Denny's DVDs dvd
UPC Movie Title Director Lead Actor Supporting Actor Composer In Stock
794051161727 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy J.W Alan Martin Benson Sandra Dickson na 20
85392246724 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Chris Columbus Daniel Radcliffe Emma Watson John Williams 2
86162118456 Office Space Mike Judge Jennifer Aniston Ron Livingston John Frizzell 0
27203882703 Metropolis Martha Coolidge Val Kilmer Gabriel Jarret Thomas Newman 1
32728999302 Edward Scissorhands Tim Burton Johnny Depp Winona Ryder Danny Elfman 1
78564599302 Requiem for a Heavyweight Ralph Nelson Anthony Quinn Jackie Gleason Laurence Rosenthal 1
32725349302 Night of the Ghouls Edward D. Wood Jr. Kenne Duncan Duke Moore Edward D. Wood Jr. 3
327254654435 Army of Darkness Sam Raimi Bruce Campbell Embeth Davidtz na 1
Notes
Click on a row to rent or return that DVD.
Notes.

Is this a real DVD rental system?

No, it is not.

It is a web-based version of the Denny's DVD project I created for the book "SCJD Exam with J2SE 5, Second Edition".

So why have it then?

This is the start of something (hopefully) bigger: an extra chapter to my book.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a trend amongst those attempting the Sun Certified Java Developer (SCJD) assignment. Many candidates were either planning on attempting the Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) exam once they had completed their SCJD assignment, or were taking a break during the SCJD assignment to study for the SCWCD.

I thought it might be cool to throw together a web application that is familiar to those who have read my book that just happens to demonstrate many of the items that SCWCD candidates need to study.

What's with the strange interface?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! :-)

Seriously, as mentioned in the previous section, I wanted this web application to be familiar to those who have read my book. The interface shown above is almost identical to the interface that is developed in the book.

How is this different to other SCWCD books?

My plan is to write a single chapter that walks through as many of the SCWCD concepts as I can. However it will be a quick walk through, and basically will just show how the concept might be used in real life.

This chapter might be useful as additional material to be used in conjunction with one of the many great books that available.

How much will this chapter cost?

I'm not planning on charging for this chapter. It is a little gift to those who read my book.

Where's that extra chapter then?

Patience young grasshopper. It has actually been more challenging for me to write a "vanilla" Servlet / JSP solution than I originally anticipated - too much time using toolkits. :-)

Why is there no Ajax on this page

The purpose is to demonstrate the techniques needed to master the SCWCD exam. While Ajax would make this page more responsive, it has the danger of introducing extraneous code (including extra Servlets and JSPs) that might confuse the reader.

My only concession to code that is strictly not necessary is having some JavaScript to allow the user to click on a row to rent or return that DVD. This matches the user interface in the book, and provides a reasonably usable interface.

I will probably create an extra 2 versions of this project soon, one using plain Ajax, and another using one of the web toolkits to bring this page into Web 2.0 land.