Struts: The Complete Reference, 2nd Edition

James Holmes

Edited by Herbert Schildt

McGraw-Hill/Osborne

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Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of publisher, with the exception that the program listings may be entered, stored, and executed in a computer system, but they may not be reproduced for publication.

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ISBN 0-07-223131-9

Publisher Brandon A. Nordin

Vice President & Associate Publisher Scott Rogers

Editorial Director Wendy Rinaldi

Project Editor Janet Walden

Acquisitions Coordinator Athena Honore

Editor Herbert Schildt

Technical Editor James Mitchell

Contributing Editor Bill Siggelkow

Copy Editor William McManus

Proofreader Marian Selig

Indexer Valerie Robbins

Compsition Lucie Ericksen, Tara A. Davis

Illustrators Kathleen Edwards, Melinda Lytle

Series Design Peter F. Hancik, Lyssa Wald

This book was composed with Corel VENTURA^™ Publisher.

Information has been obtained by McGraw-Hill/Osborne from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, McGraw-Hill/Osborne, or others, McGraw-Hill/Osborne does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information.

To my mother, who once chided me for spending so much time behind the computer, but who has stood behind me steadfast and given me the platform from which to flourish.

About the Author

James Holmes is a leading Struts authority. He is a committer on the Struts project and creator of the most popular Struts development tool, Struts Console. Additionally, Oracle Magazine named him '2002 Java Developer of the Year' for his work with the Struts framework and JDeveloper.

James is an independent consultant who develops server-side applications for complex transactional environments, including ADP, Bank of America, IBM, and UPS. For information on retaining James for Struts and Java development projects, contact him via e-mail at james@jamesholmes.com. You can also visit his Web site at http://www.JamesHolmes.com/.

About the Contributor

Bill Siggelkow is a systems development and design consultant who specializes in enterprise-caliber Java-based applications. Bill is an active member of the Atlanta Struts User Group and frequently serves as a presenter for the group. With nearly 20 years of development experience, he has designed and developed systems for the manufacturing, energy marketing, e-commerce, and financial service industries. Bill enjoys training and mentoring developers in the art of programming.

About the Technical Editor

James Mitchell is a self-described 'Open Source Evangelist' and can be found roaming the halls of the Apache and Sourceforge mailing lists. He is one of a handful of committers on the Struts project at Apache. James is currently working as an independent consultant in the Atlanta, GA, area specializing in Struts-based J2EE application development and is available on a contract basis. James has built Struts-based enterprise applications in B2B, banking, industrial, and telecommunications industries.

For more information or to contact James Mitchell, send your inquiries to jmitchell@apache.org. You can also reach him at 678/910-8017.

About the Editor

Herbert Schildt is a leading authority on the C, C++, Java, and C# languages, and is a master Windows programmer. His programming books have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide and have been translated into all major foreign languages. He is the author of numerous bestsellers, including Java 2: The Complete Reference, The Art of Java, Java 2: A Beginner's Guide, Java 2 Programmer's Reference, C++: The Complete Reference, C: The Complete Reference, and C#: The Complete Reference. Schildt holds a master's degree in computer science from the University of Illinois. He can be reached at his consulting office at 217/586-4683.

Acknowledgments

Writing this book has been one of the most challenging endeavors I've taken on and it would not have been possible without the help and support from several people. I'd like to thank everyone at McGraw-Hill/Osborne for being so kind and supportive. In particular, I want to thank Wendy Rinaldi for giving me the opportunity to write this book and for introducing me to and giving me the opportunity to work with Herb Schildt, whom I'd also like to thank. Not only has Herb been the editor on this book, providing me with endless insight and wisdom, he has become a great friend and a mentor. Thank you all!

Special thanks also to Bill Siggelkow for providing the initial drafts for Chapters 19 and 20. His efforts are sincerely appreciated.