Jakarta TagLibs also have a taglib that does XSL, have you thought about
merging your result with theirs?
What I think is the big disadvantage with using XSL it is very complex
to use, especially if you want to take advantage of its more powerful
features. If designers are going to have problems understanding
scriplets and velocity, they're not going to fair much better with XSL
(probably worse, in fact).
One good thing about having model data as XML, however, is that you can
utilize the xpath to access the XML data if you don't need all the bells
and whistles of XSL (fortunately Jakarta TagLib also provides a taglib
that does this).
Calvin
On 01 Aug 2001 16:10:02 -0500, Jon Brisbin wrote:
> Thought I'd put a plug in for my own custom XSL taglib I use in my STRUTS
> apps...it helps me clean up the whole scriplet/custom tag thing by letting
> me use plain 'ol XSLT templates to output my forms with pre-filled values,
> etc...from my EJB's...i also use the struts form tags and a custom property
> copier that copies things from my ejb to my form, but this is considerably
> slower than using my session bean to extract raw xml from a sql statement,
> then transform it into a list or form...
>
> this XSL tag caches the compiled stylesheet into the application scope,
> keyed on the filename...this to increase performance, which it does well...
>
> you can nest xml tags and scriptlets in the body of the tag to get dynamic
> xml (you could theoretically do a full page of xml this way, with no HTML
> whatever...i just haven't migrated that far yet to have my app do that), or
> you can get your xml from an attribute...and transform *into* an attribute,
> if you wish...
>
> i'm quite pleased with the results of incorporating my xsl into struts this
> way...this might also help some out there that would like to try it
> too...email me if you want the source code and .tld file...
>
> Jon Brisbin
> www.jbrisbin.net
> Lamar, MO
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Greg Maletic" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 3:07 PM
> Subject: RE: Taglibs decrease the separation between designer and developer?
>
>
> > Hi, Bill--
> >
> > I completely agree that Struts Taglibs are much cleaner than the pure HTML
> > alternative, so I concur that your "select box" example is very simple and
> > nice. I love all of the Struts form input tags, all of which are a real
> > pain to implement with pure HTML and JSP.
> >
> > But I don't think I'm exaggerating very much when I say that the Struts
> > taglibs are a new language: they include tags to define variables,
> looping
> > constructs, and if-then-else constructs, none of which correspond to
> actual
> > HTML tags, and all of which I'll need to employ if I'm to completely rid
> my
> > JSPs of scriptlets. I view that as pretty much a complete language. So
> my
> > novice reaction to the Struts taglibs is that I've swapped a language that
> I
> > know (Java) for a language that I don't know (Struts taglibs), and my
> > designer has swapped a language that he knows (pure HTML) for a language
> he
> > doesn't know (Struts taglibs), at the benefit of giving the designer the
> > potential to write virtual code when I know that he--and at least 95% of
> the
> > designers I've worked with--won't write view code that I would trust no
> > matter what the language is. (I'm not claiming they're stupid. My
> > experience has been similar to Chris's earlier post, where I let them
> > control the look and feel and I write the view code.)
> >
> > I'm not saying that the Struts taglibs are useless by any stretch of the
> > imagination. But the real benefit I see with taglibs is to clean up the
> > JSPs, not usher in a new age of empowered designers capable of building
> > views with no developer assistance.
> >
> > I should have prefaced my comments by saying that I'm quite new to Struts,
> > am not an expert, so my comments should be taken in that light. I am
> > impressed with Struts and am absolutely not giving up on it. My beef
> isn't
> > so much with Struts as it is with the whole concept of taglibs being "the
> > solution" to the MVC separation problem. The only solution to this
> problem
> > is to keep business logic out of the view, period. Scriptlets don't solve
> > the problem, but I don't think taglibs do either. The only real solution
> I
> > see is developer restraint.
> >
> > --Greg
> >
> > ======================================
> > Greg Maletic
> > Chief Technical Officer
> > Zero G Software, Inc.
> > 514 Bryant Street
> > San Francisco, CA 94107
> >
> > tel: +1.415.512.7771 x303
> > fax: +1.415.723.7244
> > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > http://www.ZeroG.com <http://www.ZeroG.com>
> >
> > The leading provider of multi-platform software deployment solutions.
> > ======================================
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > rg]On Behalf Of Bill Clinton
> > Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 12:10 PM
> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: Taglibs decrease the separation between designer and
> > developer?
> >
> >
> > Greg,
> > I think you are exagerating a bit when you say that "Struts
> > taglibs--and other taglibs--introduce, in essence, yet another language
> > that we all have to learn." Comparing a handful of scripting tags that,
> > for the most part, correspond directly to existing html tags to the
> > learning of a language is a bit much.
> > That said, if your designer is unable to understand struts tags, I
> > would recommend that you ask him not to touch them. I don't understand
> > why you would feel the need to teach a designer "the ins and outs" of
> > Struts tags. Maybe you could try something like this: design the app,
> > using completely stripped jsp pages. Ask your designer to do the
> > interface, then put the tags in his interface. If the designer needs
> > control of the presentation of html contained within custom tags, use
> > style sheets.
