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Rodrigo Zerlotti wrote:
> -----------------------------
> Please read the FAQ!
> <http://java.apache.org/faq/>
> -----------------------------
>
> Don't know if it is the best place to post this question, but I know a
> lot of people here can help me...
>
> My configuration, so far:
>
> Linux RedHat 6.0
> Apache 1.36/Jserv1.0/SSI
> Postgres as DB
>
> I am trying to decide what to use for a development of a new web site. I
> decided to use the configuration above and I am inclined to use the JSP
> idea instead some template frame work like WebMacro or FreeMaker.
> I would like to know the pos x cons of using one or another. Also, since
> JSP is not quite there (well, Jserv doesn't support the lastest specs.
> and JSWDK (including server) is to lite weight), I have the option to
> use GSP, or something like ESP, until Jserv starts to support JSP
> (Jakarta)...
>
> Any ideas,
>
> Rodrigo
>
I'm a developer that has been involved in the Apache JServ project for the
last eight months, working on compatibility with the 2.1 servlet API spec.
The current state of that code is available in the CVS tree, under branch
"JSERV1_1DEV" -- but it's not ready for prime time yet. The following are
personal opinions, so take them for what that's worth :-). Your mileage
may vary, and all the other usual warnings, apply.
* I am personally a big fan of the separation of business logic
and presentation logic that JSP and template languages let
you do. Therefore, unlike some others in the Apache JServ
developer community, I never plan to write another servlet
that creates HTML output itself. Instead, my servlets will
receive form submissions, manipulate business objects, and then
forward control to pages that will present the results.
* WebMacro and FreeMaker are both excellent template systems,
designed to make it easy to build dynamic web sites that fit
within their design model. They accomplish this by adding tags
(defined in their template language) to interact with Java
objects, with databases, and so on.
* My personal preference, though, is to stick with JSP 1.0 (for
now), and move to JSP 1.1 later in order to take advantage of
the ability to build custom tag libraries that are portable across
server environments. Among other things, this will allow me to
eliminate the last bits of Java code still needed in my pages for
things like loop control to generate a table.
* Although JSP is somewhat larger and more complicated to learn,
it has a huge advantage (IMHO) of broad support by many web
server and app server vendors. It will continue to be enhanced,
because it is a core presentation component of the J2EE
architecture (http://java.sun.com/j2ee for more info). Many large
companies are pouring resources into building JSP technology
into their products -- and it will be available at the open source
level as well, through the Jakarta project.
* At the end of the day, no matter how cool WebMacro and
FreeMaker are, they are "proprietary" -- not in the sense of
being closed source, but in the sense of being maintained and
enhanced by a relatively small community of interested developers.
* For many small and medium sized projects, this might actually
be considered an advantage -- you can directly impact the
development of the tools you are using to better meet your needs.
However, the projects I'm personally involved with, and will be
involved with in the future, need a more broad-based technology
platform.
* The alternative JSP implementations are also possible choices.
I would personally stay away from anything based on the 0.91
or 0.92 JSP specs, because they are technological dead end streets.
Rewriting a 0.91 or 0.92 based app to 1.0 later would be really
painful.
* As you know, Apache JServ 1.0 does not support the 2.1 API,
so it isn't a good platform (right now) for the kind of development
I'm doing. Jakarta's "Tomcat" server is going to fix that,
the only question being when.
For all of these reasons, I am personally using JSWDK 1.0 (final release)
to develop my current and future applications, with the expectation that I
can deploy on *any* platform that is compatible with the sevlet and JSP API
standards. The only thing JSWDK doesn't do now that I would really like is
container-managed security -- but by the time servlet API 2.2 support is
available, I think you will see a mechanism for that built in to the basic
servlet container. (If it's not there at the beginning, that's certainly
something I will work on adding, since Tomcat will be open sourced as
well.)
Craig McClanahan
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