Jiri Zaloudek wrote:
Hi Martin,
when I have implemented WML RenderKit, I have created a XDoclet modul. I can
say, that use Xdoclet was very good decision.
From one description file Xdoclet generates component and render classes,
tld description file and faces-config. It's very helpful, but in the worst
example if you e.g. add one tag attribut, you must manualy edit all of these
four files!
I run xdoclet in my current project as a code generator for database
forms, I usually generate a master detail form with master having a
search field and a scrollable data table, a create form, delete form and
an edit form, with common artefacts split into separate includes.
And I also love it, due to the speed it gives you (you can get an
efficiency gain by the factor of 3-5).
You can bypass that one change, edit all files problem to a certain
degree. The trick is, work on derived classes only, that way you are
somehwat isolated from changes in the generated classes. That does not
keep you from having to reedit the config files however.
But that is just having to edit two config files instead of four - five
files for a small change.
But I see xdoclet not as the tool to cover all, it is more a tool to
give you a good headstart and manages for you the error ridden gruntwork
which comes along once you work with something which forces you to
extensive file artefact bookkeeping.