> > Also, if you honestly do feel that things were easier without
> > struts, don't use it. It is not a part of the servlet/jsp spec or
> > anything, and its use is completely optional. But I would urge you to
> > stick with it a little more. I think its many advantages far outweigh
> > the small learning curve.
> >
> > One more thing, since you have experience with servlets/jsp, you
> > must admit that code for a select box that looks like this is a thing of
> > beauty: :)
> >
> > <html:select property="prizeTypeId">
> > <html:options collection="prizeType" property="value"
> > labelProperty="label"/>
> > </html:select></td>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Bill
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Greg Maletic wrote:
> >
> > > Your post brings up a good point concerning what I think is a false
> > > assumption concerning the separation between designer and developer.
> > >
> > > Despite the potential good uses that taglibs can be put to, HTML pages
> > with
> > > JSP scriptlets are, I believe, easier to read by web designers than
> pages
> > > with Struts taglibs. (The one caveat being the one I mentioned
> > before--that
> > > ONLY view logic--and not business logic--should reside in scriptlets.)
> My
> > > reasoning--and experience--is that when I simply used JSPs, I told our
> > > designer to completely ignore the stuff inside the "<% %>"s and code
> > around
> > > them. Things were fine.
> > >
> > > Now that we're using Struts, I have to instruct our designer on the ins
> > and
> > > outs of a completely new set of pseudo-HTML tags that he doesn't
> > understand
> > > at all--and NOT to use the tags he's familiar with ("<form>", "<head>",
> > > etc.)
> > >
> > > It was much easier for both him and me before we made this switch.
> Struts
> > > taglibs--and other taglibs--introduce, in essence, yet another language
> > that
> > > we all have to learn.
> > >
> > >
> > > ======================================
> > > Greg Maletic
> > > Chief Technical Officer
> > > Zero G Software, Inc.
> > > 514 Bryant Street
> > > San Francisco, CA 94107
> > >
> > > tel: +1.415.512.7771 x303
> > > fax: +1.415.723.7244
> > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > http://www.ZeroG.com <http://www.ZeroG.com>
> > >
> > > The leading provider of multi-platform software deployment solutions.
> > > ======================================
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > rg]On Behalf Of Tim Colson
> > > Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 7:57 AM
> > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > Subject: HTML in Taglibs (was: some comparision between JSP/struts &
> > > velocity)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Niall wrote:
> > >
> > >> Sorry, I couldnt disagree with you more.
> > >> Custom tags are exactly the place to put html - they are part of the
> > view,
> > >
> > >
> > > Heh heh... I never said definitively that they weren't, just that in the
> > > particular situation we had - it seemed like a bad idea. The bits in
> > > question were definitively Designer territory.
> > >
> > > BTW - you are correct when saying this was/is part of the View. However,
> > > part of the separation I'm striving for is between Designer and
> Developer
> > > roles. And I hope you'll agree with me that a TagLib isn't something a
> > > Designer would likely build. <grin>
> > >
> > >> if you look at struts html tags thats what they do.
> > >
> > > Yes. I understand. And honestly, it makes me a trifle uneasy. ;-)
> > >
> > > Real example - I had a Designer chap get stumped because the html:form
> > > attribute "name" didn't actually map directly to the "name" of the "real
> > > html form". When he tried to connect a javascript function to an element
> > in
> > > the form - he didn't know the name of the form. When he reasoned, "oh,
> > I'll
> > > just name my html:form 'bleckfoo', just like I would if it was standard
> > > HTML... <html:form name="bleckfoo"... He got a lovely error similar to
> the
> > > following:
> > >
> > >
> > >> Error Location: Edit.jsp Internal Servlet Error:
> > >> javax.servlet.ServletException: Must specify type attribute if name is
> > >
> > > specified
> > >
> > >> at org.apache.jasper.runtime.PageContextImpl.handlePageException
> > >> (PageContextImpl.java:459)
> > >> at jsp._0002fjsp_0002fEdit_0002ejspEdit_jsp_2._jspService
> > >> (_0002fjsp_0002fEdit_0002ejspEdit_jsp_2.java:344)
> > >
> > >
> > > (That was a fun one to explain - lemme tell ya. <grin> ;-)
> > >
> > >
> > > My point - hiding complexity won't always make things simpler.
> > >
> > > To my Designer colleague, the fact that the <html:form automagically
> > > associates a Form bean with the form elements, as well as doing other
> > nifty
> > > things for him/her behind the scenes didn't matter. What mattered was
> that
> > > they knew how to do HTML, and they were stumped about how to make this
> > > "Struts thingy" work.
> > >
> > > To which I have to reassure him that "Struts" is a good thing - it's the
> > > darn JSP's that are a bit cumbersome. ;-)
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > Tim
> >
> >
