Sanity in the J2EE / JSF world

I was very impressed with this tutorial from CoreServlets.com, which explains JSF and JSF2 development without assuming that you know all the Java server-side acronyms and mess already.

It also has a rational, calm discussion of web framework selection, covering Google Web Toolkit (GWT), Wicket/Tapestry, JSF2, etc that focuses on what each is good for, rather than trying to name some One True Framework. In my reading on the J2EE world thus far, this is unique.

Another article that anyone looking to get into JSF2 should read is this DZone article summarizing how to handle some common tasks in JSF2. It won't make much sense until you've read some basics about JSF, like the tutorial linked to at the start of this post, but it's a great overview and refresher once you have.

Of course, as others have said very well indeed, getting into the Java Enterprise programming world of JSF2 etc may be a mistake.