Start building Java–based web applications now, even if you’re a complete newcomer to Java. Comprehensive and example–driven, Beginning JSP, JSF, and Java Web Development, Second Edition is all you need to develop dynamic Java-based web applications using JSP, connect to databases with JSF, and put them into action using the world’s most popular open source Java web server, Apache Tomcat.
A comprehensive introduction to JavaServer Pages (JSP), JavaServer Faces (JSF), and the Apache Tomcat web application server Key concepts made easy to grasp by numerous working examples and a walkthrough of the development of a complete e-commerce project Written for professionals by a practicing Java web application professional and expert
What I liked most about this book is that it gives you a hands-on, real-world, example application to create. And like most example applications I've seen in the technical books I read, this one is a shopping application. The author takes you through three different variations of the application, the third one being more JSF-like that is XML-based. As this version seems more "modern", I spent most of my time understanding that example...but I had to get through the first few chapters that build up to it.
The book also has you construct a simple shopping database using MySQL to support your example applications. You don't need to be a MySQL expert to set this up, however. Another plus is that the author takes you through the basics of how the Tomcat server is constructed. I've always been afraid to peer inside the folders of this server, but after reading this book I have more confidence in messing with the context.xml and server.xml files.