|
|
|
|
News - Articles/Tutorials/Code/Reviews - JSP/Servlet Hosting Companies - Links |
|
HTTP://WWW.JSPInsider.com/ .
***** IN THIS ISSUE **************************************************
News
1:Tomcat 4.0 Milestone 1 Released
2:JavaPlus Conference 10/30/2000 to 11/1/2000
3:Microsoft Is Using Tidal Software Java Package
Rambles
1:Sites of Expression
Links
1:OptimizeIt!
2:The Value of Logging
3:Enterprise Java Large-Scale Servlet Programming
4:The Return of the Java Client
5:Moving from IBM WebSphere 3 to BEA WebLogic Server 5.1
6:Reviews of Java Application Servers by Users for Users!
7:JDJ Readers Choice Awards.
Main Topic
1:Site Design Lessons.
Like this newsletter? Tell a friend about the JSP Buzz!
================================================================
================================================================
THE LATEST NEWS
================================================================
1) Tomcat 4.0 Milestone 1 Released
Tomcat 4.0 supports Servlet 2.3 and JSP 1.2 API's. Keep in mind two
things: the JSP 1.2 API is not final yet and this is the first milestone
build of Tomcat 4.0. This means while stable, it still might have
bugs and you should not use it for production. Tomcat 3.2, the latest
implementation for JSP 1.1, is on the forth beta build now and should
be ready for a final build any time now.
2) JavaPlus Conference 10/30/2000 to 11/1/2000
A Java conference located in San Jose, California will cover many
Java topics including JSP and servlets.
3)Microsoft Is Using Tidal Software Java Package (9/29/2000)
This news item is interesting not for the news aspect, but rather
as confirmation that Java can be used to build world class solutions.
The fact that Microsoft is implementing a Java-based mission critical
information system stands out as wonderful example of the strengths
of the Java language.
================================================================
Rambles by Casey Kochmer
================================================================
******************* SITES OF EXPRESSION *******************
I find the rarest form of Internet site to be what I call a
site of expression. These are sites which have no target audience and
exist for no other reason than an author's wish to freely
express him/herself to a wider web. These sites are unbounded
by constraints, do not advertise and do not push their way into
our lives.
An example of this is the online bamboo garden.
The nice thing about sites of expression is that no rules limit
how they are built. Just build what you want and don't worry about
anything or anyone. In simple words, don't sweat it and have fun!
In a strange way, sites of expression may become the modern art of
our Internet culture, a new medium for artists of our time. I spent
a few hours Sunday afternoon looking for these sites of expression
and discovered very, very few truly exist. On the Internet most sites
have become billboards of repetition and market forces.
So if you know a great site of expression, send it my way!
================================================================
Links of Interest
================================================================
[Product] OptimizeIt! Intuitive Systems, Inc.
Current Version: 4.0 Started shipping 9/12/2000
In the last JSP Buzz, I talked about performance problems due to
synchronization. Several readers have asked me which tool I use to
profile my code to solve such problems. I currently use OptimizeIt!,
a powerful profiling solution for Java developers. It has good
online documentation and works with most JSP containers.
For new programmers this tool will be a bit cryptic, but, with
time and practice, you will be able to dig deeper into your Java code.
[Article] The Value of Logging (Ethan Henry, 10/2000)
This article also ties into the optimization article from the last
issue of the JSP Buzz. Ethan takes a closer look at debugging in Java.
More specifically he examines logging and how you can easily implement it.
[Article] Enterprise Java Large-Scale Servlet Programming
(Kyle Brown, Rachel Reinitz and Skyler Thomas, 10/2000)
While this article is a little out of date on the session servlet
version code examples, it still provides a nice discussion about how to
implement a JSP / Servlet solution on a large, high-traffic web site.
The article looks at scalability issues of storing client data on the
server. It also shows some approaches for making your servlets perform
in a high-traffic environments.
[article] The Return of the Java Client (Lenny Liebmann 10/2/2000)
This article discusses the resurgence of client-side Java. It is very
nicely written and talks about many issues of building larger Java
applications. The article also reviews on how client-side and
server-side Java are being combined to form more powerful applications.
[PDF Document] Moving from IBM WebSphere 3 to BEA WebLogic Server 5.1
This is a 56 page pdf document which helps IBM WebSphere users migrate
to WebLogic. Since these are the two large and costly Java application
servers on the market, this is an important document. It shows the
differences between the two products and will be of use to someone
trying to evaluate them.
[Server Reviews] Reviews of Java Application Servers by Users for Users
[IPlanet Server]
[GemStone Server]
[Sybase Server]
To complement the review of WebSphere and WebLogic, a series of reviews
for iPlanet,Gemstone and Sybase are included. TheServerSide is an
excellent site for both Java Forums and independent Java application
server reviews. Users like you review products with true and honest
opinions. It is refreshing way to review software.
[Awards] JDJ Readers Choice Awards. (Java Developer's Journal)
Last week the Java Developer Journal handed out prizes for
the winners of Reader's Choice Awards. This is the result of
20,000 people voting for their favorite Java products. Check
out which products people felt were worth using!
================================================================
MAIN TOPIC by Casey Kochmer
================================================================
****************** Site Design Lessons. ***********************
Several JSP Buzz readers have asked me to write an article about site
design and to share lessons learned from building the JSP Insider site.
