2002. Second Edition available online
JavaServer Pages, Second Edition is now available online as part of O'Reilly's Safari Bookshelf service.

September 11, 2002. JSTL Part 2 at ONJava.com
The second part of my article series about JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) 1.0 is now available at ONJava.com.

August 30, 2002. JavaServer Pages, 2nd edition released
The second edition of JavaServer Pages, (O'Reilly) was released this week and is now available for purchase in most book stores and online book web-stores.

The second edition is completely revised to cover JSP 1.2 and the JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) 1.0 specification.

August 15, 2002. Site updated for JavaServer Pages, 2nd edition
This site now features the second edition of JavaServer Pages, (O'Reilly). The book is currently in production and will soon appear in a bookstore near you.

August 14, 2002. JSTL article series at ONJava.com
The first part of my article series about JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) 1.0 is now available at ONJava.com.

June 29, 2002. 2nd Edition announced
The second edition of my JSP book has just been announced by O'Reilly. It should be in the book stores sometime in August, but you can pre-order it now at Amazon.com and other online book stores.

The second edition is completely revised to cover JSP 1.2 and the just released JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) 1.0 specification.

November 7, 2001. JSP 1.2 article at ONJava.com
The JSP 1.2 specification was released on September 17, along with the Reference Implementation for the new specification: Tomcat 4.0.

Part 2 of an article where I describe the new JSP 1.2 features is now available on the ONJava.com site. If you like to run the book examples with Tomcat 4.0, see this tip for some pointers.

October 28, 2001. JSP Survey added
I have added an informal survey, that I started on the JSP-INTEREST list earlier this month, to the site. Check it out and please submit your own answers.

July 30, 2001. Slides from Georgia Web Developers Conference available
The slides from my sessions at the Georgia Web Developers Conference are now available in PDF format: JSP Introduction and Developing JSP Custom Tag Libraries