JavaServer Faces (JSF) is quickly emerging as the leading solution for rapid user interface development in Java-based server-side applications. Now, Core JavaServer™ Faces—the #1 guide to JSF—has been thoroughly updated in this second edition, covering the latest feature enhancements, the powerful Ajax development techniques, and open source innovations that make JSF even more valuable.

Authors David Geary and Cay Horstmann delve into all facets of JSF 1.2 development, offering systematic best practices for building robust applications, minimizing handcoding, and maximizing productivity. Drawing on unsurpassed insider knowledge of the Java platform, they present solutions, hints, tips, and "how-tos" for writing superior JSF 1.2 production code, even if you're new to JSF, JavaServer Pages™, or servlets.

The second edition's extensive new coverage includes: JSF 1.2's improved alignment with the broader Java EE 5 platform; enhancements to the JSF APIs; controlling Web flow with Shale; and using Facelets to replace JSP with XHTML markup. The authors also introduce Ajax development with JSF—from real-time validation and Direct Web Remoting to wrapping Ajax in JSF components and using the popular Ajax4jsf framework.

This book will help you

Automate low-level details and eliminate unnecessary complexity in server-side development

Discover JSF best practices, ranging from effective UI design and style sheets to internationalization

Use JSF with Tiles to build consistent, reusable user interfaces

Leverage external services such as databases, LDAP directories, authentication/authorization, and Web services

Use JBoss Seam to greatly simplify development of database-backed applications

Implement custom components, converters, and validators

Master the JSF 1.2 tag libararies, and extend JSF with additional tag libraries