The most important design consideration is understanding the purpose
of your web site. Our aims are to become better JSP programmers,
build a site which we would want to use and be active members of
the JSP community.
Although JSP Insider is not a commercial site currently, we think of
it as an E-Commerce site because we are transacting business not in
dollars, but in information, views and attitudes. Thinking commercial
forces us to hold the site to a high standard of usability. It also
challenges us to keep the site fresh and current so our client-users
will want to come back.
Before we built the site we looked closely at our goals, target
audience and what services or information our customers would like to
read. Here's what we mapped out.
Goals
-Learn and improve our own and our readers' JSP skills.
-Actively participate in the JSP community.
-Experiment with web design.
Target Audience
-Programming developers.
-Technical project managers.
-Anyone trying to learn JSP.
-Ourselves.
Target Audience Characteristics
-Familiar with the web.
-Predominantly use the latest browsers.
-Not put off by experimental formats.
Services Needs and Wants
-Information on JSP itself.
-Easy access. Since JSP is a relatively new technology, the ratio of
new to experience programmers would be weighted towards the newer
programmers. So the information should be geared towards making JSP
an easy learning experience.
We decided to use DHTML and concentrated our design efforts on primarily
the newer browsers. In addition, we are actively trying to be different
from other sites to test site design ideas.
RESULTS TO DATE
- Our users are extremely positive about the current design. Feedback
has been 100% positive (which actually surprised us). In addition,
the majority of our users are coming back to the site.
- The overall model and approach we took was very successful
in helping us keep on track.
- People like the menu, but...
- People seem to have some use problems with the DHTML menu. Watching
our logs, watching friends use the site and judging from our own
experience, the DHTML menu is not as friendly to use as a more
traditional menu bar. The reason seems to be due to web
indoctrination. People just don't expect the menu to drop down and
so they mainly use the top link. Since, the top menu link always
takes you to a master index page, however, people can still
easily navigate the site.
- Be careful about using a drop down menu on future sites -- it's not
for everybody.
- Approximately 95% of our audience use the latest generation of
browsers. We did build limited support for earlier browsers, so people
are still able to navigate the basic site. It isn't as nice but
the information is still available.
- A large number of users are indeed new to JSP and as a result are
shy about active participation. As our users gain experience we
hope they will begin to feel more comfortable with sharing
information and code snippets on the JSP Insider.
OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FIELD
An interesting truth about many web sites is that they won't get
much direct feedback from the users. People, generally, will not
tell the owners the site is bad. Instead they will leave and never
come back. In addition, over 99% of user feedback will not be verbal,
but will come in the form of body language. Body language on the web?
Yes, and its called your log file. A web site user communicates very
loudly to a site designer who observes! Watch the movement of your
users to determine what's working on your site. In other words, the
reason many successful sites are successful is that they pay close
attention to what users are doing and constantly update the site to
meet user needs.
OUR FIELD TEST
We set up an experiment at JSP Insider to test this feedback hypothesis.
We know from our site testing we have a problem in Opera regarding our
DHTML menu. While we plan to fix it, we also saw this as an opportunity
to see how much feedback we would receive from users regarding this bug.
Being developers ourselves, we expected to get quite a few emails telling
us the menu wasn't working. Well, we were wrong! In over 20,000 unique
user visits, 20 people used Opera. While 20 is not a large test number,
not a single Opera user pointed out our DHTML limitation. This surprised
us, since our menu basically explodes in a rather large fashion in
Opera. It isn't something you can overlook. So we concluded those
twenty users grumbled very loudly and then never came back to our site.
CONCLUDING NOTES
One danger programmers face is attempting to make a site work
for everyone. After all, the web gives access to everyone, right?
Not really. While some sites have extremely board audiences, most
have extremely distinct user bases. Build for the target user and
don't worry about the rest. Bill Cosby once said, "I don't know
the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please
everybody." It couldn't be more true for web design!
The second danger is being different. This is a double edge sword.
Being different can give a site an edge and bring in more people.
But being different can also drive people away since your site is
unfamiliar. The real truth we've discovered at JSP Insider is that
users don't punish you if your site is different. They punish you
if your site is unusable. The reason most sites look the same is
they have layouts which are considered proven and therefore safe
(see the article by Jakob Nielsen referenced below). Different may
be OK, but monitor how well people are reacting to the differences.
This leads us to the next danger.
The third danger is ignoring the users. The best information for
site design happens after a web site is built. Understanding how a
user travels within the site is the key to improving the overall site
design. This is information that over time the log file gives the
webmaster, and which should be shared with the web designer.
We monitor how traffic flows within the Insider and when we see a
bottleneck, we quickly address it. We've learned web site design
doesn't and shouldn't end when the site is put on the web, but only
when the site is removed.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
When Bad Design Elements Become the Standard (Jakob Nielsen 11/14/1999:)
================================================================
SUBSCRIPTION
================================================================
You may unsubscribe from or subscribe to this newsletter by going to:
http://www.jspinsider.com/jspbuzz/index.html
Browse all of the JSP Insider source-code.
Questions or comments? Contact support@jspinsider.com.
Copyright © 2002 Amberjack Software LLC.