Thanks again Kevin, but the bullet points from the article don't state why I would want to use Struts w/ JSF. With the exception of the quote about the controller being 'powerful', they just list why JSF is good. I know why JSF is good, why is Struts plus JSF better?
> -----Original Message----- > From: Kevin Bridges [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2004 11:13 AM > To: Struts Users Mailing List > Subject: Re: JSF or Struts w/ JSF (again) > > From the article: > > Why integrate the trinity? > As the JSP and the related specifications mature, new standards like > JSF and the JSP Standard Tag Library (or JSTL, which uses simple tags > to encapsulate the core functionality common to many JSP applications) > are emerging. Following are some of the advantages to using the new > technologies as an integrated whole: > > * Cleaner separation of behaviors and presentation. With the > separation of tag, renderer, and component, the roles of page authors > and application developers in the development cycle become better > defined. > > * Changing the presentation for a component does not have an > avalanche effect. Now you can easily just change the renderer. In the > traditional MVC model, since this separation did not exist, any change > in tags needed changes to the business logic as well. Not any more. > > * Renderer independence. Or restated, protocol independence by > reusing component logic for multiple presentation devices with > multiple renderers. The ability to use different renderers eliminates > the need to code the entire presentation tier for specific devices. > > * A standard for assembling and reusing custom components. JSF > thinks beyond "forms and fields" and provides a rich component model > for rendering custom GUI components. Using JSF you can customize the > way each component looks and behaves in a page. Developers also gain > the ability to create their own GUI components (like menus and trees), > which can easily be included in any JSP page with simple custom tags. > Just like the Java front-end GUI components provided by AWT and Swing, > we can have custom components for our Web pages that use their own > event handlers and have customizable appearances. This is GUI nirvana > for the Web tier! > > Struts is a framework that already possesses a large customer base. > Many IT departments have recognized the value of this MVC framework > and have been using it for quite a while. JSF doesn't possess the > equivalent of Struts's powerful controller architecture, as well as > its standardized ActionForm and Actions (with their declarative > capabilities). When you integrate Tiles into the mix, you give > yourself the ability to reuse and change corporate layouts in a > seamless manner. > > The challenges of migrating JSF-enabled Struts applications are > two-fold. First, Struts tags are not JSF-compliant. In other words, > they do not extend the UIComponentTag as mandated by the JSF > specification, therefore, JSF cannot interpret and associate > UIComponent and Renderers with them. > > Second, there is no link between the FacesServlet and Struts > RequestProcessor. In a Struts application, the RequestProcessor > manages the show with the callback methods into ActionForm and Actions > classes. Getters and setters for ActionForm properties and validate() > are the callback methods in the ActionForm. For Action, execute() is > the callback method. Unless the RequestProcessor gets invoked, the > callback methods in Struts ActionForm and Actions classes do not get a > chance to invoke the business logic. > > > On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 13:57:56 -0500, Abrams, Howard A > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Kevin Bridges [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2004 10:40 AM > > > To: Struts Users Mailing List > > > Subject: Re: JSF or Struts w/ JSF (again) > > > > > > I found this article to be useful in addressing some of your > > questions: > > > http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-integrate/ > > > > > > > Thanks for the pointer Kevin. The article does a good job explaining > > _HOW_ to integrate the two, but (and perhaps it's because I don't know > > enough about Struts), it didn't seem explain _WHY_ I would want to > > integrate the two. The only semi-concrete reason/feature I found in the > > article was this: > > > > "JSF doesn't possess the equivalent of Struts's powerful controller > > architecture, as well as its standardized ActionForm and Actions (with > > their declarative capabilities)." [sic] > > > > Can someone explain what makes the struts controller so 'powerful' in > > relation to JSF? What about Struts' ActionForm and Action and their > > benefit > > over JSF actions and beans? > > > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 13:22:15 -0500, Abrams, Howard A > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > > > > > For a new project, I'm planning on using JSF. The questions I need > > to > > > > answer are: > > > > > > > > What will Struts add if I use it together with JSF? Does it add > > missing > > > > functionality? Is there a good design pattern that JSF alone does > > not > > > > enforce? Are there common problems that are easier to solve using > > the > > > > combination? (For the moment, ignore the validation framework and > > tiles) > > > > > > > > I've been searching the internet and the list archives for answers. > > The > > > > only concrete feature I found was message from Craig saying that > > because > > > > all request processing is routed through a common controller, Struts > > > > helps > > > > implementing things such as authentication and logging. Is this > > > > significantly easier that decorating the viewHandler or > > actionListener > > > > in > > > > JSF? Isn't that what struts-faces does anyway? (the message I'm > > > > referring > > > > to can be found here: > > http://mail-archives.apache.org/eyebrowse/ReadMsg? > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]&msgNo=112850) > > > > > > > > I've got a fairly good handle on JSF, but I'm not proficient with > > > > Struts. > > > > I'm hoping some of the seasoned Struts developers reading this can > > point > > > > out the benefits I've missed. > > > > > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > Howard > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]