Eric B <ebenze@...> writes: > I'm still examining the need/use-case for using mustache vs plain JSP for a light-load server. I can > definitely see the value for something that has > high load, wanting to offset processing on the client side, but for light load, I haven't been convinced yet > that logic-less templates have advantage > over JSP models.
Load is not at all the reason why Finn.no uses mustache. In its simplest form we have client side only templates in mustache used by JavaScript to render HTML fragments in a clean and simple fashion. Helps us avoid string concatination and other sorts of HTML generation methods. We also have other more advanced use-cases as Mick mentions, where we typically renders the page serverside first, then do AJAX requests (more accurately AJAJ) and update the page later with the same templates as used on serverside. Looking back on the JSP to mustache convertions we've done so far, the nicest feature imho is the logic-less part. It forces our backend to do the heavy work, leaving the templates with a single responsibility: presentation. Examples of what I mean by heavy work: generation of URLs, formatting of text and numbers and most importantly business logic. As JSPs have all the magic in the world with its taglibs, we have been tempted way to often to add small pieces of business logic in there. That logic is often a nightmare to test, we have traditionally ended up writing cumbersome integration tests. Putting that business logic into the backend means we could rather write small unit tests, which is perfect as it fails much quicker and gives developers feedback instantly. Its worth mentioning we combine JSPs and mustache templates on Finn.no. Mustache is required when we're doing any AJAX updates after the initial serverside rendering, otherwise we might just use plain old JSPs. The tiles taglib helps us do this cleanly as <tiles:insertAttribute name=".." /> can be used for both types of templates from the JSP. Getting cleaner templates with business logic where it belongs doesnt force anyone to use mustache, but it surely forces you to behave. - Phillip
