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JSP Buzz 05/08/2001


***** IN THIS ISSUE ************************************************** 
News
1:Major Security Exploit Found in Microsoft IIS 5.0

Rambles 
1:Microsoft vs Open Source: The Saga Continues
2:State of the Server Side Market

Links 	
1:Generation of WBMP Graphs from XML Data Using JavaBeans and JSP
2:Transparent Persistence with Java Data Objects
3:Using the HTML Converter
4:Building Blocks of a J2EE Application
5:Exploring the JDBC Driver
6:Java for Small Spaces
7:Using CSS as a Diagnostic Tool
8:Cache in on Faster, More Reliable JSPs
9:A Java Message Service Primer

Product Releases
1:Netbeans 3.2
2:JSP 1.2 - Proposed Final Draft 2
3:Cactus 1.0
4:Jetty Review

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              THE LATEST NEWS
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1) Major Security Exploit Found in Microsoft IIS 5.0 (BetaNews 5.1.2001)
A major security hole was found in IIS 5.0 earlier this week. To 
illustrate the importance of this security flaw, several Microsoft sites 
were taken down AFTER Microsoft issued the security warning and patches. 
It appears that MS hadn't finished applying its own patches. 

======================================================================
                   Rambles by Casey Kochmer
======================================================================

************ Microsoft vs Open Source, The saga continues. ***********

Microsoft is still on the attack against the GPL (General Public License) 
open source license. I really don't need to write much on this topic since 
so many other comments have been made about this. As a whole, these editorials 
bring up some good points and review some of the details behind why Microsoft 
is going on the offensive against open source.

Tim O'Reilly's reply to Microsoft.

Andrew Leonard's reply to Microsoft.

Linus Torvalds' reply to Microsoft.


******************  State of the Server Side Market ****************** 

In the last issue of the JSP Buzz I reviewed the state of the server side 
market. I took a brief look at the state of JSP & frameworks. As a 
counter point, I would like to present the following thread from Java 
Lobby.

The interesting note in this thread is that the harshest critics of JSP 
often are Java Programmers. I find this especially interesting since I 
started with Java 1.0 when it first came out. After a year I left Java 
for a few years, since it didn't handle web development in a simple 
enough manner for the average web site or programmer. From my 
experience, while the tool and language are important, it's what a 
customer can simply build, use and then maintain, which is the most 
important aspect of any tool or language. It was JSP which brought me 
back to the Java fold, since JSP also brought back simplicity 
(relatively speaking) to the Java equation. Many Java programmers do not 
like JSP since it breaks the "rules" of clean separation. However, it is 
this structure that is also the source of JSP's strength and simplicity. 
Combined with Tag Libraries, a method now exists to cleanly separate 
logic and presentation. While many Java programmers will be vocal in the 
dislike of JSP's breaking of the rules, in the end this opinion will not 
be deciding factor for the success of alternative frameworks. History 
has repeatedly shown that the marketplace usually doesn't judge a 
product by its quality. Is JSP the technically best solution? Probably 
not, however, it is a Java success story and the tool the marketplace 
has firmly embraced as a solid solution for web application development. 


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              Links of Interest
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[Article] Generation of WBMP Graphs from XML Data Using JavaBeans and JSP 
          (Bilal Siddiqui 5.2001)
WBMP (Wireless BitMap) is the format for images in the WAP (Wireless 
Application Protocol) specification. This article shows how to use Java, 
XML and JSP to deliver a WBMP to a WAP client.  This article will only be 
of interest to developers starting WAP.

[Article] Transparent Persistence with Java Data Objects (Sun 4.24.2001)
This is an introduction to JDO (Java Data Objects). The JDO specification 
provides a standard interface for accessing, storing, and processing 
objects which need to be used multiple times. As a side note, the JDO 
supports transaction management. This article also reviews how Forte for 
Java Internet Edition IDE uses JDO. Some additional information can be
found at a recent Sun Chat about JDO.

[Article] Using the HTML Converter   (Focus on Java)
For programmers using applets a common new error is
"Applet can't start!" This is an error that a client browser may get 
if it is not using Sun's latest JRE.  This tutorial will show how to 
use Sun's Java Plug-In HTML Converter utility to convert a file to force
a browser to use the latest JRE to run an applet.

[Tutorial] Building Blocks of a J2EE Application (5.1.2001)
The latest release of the Java Pet Store demo, version 1.1.2, is now 
available. This is worth the time for new programmers learning J2EE.

[Article/Code] Exploring the JDBC Driver (Daniel Fitzgerald 4.17.2001)
Many JDBC drivers exist and not all are equal. This article reviews 
how to examine JDBC drivers with a custom built test bench. This testing
tool can be downloaded from the article. 

[Article] Java for Small Spaces (Chris Carpenter 5.2001)
Since much of Java development happens on personal computers it is easy to 
overlook Java in the smaller places. This will be a series of articles 
examining Java use in small devices. The first article provides a good 
overview of how Java works for small devices. It also covers the changes 
in design philosophy a programmer must make in order to be successful in 
this environment.

[HTML Trick] Using CSS as a Diagnostic Tool (Eric Meyer 7.21.2000)
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2000/07/21/magazine/css_tool.html?page=1
A nice idea on how to use style sheets to help review and perform
analysis work on your web pages. The code is included in article.

[Article] Cache in on Faster, More Reliable JSPs (Serge Knystautas 5.2001)
This is an introduction to how to cache objects and data using the 
OSCache Tag library.

[Article] A Java Message Service Primer (TA Flores 5.3.2001)
This covers JMS (Java Message Service). The JMS service makes available 
common sets of interfaces for sending and receiving messages reliably 
and asynchronously. This article reviews how to use JMS to perform P2P 
messaging within your Java application.


================================================================
                     Product Releases
================================================================
[Java IDE] NetBeans 3.2 (5.3.2001)
Wow, too many changes to easily list. From Ant 1.3 support to
a new form designer, this releases has many improvements that make
NetBeans worth a look by any developer.

[JSP Specs] JSP 1.2 - Proposed Final Draft 2 (4.25.2001)
The latest release of the JSP 1.2 specs are out.

[Testing] Cactus 1.0 (05.02.2001)
Cactus is a simple test framework for unit testing server-side Java 
code. It uses JUnit and extends it. 

[JSP Container] Jetty Review (Benoît Marchal)
This is not a announcement for a new Jetty Release, but rather a nice,
quick review about Jetty.

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