JSP Basics with Java Studio Creator 2 for VB Programmers
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If you have been looking for a place to start with Java Server Pages, you've found it here. This article will give you some hands-on experience in using the Java Studio Creator 2 IDE to create Java Server Pages.
Introduction
Active Server Pages by Microsoft was a great success because developers were looking for a server side processing program that was better than CGI scripts, the only way programs were processed on servers at that time. Java Server Pages was Sun Microsystems' answer to ASP based on the Java Programming Language. This is part of the history and today both of them find their place in web space.
Both are script based and provide similar functionality. They do have commonalities in syntax and objects. JSP supports tags that abstract functionality that can be dropped onto a page, making separation of content and code a lot easier and cleaner. Tags are easier to handle than spaghetti code. Of course ASP is platform-specific, being a Microsoft product, and JSPs work with lot more platforms.
The object of this tutorial is however to use the Java Studio Creator 2 IDE to get a basic understanding of how to create Java Server Pages and get hands-on experience in using this tool. The tutorial also shows how to add images and links using JavaScript.
Overview of the main windows of the IDE
It is essential to move around easily in the IDE, to find things for the effective use of any user interface. This section describes the basic features.
Click on the Sun Java Studio Creator 2 desktop shortcut created when the program was installed. This opens up the following window.
The Welcome window is where you can open your listed, recent projects or open an existing project by browsing in the directory C:/My Documents/Creator/Projects. Of course you may also create a new project from here. More on this will be discussed later in the tutorial. While on this central page, scroll down and you will see links to tutorials and samples on the web.
The Projects window shows all the projects, the same ones you see in the Welcome window, but here you may look at the sub directories and files. As shown, the project Test has been expanded to show the typical structure of a project. For example the Test project has three Java server pages, TestDup.jsp, TestHello.jsp, and Verify.jsp. The one that has the green arrowhead is the page that comes up when the project is run. If you right click any other page, you can make it the start page for the project as shown. The structure of the project gives you all the ability required in an enterprise-quality application, from page creation to delivery and documentation.
Next: The Palette window and more >>
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