Rating: 
Summary: KISS Method to the Struts 1.1 Framework
Review: The book was spectacular in the concise approach to the use of the Struts Framework. The explanations of all of the different areas were well thought out without being verbose. The sprinkling of URL references within the context of the chapter of use was solid and you didn't have to jump back and forth between the chapter and appendix.The cdManagerSample is a solid fundamental learning experience that has a lot of nice techniques within it for those of us who are totally on our own. I especially liked the web.xml setup with the log4j and database servlets that were included in addition to the cdmanager actionservlet. I liked the package structure, jsp use of the Struts template and comments within the code that explained that it was done for teaching and that in real life, you would use these other specific techniques. Chapter 11 mentions the useful extensions such as Tiles, Validator and the Jakarta Commons Utilities. This could be the topics for the next book. I would hope that other topics such as application scope caching, a data access object and design patterns would be considered as material for going to the next level.
Rating: 
Summary: not for beginners, not a reference
Review: The Struts Practical Guide provides an adequate overview of Struts and some of the many technologies it works with. For the most part it's well-written, and the author has a sense of humor. However, the book is too short (132 pages) to do justice to the ambitious agenda which it sets out to cover. Rather than focussing strictly on Struts core components (the MVC architecture and the Struts tag libraries) the author tries to introduce us to a host of worthwhile but off-target technologies that end up distracting the reader from Struts itself. As the result, we are left with incomplete coverage and very few examples to help understand the variety of possible relationships between Actions, ActionForms and jsp files, the very heart of Struts. Coverage of the Struts tag libraries is cursory, despite being the topic of the book's longest chapter (26 pages). The problem actually becomes worse when one examines the sample application that is available from the book's website: so many ancillary technologies have been incorporated into the sample app that the core functionality of Struts is difficult to tease out. Between internationalization, JNDI lookups, unit testing and Log4J, you'll find the Struts-related code if you look hard enough! As the result, a beginning Struts programmer who is not already familiar with these worthwhile technologies will find it difficult to use the companion code as a starting point for their own projects.
Rating:
Summary: Everything I needed to know
Review: This book is by far the best resource of the available Struts books. It is consise and to the technical point. It doesn't waste time going into useles details, but instead stays focuses on exactly what you need to know to build a Struts 1.1 application. The sample application dowload makes it easy to follow the book and try out the development at the same time. This author has done a great job on this book and I appreciate her not wasting my time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book !
Review: This book is excellent for quick start!. Though it takes little
time to setup there sample application:( this book is overall good view to beginer who wants rapid learn process. Five cheers!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Book
Review: This book is just fantastic. Finally a book that addresses its subject matter clearly, concisely, and without a lot of filler. No remedial lessons, no 120 page appendix of printed javadocs, just a lean, mean guide to struts. ...
If you are learning struts, absolutely buy this book. It has the value of a far thicker book packed into its pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast track to Struts
Review: This is a good book for someone who has never used Struts before. It is fast-paced and uses an example to convey the message. The author sticks to Struts and does not clutter the book with any other technologies. This book is perfect if you want to get up and running with Struts quickly. In the authors own words, the book strives to explain the most common 80% of features of Struts. A basic knowledge of Servlets and JSP is useful, though not required. This is not a good reference book though. Once you have gone through it cover-to-cover, there is no further use for it. Well, I guess that's why it costs less than $20. Who should buy: If you have never used Struts before and want to learn Struts quickly, then this is the book for you. If you have worked on Struts earlier and are looking for advanced features, then this is not the book for you. If you want to learn JSP/Servlets, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for best practises, pattern and J2EE architecture, then this is not the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Fast track to Struts
Review: This is a good book for someone who has never used Struts before. It is fast-paced and uses an example to convey the message. The author sticks to Struts and does not clutter the book with any other technologies. This book is perfect if you want to get up and running with Struts quickly. In the authors own words, the book strives to explain the most common 80% of features of Struts. A basic knowledge of Servlets and JSP is useful, though not required. This is not a good reference book though. Once you have gone through it cover-to-cover, there is no further use for it. Well, I guess that's why it costs less than $20. Who should buy: If you have never used Struts before and want to learn Struts quickly, then this is the book for you. If you have worked on Struts earlier and are looking for advanced features, then this is not the book for you. If you want to learn JSP/Servlets, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for best practises, pattern and J2EE architecture, then this is not the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Practical at its best!
Review: Those of us in the high tech industry have become used to buying technical books that can take down a forest. How refreshing to finally have an author who doesn't feel the need to drone on about every ancillary topic there is. This book covered everything I needed to know to get up, running, and productive with Struts 1.1. It is clearly and concisely written and speaks directly to Java developers. No bones about it. My boss had come into my cube on Friday morning and told me that we'd be looking at Struts on Monday for a new project. I purchased this book on overnight delivery, and was able to get through it in its entirety in a single day. This included downloading the sample application and using it. I walked in Monday not only knowing
what I needed to know to thoroughly impress my boss, but also able to make suggestions and comments on how we should go about building our project thanks to this book. With a sub- price tag, it's hard to justify spending 2 and 3 times the amount on another book. If you need a true practical guide, this is it. I've already recommended it to the rest of our development team, cause I don't want to give up my copy!
Rating:
Summary: For beginners
Review: Very useful for the begineers who wants to know "what is what" about Struts. With a simple example application, the author walks through different Struts components. This book does not waste words so it is pretty hard to skip a portion and continue without knowing what happened in the section of a chapter. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: For beginners
Review: Very useful for the begineers who wants to know "what is what" about Struts. With a simple example application, the author walks through different Struts components. This book does not waste words so it is pretty hard to skip a portion and continue without knowing what happened in the section of a chapter. Highly recommended.
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