Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices

707 Pages·2009·13.41 MB·English

by  Leon Shklar

Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
About the Authors
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgements
CHAPTER 1 - Introduction

1.1 History and Pre-History of the Web
1.2 From Web Pages to Web Sites
1.3 From Web Sites to Web Applications
1.4 Web 2.0: On-line Communities and Collaboration
1.5 The Brave New World of AJAX
1.6 Focus of This Book
1.7 What Is Covered in This Book
1.8 Bibliography

CHAPTER 2 - Core Internet Protocols

2.1 Historical Perspective
2.2 TCP/IP Architecture
2.3 TCP/IP Application Services
2.4 And Then Came the Web ...
2.5 Bibliography

CHAPTER 3 - Birth of the Web: HTTP

3.1 Historical Perspective
3.2 Uniform Resource Locator
3.3 Fundamentals of HTTP
3.4 Better Information Through Headers
3.5 Evolution of the HTTP Protocol
3.6 Summary
3.7 Bibliography

CHAPTER 4 - HTML and Its Roots

4.1 Standard Generalized Markup Language
4.2 HTML
4.3 HTML Rendering
4.4 Summary
4.5 Bibliography

CHAPTER 5 - XML Languages and Applications

5.1 Core XML
5.2 XHTML
5.3 Web Services
5.4 XSL
5.5 Summary
5.6 Bibliography
5.7 Web Links
5.8 Endnotes

CHAPTER 6 - Web Servers

6.1 Basic Operation
6.2 Mechanisms for Dynamic Content Delivery
6.3 Advanced Functionality
6.4 Server Configuration
6.5 Server Security
6.6 Summary
6.7 Bibliography

CHAPTER 7 - Web Browsers

7.1 Overview of Browser Functionality
7.2 Architectural Considerations
7.3 Overview of Processing Flow in a Browser
7.4 Processing HTTP Requests
7.5 Processing HTTP Responses
7.6 Cookie Coordination
7.7 Privacy and P3P
7.8 Complex HTTP Interactions
7.9 Summary
7.10 Bibliography
7.11 Web Links
7.12 Endnotes

CHAPTER 8 - Active Browser Pages: From JavaScript to AJAX

8.1 Pre-History
8.2 JavaScript
8.3 Cascading Style Sheets
8.4 DHTML
8.5 AJAX
8.6 Case Study: 5-Star Rating
8.7 Summary
8.8 Bibliography
8.9 Web Links
8.10 Endnotes

CHAPTER 9 - Approaches to Web Application Development

9.1 Taxonomy of Web Application Approaches and Frameworks
9.2 Comparative Survey of Web Application Approaches and Frameworks
9.3 Summary
9.4 Bibliography

CHAPTER 10 - Web Application Primer 1: Struts and JSTL

10.1 Case Study: Virtual Realty Listing Services
10.2 Application Requirements
10.3 Technology Choices
10.4 Overview of Struts
10.5 Structure of the VRLS Application
10.6 Design Decisions
10.7 Suggested Enhancements
10.8 Summary
10.9 Bibliography

CHAPTER 11 - Web Application Primer 2: Ruby on Rails

11.1 Comparing Rails with Java EE
11.2 Application Requirements
11.3 Building the Administrative Interface as a Rails Application
11.4 Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Rails
11.5 Whither Enterprise Java?
11.6 Summary
11.7 Bibliography
11.8 Web Links
11.9 Endnotes

CHAPTER 12 - Search Technologies

12.1 Overview of Algorithms
12.2 Searching the Web
12.3 Site Search Applications
12.4 Search Engine Optimization
12.5 Summary
12.6 Bibliography
12.7 Web Links
12.8 Endnotes

CHAPTER 13 - Trends and Directions

13.1 XML Query Language
13.2 Semantic Web
13.3 Future of Web Application Frameworks
13.4 Current Trends
13.5 Summary
13.6 Bibliography
13.7 Web Links
13.8 Endnotes
CHAPTER 14 - Conclusions

Index
This book delivers a thorough and rigorous introduction to fundamental
architectural elements of the web; this knowledge is a critical foundation for any
development engineer working on our advanced web applications. Just as
important, this book provides a challenging, non-trivial example application
demonstrating current best practices which the reader can work through to
connect theory to practice. For our engineers coming from other backgrounds to
advanced web development, this book has been a very efficient, effective
learning tool and I would recommend it highly to others who desire a deep
understanding of web architecture and applications.

Chris Corti, Ph.D.
Cisco Systems, Inc.

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