1.6 How To Use This Book

The majority of this book is written in a tutorial style that illustrates how to make the most of JSTL's expression language and actions. The last chapter in the book is a reference for the JSTL actions. That reference provides detailed syntax information for each JSTL action, in addition to a short description of the action and its constraints and error handling. Each action also is accompanied by an In a Nutshell section that provides enough information about the action to get you started.

You can use the reference chapter in one of two ways. First, it may be a good place to start when you are using a JSTL action for the first time. Once you understand the action's syntax and its intent, you will probably want to read more about the action in the applicable chapter where it's discussed in detail. Second, you should use the reference to help you use JSTL actions after you understand their purpose and intent; for example, the <fmt:formatNumber> action, which is discussed in detail in "Formatting and Parsing Numbers" on page 310 and summarized in "Formatting Actions" on page 509 provides 12 attributes. It can be difficult to remember all of those attributes and how they work together. Instead of trying to unearth that specific information from the "Formatting Actions" chapter beginning on page 308, you would be better off looking up those attributes in the "JSTL Reference" chapter beginning on page 464.