Although Web designers should theoretically be able to use JSP tags just as they do HTML tags, I have not found this to be the case in reality. For one thing, you need a servlet server to "view" the resulting HTML code that is generated when the JSP is compiled. We use JRUN Studio to do this in our shop, but it requires a developer to install and configure JRUN studio, and set up the necessary "development mappings", so that a JSP page can be "viewed/compiled" to HTML format. Added to that, the design view that JRUN Studio contains will throw up and error message if a designer tries to view any page that includes JSP tags, basically stating that the view contains dynamic tags that cannot be saved/viewed using the designer pane, which makes the designer pane worthless for JSP development. Added to the confusion, when an HTML designer inadvertently uses a JSP tag incorrectly, (an example being nested JSP tags), the resulting servlet compilier error message(s) completely confuse any designer. Designer are use to viewing what they are working on, and the fact that they cannot view a JSP document that contains JSP tags as they do an HTML document tends to frustrate them. Bottom line, we have not been able to successfully implement this type of "development business model" in our shop.
I know that many high level managers would like to believe that a lower paid designer can use JSP tags just like HTML tags, freeing up the higher paid development staff to do just development. But we have never been able to successfully implement that type of business model. Basically, we let the designers mock up the HTML pages, formatting the pages, working up the layout of the page/site and placing images where they belong using "dummy" info when necessary, or sometimes hard coded data within the HTML form. Then the development team takes those HTML files, and converts them to JSP pages using JSP tags to populate the HTML forms. In fact, we have found this to be a good entry level developer type of position, vs using people who have no development experience, only HTML/graphic arts experience. And it sure reduces the frustration level of the staff. If anyone else has been able to successfully implement this business model without frustrating both your design and development staff, I'd be interested in knowing how you did so, and what development tools you are using. Celeste -----Original Message----- From: Chris Pratt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 2:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Visual page layout and custom JSP tags with height and width Designing Web Content is exactly what they should be doing. And since a JSP is just glorified web content, that should be their job. But when you throw in managing Java Beans and Java scriplets, its usually beyond most web designers. That's where Custom TagLib's come in. It makes the capabilities of JSP available to any web designer. You simply give them a small document that tells them the extra tags that are available and what attributes they understand and the web designer can go to town making the web site look professional without breaking the scriplets. The only drawback is that the page design tools haven't caught up with the JSP TagLib technology. (*Chris*) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maurice Munoz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 12:49 PM Subject: Re: [JSP-INTEREST] Visual page layout and custom JSP tags with height and width > Why would you want designer to work on jsp page to begin with? > Shouldn' they be designing? > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Steve Bang" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 3:47 PM > Subject: Visual page layout and custom JSP tags with height and width > > > > One of the stated goals for JSP custom tags is to make it easy for web > page > > designers to work on JSP pages without having to know Java. Yet, it seems > > that current visual page editors do not support any way to visually > > represent custom tags that represent GUI components. Thus, if you add a > > custom tag like this: > > > > <mytags:grid height="400" width="600"/> > > > > to a JSP page, when viewed in design mode nothing appears on the page in > the > > visual editor. This makes it difficult for a web page designer to > visually > > layout a page without resorting to placing a <div> tag (which can then > have > > background colors or borders) around a custom tag for a GUI component with > > height and width attributes. > > > > Are any of you encountering this issue? If so, how are you dealing with > it? > > How do you think this issue should be handled by an IDE? Do you know of > any > > that do? > > > > Thanks, > > Steve > > > > > =========================================================================== > > To unsubscribe: mailto [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body: "signoff > JSP-INTEREST". > > For digest: mailto [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body: "set JSP-INTEREST > DIGEST". > > Some relevant FAQs on JSP/Servlets can be found at: > > > > http://archives.java.sun.com/jsp-interest.html > > http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/faq.html > > http://www.esperanto.org.nz/jsp/jspfaq.jsp > > http://www.jguru.com/faq/index.jsp > > http://www.jspinsider.com > > =========================================================================== > To unsubscribe: mailto [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body: "signoff JSP-INTEREST". > For digest: mailto [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body: "set JSP-INTEREST DIGEST". > Some relevant FAQs on JSP/Servlets can be found at: > > http://archives.java.sun.com/jsp-interest.html > http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/faq.html > http://www.esperanto.org.nz/jsp/jspfaq.jsp > http://www.jguru.com/faq/index.jsp > http://www.jspinsider.com _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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Some relevant FAQs on JSP/Servlets can be found at: http://archives.java.sun.com/jsp-interest.html http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/faq.html http://www.esperanto.org.nz/jsp/jspfaq.jsp http://www.jguru.com/faq/index.jsp http://www.jspinsider.com
