Preface

This is a book about the Java EE 7 platform and web digital development, and it is a continuation of the first book Java EE 7 Developer Handbook. The entire focus of this tome is the space and software architecture between the frontend technologies and business logic tier. While there was a lack of printing space and working balance between life and time for this subject in my first book, in this book Digital Java EE 7, there is plenty of effort and determination to write exclusively about the Java presentation tier. This book was written for the developers who want to become superior and adept at building a web application on JVM with the standard Java EE 7 platform.

This book mostly covers the presentation tier from the Java standard's point of view. Therefore, there are entire chapters dedicated to JavaServer Faces as it is the most important and oldest dedicated web framework on the Java EE 7 platform. Even though the technology has been around since 2004, there are commercial organizations and businesses around the world that rely on JSF. They range from blue-chip companies to well-respected investment banks. Yet, with the Java EE 7 release, JSF 2.2 has several key features that web developers will enjoy and find incredibly helpful such as the HTML5 friendly markup support and Faces Flow.

As a reader, it is my hope that you will become enlightened on the path to build software that enables you to stride up the mountainous paths of the contemporary Java web technology and that you will gain the qualification of an accomplished master (or mistress) in your mind.

So, starting with JSF, we will learn about the framework with a thorough introduction to its concepts. We will progress to the building of the JSF input forms and learn how to validate their input in several ways. The most important task of developing Create Retrieve Update and Delete (CRUD) for JSF web applications will hit the nail squarely on the head. Afterwards, we will add more style and finesse to the JSF applications. On the way, we will write applications that validate with AJAX for an immediate effect. We will continue our adventure into the elegant world of conversational scope backing bean controllers. We will find that these are handy little things that we will map together and capture our stakeholders' customer journeys. Finally, we will learn about Faces Flows, which are a standout addition in JSF 2.2.

No Java web technology book would be complete without telling the reader about the JavaScript programming language and emerging technologies. Many senior Java engineers would agree that Java on the Web has—to some degree—conceded ground on the presentation tier to the JavaScript client-side frameworks. Building REST/UI frontend applications are now so common that it is difficult for the so-called digital Java engineer to ignore the influence of jQuery, RequireJS, and others. There are several known JavaScript frameworks out there in the wild. In this book, we will cover AngularJS. We will step into the middle of that blustery windy bridge in between the two major landscapes of Java, JVM, and JavaScript. I can't promise you that it will not be scary, but you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by the way that you will stand comfortably and negotiate the ledges and handholds between both the JAX-RS services and AngularJS controllers.

At the far end of this book, we have a special just-in-time release for you. We dedicate an entire single chapter to the upcoming Java EE 8 Model-View-Controller, which may become an alternative sizzling emerald in the way we build future REST/UI applications. Beyond this book's finish line, we have put together three essential appendices that I hope will act as excellent reference material.

At the end of each chapter, we have dedicated a special section to educational exercises, which I hope you find relevant and decent, and you have fun learning while your thought processes are being conveniently stretched. This was written for you, the Java web developer on a mission to innovate. Enjoy!

You can find my blog at http://www.xenonique.co.uk/blog/. You can follow me on Twitter at @peter_pilgrim.

The source code for this book is available on GitHub at https://github.com/peterpilgrim/digital-javaee7.