Your First Website In Java: Easier Than You Think

Introduction

Published: Feb 01, 2006

What this tutorial is, and what it is not

If you are reading this, it's probably because you have an idea for your own website, and for some peculiar reason you want to build it in Java.

If this is the case, congratulations! You've come to the right place, as this tutorial was designed specifically with you in mind, and is supposed to be a one-stop shop for all of your development needs. To be more specific, this tutorial:

• does NOT attempt to teach you general principles of web design;
• does NOT provide a comprehensive coverage of HTML/CSS markup techniques;
• does NOT explore the intricacies of J2EE architectures.

Instead, it focuses on just one thing: building dynamic, content-oriented websites in Java. No less, no more. If, along the way, we find it necessary to touch on some of the topics mentioned above, we only go in as deep as is needed to get the job done.

In terms of organization, this tutorial reflects the steps involved in a typical website creation process, all the way through from initial idea to finished application, deployed and ready to serve visitors.

Who should read this tutorial

I do not expect you to have any prior knowledge or experience in any particular subject of what we are going to go over in the course of this tutorial — for one obvious reason: if you knew everything we talk about here, you would not need to be here in the first place!

But while I do not assume familiarity with any particular subject area, I still assume that you are familiar with at least some of them. In other words, you should be somewhat tech-savvy, even if only a bit. If you are a completely non-technical person, trying to get your head around so many new concepts is going to make for a very frustrating experience.

In general, I see the target audience of this tutorial as consisting mainly of two groups:

• PHP folks looking to learn Java;
• people coming from a Java background looking to learn some web stuff.

How to read this tutorial

I suppose you are not reading this out of vague academic interest. Most likely, you came here vith very practical goals in mind. If so, I have a good news: you don't have to meticulously read this tutorial cover to cover — you can just as well scan through the table of contents, pick items that grab your attention, and off you go!

Do not be afraid of missing out on something important: I use a lot of back references throughout the text, so you will always know where to turn to for a refresher. For areas that go beyond the scope of the tutorial I refer to appropriate sections in Resources.

What to expect

This tutorial covers quite a lot of ground, and if you give it due consideration, you will learn pretty much everything there is to know to be able to tackle a much wider range of web development challenges than are directly addressed in the text — because this is not merely a how-to tutorial, but rather an organized collection of random thoughts on web development issues, practices and trends.

By the time you are finished, I will have enough confidence in you to send you off sailing on your own in the open sea of information flows and cyberstreams.

Good Luck, and Ship Ahoy!

Last edited: Apr 20, 2006