FIGURE E


This diagram showing how JSPs work gives you a powerful visual aid. Roll over picture for a larger image.

You get sample applications to work with during the class that are almost as valuable as the course itself. Yes, I know you can get other samples, including those built into WSAD, but the sample applications that come with the TLCC classes are extensively documented. You're shown, and come to understand, exactly how they work.

Disadvantages
You don't usually get officially designated time off from work to take a computer-based class like those from TLCC, so you've got to make the time. I listed this as an advantage above, but it can be a disadvantage as well. You have to either actively schedule some time out of your workday to go through the class materials or take some time from your personal life (if it still exists). This seems simple but is hard to do in practice. Think of this class as you would a classroom class, in that you have to make the time to "attend" or you're not going to learn.

You don't have the personal one-on-one interaction you would with people from a class. I don't know how big of a disadvantage this is, though, since I can't think of many people I've kept in touch with that I met in a class (except the teachers). One cool thing, though, is that you do have the opportunity to meet the other people taking a TLCC class "virtually" from all over the country. You might make more meaningful connections than would have been possible if you just had an in-person class where things were more focused on the teacher rather than student participation. Make sure you participate in the discussion forum part of the class in order to take advantage of this.

People might not think as highly of a computer-based class as they would an in-person class. This is probably getting less true by the day, however, and anyone who has taken a TLCC class knows the true value that it contributes to their professional lives.

Do I (or does my company) need to be running WebSphere in order to take this class?
So, you want to learn WebSphere, but your company is either not currently using it or planning to use it. Or you know your company might benefit tremendously from it if they could only see and understand the power of it. Either way, this is the good news: You don't need to currently have a WebSphere server in order to take the class and benefit from it. In fact, you don't even need to currently own the WebSphere Studio Application Developer program, since you can download a trial version from IBM's Web site at http://www7b.software.ibm.com/wsdd/downloads/evaluation.html. The trial lasts for 60 days with 30 days free online support.

The best part is that WebSphere Studio Application Developer includes a developer's edition of the WebSphere server. This means you can write, test, and debug your own servlets and JSPs right on your own computer without needing a dedicated server. You can see an example of an HTML page linking to a servlet being previewed on the built-in WebSphere server (Application Developer edition) in Figure F.