Building Database-Driven web sites using MySQL / PostgreSQL, JSP and Java Servlets

Overview
FTT developed this course in response to requests from clients for a course that, in five days, would cover the use of data-driven programming based on Tomcat and MySQL/PostgreSQL The course is aimed at fairly experienced programmers and web developers who wish to learn the principles of implementing Java oriented e-commerce sites.

Key Skills

• Tomcat installation and configuration
• Understanding of Java Servlets and JSP
• Using an object oriented approach to database driven web application design
• Accessing MySQL and PostgreSQL via JDBC
• Integrating XML into an E-Commerce web site
• Using LDAP with JNDI
• Understanding the STRUTS application framework
• Working with Enterprise Java Beans

Practical Work
The exercises follow the presentation closely. Their purpose is to foster confidence by doing, and by understanding and modifying templates.
Each workstation will be running Linux, and have the Java JDK, Tomcat, Ant, , mySQL and PostgresSQL installed. Alternatively, the course can be run under Windows if required.

• Understand the installation of Java JDK, Tomcat, and Ant
• Understanding the installation of MySQL, PostgreSQL, JDBC for MySQL and JDBC for PostgreSQL
• Develop and refresh SQL skills by interacting with mySQL and PostgresSQL via GUI and command line interfaces
• Develop applications using JSP and JDBC
• Use Java Beans with JSP
• Use Servlet functionality with JSP
• Use Java to incorporate XML functionality into an E-Commerce web site

Course Contents
Overview Developing E-Commerce Applications with JSP

• Principles underlying JSP
• A survery of commercial and open-source JSP platforms
• Putting Tomcat together with MySQL/PostgreSQL
• Principles and strategies of E-Commerce Development

Overview of JSP and JDBC

• How JSP works
• Running Tomcat
• Principles of JSP program debugging
• Overview of JDBC
  • Result sets
  • Prepared statements
  • Inserts, Updates and Deletes
  • Cursors and their usage

JSP and Java Beans

• Beans for beginners
• Bean Persistence
• Bean properties

Sevlet functionality and JSP

• How Servlets relate to CGI
• Advantages of using JSP

Designing E-Commerce Applications

• Functional requirements
• Entity Relationship modeling and ERDs (Entity Relationship Diagrams)
• Use cases

Designing and Creating the Database Schema and Populating it with Data Implementation

• application infrastructure
  • build management - using Ant
  • logging and connection pooling - using and configuring Turbine
• generating log messages - using and customising Log4J
• retrieving, storing and verifying user input
  • Field validation
  • Exception handling
  • Dealing with forgotten passwords
  • Storing login details with cookies
• Publishing Data from Database Sources
  • document design and structure
  • user feedback
• Session persistence and Complex Form Handling
  • Tomcat's session-persistent objects
  • Shopping cart implementation case study
• Intersession persistence
  • Remembering information between user logins
  • "filling and spilling" the shopping cart example
  • address book example
  • credit card and wallet example
• Handling Business Logic
  • Implementing promotions
  • Handling taxes and shipping
  • Order finalisation and confirmation
• Credit card based transactions
  • charging the credit card
  • order completion
  • order history
• Integrating XML into and e-commerce web site
  • overview of XML
  • parsing XML with the Apache Xerces XML parser
  • SAX parser implementation
  • DOM parser implementation
  • Generating XML
• Directory services
  • Overview of LDAP
  • LDAP schemas
  • OpenLDAP
  • Using JNDI - the Java Naming Directory Interface
• The STRUTS Application Framework
  • The Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern
  • Installing and configuring STRUTS
  • Using STRUTS
• Principles of Enterprise Java Beans
  • Overview of EJB
  • Commercial EJB implementations
  • JBoss - a simple open source EJB implementation
  • Stateless, Stateful and Entity Beans
  • Stateful and Stateless Entity Beans
  • Interacting with databases via Entity Beans
• Security, Tuning and Load Balancing