Hi, I've just finished building a prototype using Struts and talking to EJB session beans at the back end and can give you a brief sum up of my own practical experiences without answering you point for point : The chief adavantages are : simplified error handling (some) / easy internationalisation / automatic form handling - think of validation and parameter retrieval / ready-made tag libraries for code-free JSPs / localisation of all action handling
Incidentally some of the disadvantages you list are trivial : almost every servlet based framework I've worked with requires at least one class to be programmed per action. A Struts tip : think in terms of Actions not pages; so actions can be reused by many pages And.. Data entry validation can be toggled per JSP (per form actually; you simply don't implement the validate method if you don't want it!) Disadvantages are : - only for JSP / servlets - a relatively steep learning curve (but thereafter vastly improved productivity) - you're bound to the Struts tag libs if you use them (which you should). If you ditch Struts you can start layouting again -:) - (your point )internationalization is limited to static strings Cheers Anthony PS I only subscribed to this newsgroup today and the messages are all streaming into my mailbox. I's there a !@#$%%%$#@ newsgroup where on can anser this sort of thing using a normal newsgroup reader? > -----Original Message----- > From: David Bueche [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 2:23 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Feedback on Struts Pros and Cons > > All, > > I work with a company that is new to Java and we are evaluating tools for > a standard J2EE architecture. One of the Model 2 approaches we are > looking at is Struts. > > After spending some time evaluating Struts, I have assembled the attached > list of pros and cons, but would like to get some impartial third party > feedback. If anyone sees anything I missed, I would appreciate your > insights. > > Thanks! > > -David > > ------------------------------ > > Struts Advantages: > > 1. Provides a controller ActionServlet that dispatches requests to the > appropriate business actions (Action subclasses) provided by the > application developer. All dispatching is defined in an XML file > (struts-config.xml). > > 2. Supports internationalization of messages and prompts. > > 3. Provides message collections that can be easily displayed in a > subsequent JSP/Servlet. > > 4. Allows the input (data entry) JSP/Servlet to be specified for each > Action subclass, so control can be returned to that JSP/Servlet in the > case of an error. > > 5. Provides custom tags to delegate many of the JSPs' HTML commands and > Servlets' "println" statements to tag libraries. > > 6. Automates population of the JSP domain object (ActionForm subclass) > with input data. > > 7. Allows data entry validation (ActionForm subclass) and business logic > (Action subclass) to be decoupled from the presentation JSPs/Servlets. > > 8. Data validation can be turned on or off in web.xml. > > > Struts Disadvantages: > > 1. Instead of direct dispatching by controller Servlet(s), dispatching is > defined in an XML file, adding a layer of indirection overhead to the > architecture. > > 2. Requires behavior typically factored for commonality in controller > Servlet methods to be duplicated in every Action subclass (some common > behavior could possibly be delegated to additional classes or components > and accessed by each Action subclass). > > 3. Struts internationalization is limited to static strings and does not > include internationalization of data returned by a business component. > > 4. Struts internationalization requires an ApplicationResources.properties > file, which conflicts with the current Enterprise Java Application > Standard of definely properties directly in the web.xml file. > > 5. Presentation of message collections is predefined in tag libraries > (although these could be modified for more specialized presentation). > > 6. Requires understanding of custom tags and tag libraries, as well as > their deployment. While this may not be a problem for more advanced > developers, this will add another layer of complexity for less experienced > development and support teams and requiring more intensive EAS > involvement. > > 7. Delegating much of the presentation layer to custom tags can make the > final HTML/presentation less clear than HTML placed directly in the > JSPs/Servlets. > > 8. Data entry validation is toggled on/off on a global basis only (not on > a per JSP/Servlet basis). > > 9. Requires recompilation and redeployment when data entry validation or > business component invocation changes. This is unnecessary if data entry > validation and business component invocation is performed in a JSP. > > 10. Requires at least one additional class per deployed page: an Action > subclass to invoke the corresponding business component or model behavior > and forward control to the subsequent JSP/Servlet. Fewer classes are > required if this behavior is performed within the controller Servlet. > > 11. Struts applications, with their Action and ActionForm subclasses and > the struts-config.xml file, add additional development and deployment > complexity that may be too difficult for less experienced developers to > grasp. > > > > -- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > For additional commands, e-mail: > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
