Dave Cramer wrote:
>
> Well now I guess it's time to put up or ...
>
> Are there any other interested parties out there ?
>
Yes, I have started porting Freetrade to Java. Several things have been
holding me back from starting. Number one is the desire to build a good OO
model. I would also like to use a persistence framework and keep sql out of
the business objects, actions, and screens. A full persistence model is not
necessary to keep this to a minimum, and one approach we have used is Peers
(to the business objects,) which are responsible for db issues. However, a
full blown persistence framework project (OPaL) was started as part of
Turbine and I was waiting until I had time to evaluate/test it.
> >
> > The intention was for FreeTrade Java to use Turbine and ECS. The recent
> > database persistence layers might be contributing to some people holding
> > off. I'm not sure.
In fact I may have talked -jj Behrens out of getting started on the port
earlier, as I asked him to look into these things before starting.
I have had a change of mind as the months pass, however, and now plan to
port Freetrade to Java following very close to the PHP model. I have done
some work towards this and was waiting to get a few more classes completed
before asking Leon (or Jon Stevens) to set up CVS.
I have not been following the discussions on the freetrade list, so I am not
sure how many of these issues have been discussed or what the interest level
was but I will try to get something into CVS soon.
>> I did intend for the servlet and PHP versions to be
> > able to share a database...in case a site ever wanted to migrate to
> another
> > platform. We did make it a little harder to do that when we used PHP's
> > serialization for baskets. And maybe no one would ever want to migrate,
> > anyway.
One minor issue with the database. In order to support a wide variety db's,
it was decided within Turbine to use all uppercase names for tables and
columns.
> > The intention was for FreeTrade Java to use Turbine and ECS.
Still true, however I have completed a (preliminary) screen to integrate
Freemarker with Turbine. It is my intention to use Freemarker in the
screens in order to allow easier customization by designers without Java
knowledge. Some work could be done on this preliminary screen. I would
like to define a function for permission checking so that something like
<if acl.hasPermission("edit_user_info")>
...
would be possible. Also a URI function would be nice, so that
${uri.getURI("screen", "action")} would be possible, (I haven't had the
chance to figure out how multiple calls to addPathInfo or QueryParameters
might work.)
I have made some of this info available in the present screen, but it would
be cleaner in a functional form.
> >
>> With almost a year past and no Java work, I wouldn't complain
> > about a JSP version of FreeTrade if it satisfied all the requirements.
> >
> > Leon
> >
Why Freemarker and not JSP? I am not a JSP expert but I am not against it
either. JSP does not integrate nicely into the Turbine/FreeEnergy
page/layout/action/navigation/screen separation along with (in Turbine)
being able to build the entire page and if an error occurs generating a new
error screen. This is especially true for pre1.1 and Servlet 2.2 versions.
2.2 gives some control over the output stream buffer size, but it is still
not as flexible as it could be. An open source production level server for
JSP is not yet available (or maybe there is, I do not know for sure.)
Tomcat is scheduled for release in a couple months.
But JSP has Sun's marketing behind it and is probably the future and will
probably get better.
So my proposal:
1. Build a version 1 following the PHP model closely.
2. Use ECS and Freemarker where appropriate.
3. Use Village on top of JDBC for db access.
Finish this quickly, get a few good ideas and start work on a more OO
Java-centric version possibly including JSP (within the Turbine framework.)
John McNally
------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Site: http://www.working-dogs.com/freetrade/
Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
