On Wed, January 11, 2006 10:06 am, Rick Reumann said:
> Anyway, I'm totally babbling now, but am I the only one that feels this
> confusion? It's more confusing when you try to think of how you can use
> these different technologies together (ie Shale and MyFaces).
You are most definitely NOT alone. I can't tell you how many people I
hear from (because I've posted my less than positive feelings on JSF
numerous times I suppose) saying essentially the same thing. JSF may
indeed be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but many people seem to
have a hard time getting the information they need to reach that
conclusion.
My major complaint is that every single example and tutorial I've found is
so simplistic and frankly ugly as hell that it can't help but cast JSF in
a bad light. It makes it seem like all you can do is webapps that look
like something straight out of 1996... and I know that isn't an accurate
representation of what JSF can do, but it's the conclusion one reaches in
seeing all these examples. Just once I'd like to see a good, interesting,
MODERN-LOOKING and well-documented example that shows off all the supposed
benefits of JSF. If I were a JSF supporter out there, I'd get this done
and get it in front of people ASAP.
My secondary complaint is that nearly every article I read starts off with
"JSF simplifies things and makes your life easier", and then proceeds to
completely negate that statement with all sorts of config files and code
like this:
String var =
(String)FacesContext.getCurrentInstance().getExternalContext().getRequestParameterMap().get("variableName");
Just an example, and maybe not the best one, but I see A LOT of JSF
example code that has a bunch of stringed-together method calls like this.
I don't know what anyone else' opinion is, but I don't look at a line of
code like that and think "yeah, this is so much easier!". I'm not saying
there isn't some benefit, and I would assume there are ways around it (I'd
bet Shale provides many of them) but it's hard to see what the point is
when confronted with lines like that.
So no, you aren't alone. I've changed my own tune over time... I used to
be pretty strongly anti-JSF, I'm not any more. Now, I keep looking at it
fresh every few months, trying to do some small project with it and trying
to convince myself it's good. I haven't gotten there yet, but I'm not
giving up either. My hope in the end is that it is a viable ALTERNATIVE,
which I think would be great. If it becomes THE way webapps are developed
though, I for one, as JSF exists today, will hate my life :)
Frank
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