Ajax on Java
This practical guide shows you how to make your Java web applications more responsive and dynamic by incorporating new Ajaxian features, including suggestion lists, drag-and-drop, and more.
AJAX in Practice
Chapter 1. Setup
Section 1.1. Requirements
Section 1.2. Installing Tomcat
Section 1.3. Installing Ant
Chapter 2. JavaScript for Ajax
Section 2.1. Creating the Application
Section 2.2. Running the Example
Chapter 3. A Simple Ajax Servlet
Section 3.1. Building and Deploying the Ajax Application
Section 3.2. Running the Example
Chapter 4. XML and JSON for Ajax
Section 4.1. The Character Decoder
Section 4.2. Setting Up a Simple XML Document
Section 4.3. Back on the Client: Mining the XML
Section 4.4. Building the Application
Section 4.5. Running the Application on Tomcat
Section 4.6. Passing Data with JSON
Section 4.7. Summary
Chapter 5. Getting Useful Data
Section 5.1. Form Entry with Ajax
Section 5.2. Building a Suggestion Field
Chapter 6. Ajax Libraries and Toolkits
Section 6.1. Using the Dojo Toolkit
Section 6.2. Using the Rico Toolkit
Section 6.3. Using DWR with Ajax
Section 6.4. Drag 'n' Drop with Scriptaculous and Prototype
Chapter 7. Ajax Tags
Section 7.1. Creating a Tag Library
Section 7.2. Third-Party Tag Libraries
Chapter 8. Ajax on Struts
Section 8.1. Struts-Layout
Section 8.2. Adding Ajax to Struts with DWR
Section 8.3. Ajax with Struts: What Have We Learned Here?
Chapter 9. JavaServer Faces and Ajax
Section 9.1. The JSF Lifecycle
Section 9.2. Writing a Custom JSF Component
Section 9.3. Developing a Custom JSF Tag
Section 9.4. Handling JSF Input by Extending HtmlInputText
Section 9.5. Writing the JSF Support for Ajax
Section 9.6. Summary
Chapter 10. Google Web Toolkit
Section 10.1. Getting Started with GWT
Section 10.2. Debugging the Application
Section 10.3. Fleshing Out the Application: The Client
Section 10.4. Supplying Services to the Client
Section 10.5. Testing ZipCodes with the Service
Section 10.6. GWT Widgets
Java developers can choose between many different ways of incorporating Ajax, from building JavaScript into your applications "by hand" to using the new Google Web Toolkit (GWT).
Ajax on Java starts with an introduction to Ajax, showing you how to write some basic applications that use client-side JavaScript to request information from a Java servlet and display it without doing a full page reload. It also presents several strategies for communicating between the client and the server, including sending raw data, and using XML or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) for sending more complex collections of data.
The book then branches out into different approaches for incorporating Ajax, which include:
- The Prototype and script.aculo.us Javascript libraries, the Dojo and Rico libraries, and DWR
- Integrating Ajax into Java ServerPages (JSP) applications
- Using Ajax with Struts
- Integrating Ajax into Java ServerFaces (JSF) applications
- Using Google's GWT, which offers a pure Java approach to developing web applications: your client-side components are written in Java, and compiled into HTML and JavaScript
Ajax gives web developers the ability to build applications that are more interactive, more dynamic, more exciting and enjoyable for your users. If you're a Java developer and haven't tried Ajax, but would like to get started, this book is essential. Your users will be grateful.