Developing a webapplication with JSF/J2EE: where do I start?

[Ewout N Boter <ewout.boter@xxxxxxxxxx>]

We are investigating some possibilities to jump on the web-application 
bandwagon. Our resources are limited, and we have decided to explore two 
alternatives: Groovy on Grails on one hand, and a combination of JSF, J2EE 
and IceFaces on the other hand. (If anyone can convince us that one of 
these alternatives is by far better than the other, we might consider to 
drop one alternative immediately!). I will start exploring the latter 
alternative, and a colleague will follow the Groovy-trail. 

Now, an obvious question is: where do I start? In my opinion, it's very 
important to make sure that we can connect to the DB2/400 database on our 
iSeries. Most of the tutorials and books on JSF seem to focus on other 
types of databases, but we are exclusively dealing with the iSeries. So, I 
think my first goal should be to make sure that I can access the tables in 
our database in an easy, secure, and well-performing way.

For your information: we are already using RAD (f.k.a. WDSCi). However, it 
would not be a problem if we would have to use a separate install of 
Eclipse. 

I hope someone can give me some good suggestions for examining 
iSeries-oriented tutorials, books, etcetera. Other suggestions (for 
example for choosing the right set of tools and technologies) will also be 
greatly appreciated!

Ewout