Ulf reviewed Head First Servlets & JSP, 2nd ed. by Bryan Basham, Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates and gave it 8 out of 10 horseshoes.

Never having read a Head First book before, this reviewer was pleasantly surprised by how well [ the Head First approach ] works. ... The book is billed as a preparation aid for the SCWCD exam, but it also serves as a general introduction to Servlets and JSP. ... I recommend this book as a tutorial -- not as a reference -- to anyone needing to come up to speed with servlets/JSP, or in need of learning aspects of it he hasn't used before.

You can read the full review and discuss it here.

Ulf reviewed Emergent Design by Scott L. Bain and gave it 9 out of 10 horseshoes.

A number of what might be called best practices are examined as to why they're useful, how they might best be applied, and how they deliver value in conjunction with other best practices. ... At each step the author uses a combination of concrete code (mostly in Java, but easily understandable to everyone) and abstract UML-style diagrams to illustrate what is happening, and what difference a particular technique makes. ... I recommend the book to get fresh perspectives and new ideas about various parts of the development process, both for developers and managers.

You can read the full review and discuss it here.

Two longstanding contributors have joined the ranks of the other JavaRanch moderators: Campbell Ritchie and Rob Prime. Welcome guys!

Say hello and wish them luck in this thread.