How do I get started building web apps with Java?

Question

I want to start web developing with java. I don't know how to start, what to learn, or what is the best web framework to learn and use. Help me out?

Answer 1

Well if you do not know much about Java, then first I suggest going back and getting your foundation in Java strong first (cause after all JSPs are java code embedded inside HTML), then proceed to learning about servlets and then move on to JSPs.

As far as learning JSPs is concerned, I would suggest buy a book, Head First Servlets and JSP is pretty good book.

Head First Servlets and JSP

JSP Tutorial

Getting Started with Web application - JSP/Servlet

Answer 2

If you know java you can always start reading this book, https://secure.manning.com/books/deshmukh It will give you the basic foundation for java web development.

Answer 3

I recently asked a similar question. See if it helps.

Answer 4

I think Grails is a great way to get started. You can use the scaffolding to get started quickly, which allows you to dip down into the more complex aspects of Java web development at your own pace. I recommend you watch this screencast to see what you think.

Answer 5

This is a big subject and you will need to learn a lot.

I can recommend first learning Java very well.

• Head First Java - http://books.google.dk/books?id=5VTBuvfZDyoC
• The Java Tutorial - http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/

You will need to be very proficient in Java, as most framework documentation expect this of you.

When you have those under your belt, you are much better equipped to determine which framework is best for you, as that very much depends on which facilities you actually need, and which you do not have any use for.

Answer 6

I assume, that you're only new to web apps and not to Java itself.

For a starter, I can recommend the Apache Wicket framework for the front end. Their web site is full of examples, the mailing lists are a great place to get started, and Wicket in Action was an enjoyable read.

If you want to work with Java Server Pages (JSP), then you should definitely also include Java Server Faces (JSF) which make working with JSPs a lot easier. I can't advocate any good books to you as I went for web tutorials mainly. You might want to have a look at Apache MyFaces.

For the business logik, I guess the standard is Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB). I liked Mastering Enterprise JavaBeans 3.0. An older version of the book is available for free at TheServerSide.com. You should avoid EJB versions older than 3.0, because they are a PITA!

A separate part of the EJB 3.0 specification is the Java Persistence API 1.0 (see, e.g., Apache OpenJPA though the documentation is patchy). Other frameworks that support JPA are, e.g., Spring or JPOX (now being called DataNucleus).

Finally, if you want an application server for testing, there are JBoss by RedHat, SUN's Glassfish and Apache Geronimo (I preferred the last one, but you may have noticed my preference for Apache projects already ;-))

Good luck!

Answer 7

The WEB4J tool is likely worth a look.

It has a much smaller number of classes in comparison with other tools. It is "full stack", so it helps you build all parts of your web app. Thus, you don't have to learn several different tools - just one.

A college instructor related to me that he felt it was "almost perfect" for his students, since it was at just the right level, and didn't hide things behind complicated abstractions - it was plain to see how all the parts worked together.