This text is intended to help diligent readers pass the Sun Certified Web Component Developer Exam, which the authors describe as "hard." Despite this difficult mission, the book provides an enjoyable presentation of a complex technology—the use of Java Servlets and JSP in web applications. The chapters do not consist of the usual dense, paragraphed text found in most technical books. Rather almost every page contains an array of visual elements, handwritten notations, diagrams, and wry comments to provide a learning experience more like a classroom. At the end readers are offered a "final mock exam" to see if they are ready for the real thing. Whether ready or not, most readers will come away with an understanding of some important tools for web applications development. Another fine production from O'Reilly.