> * IMHO different frames lead to different request-paths, as every frame is an
>independent page. In the case of <struts:include> tags, will I get a single request,
>or one for each page ?
> * Is it possible to refresh a frame or an included page programmatically from
>another page/action ? What I'm looking for is something as a forward tag with a
>target property.
I've choosen FRAME's in my current project, because they allow me to
minimize the traffic between the server and the client.
In my case, one of the frames contains a large explorer tree, that
has about ~30k. Loading this tree with each request (due to including
it) would slow down the overall response time dramatically.
To further reduce traffic, I have a global stylesheet and JavaScript
library, both loaded at the first visit of the site. If the user
hasn't turned of caching (or uses Mozilla 6 with it's broken cache
implementation), the stylesheet and the script lib are fetched from
the browsers cache for subsequent pages.
You have at least three options to update "foreign" frames:
client-side:
- You can use JavaScript
- You can use the target= parameter of <A href>'S or <FORM>'s
Server-side:
- You can use the "Window-Target:" header at the server side
to specify the target window of the response. (Both Mozilla
and IE5* support this little-known feature)
There are some things you should be aware of when you use frames:
- The client may open a framed sub-window in it's own window.
- The client may bookmark a sub-window and later load that bookmark.
- Setting the various cache-header's get's even more important, if
you're forwarding into "foreign" frames. Forgetting to do so,
may lead to very strange results on the client side (esp. when
the client uses IE5*)
HTH.
--
Matthias (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
