This post will give
the basics of the struts framework, its architecture and detail understanding
about the basic elements of struts framework. Finally, you will end up with
writing the first struts application. After reading this post, you will have an
understanding of what the struts framework is, how to write the struts
application and configure it. Let’s start now with discussing what is struts
and its benefits.
Struts are an
open-source web application framework implemented by Apache Software Foundation
(ASF). It is one of the efficient and high performance open source
implementation of Model 2 based Model-View-Controller (MVC). The Struts
framework provides utility classes to handle many of the most common tasks in
web application development. It is originally started as a small project by
Craig McClanahan in May 2000 but later Craig McClanahan donated it to Apache software foundation which is later added with many features that are more
commonly required for web application development.
What is a Frame Work?
Framework is a set of
well-defined classes and interfaces that provides services to our application.
With a framework, it contains the executing routines and invokes operations
onto your extensions through inheritance and other means.
Why we Need of Struts
Frame Work?
As you have learnt in this post
about the requirement of web application and then further about the two
development models for developing web applications where most of the huge
enterprise applications are developed following Model 2 architecture, it can be
identified that while developing the web applications following such
architecture gives number of benefits. However, using the basic web
technologi3s like servlets and jsp for developing such a web applications is
complicated and contains most of the infrastructure logics that results in
increase of the application development cost, development time and further
affects the productivity of the application. To Solve these problems we want a
readymade solution for the infrastructure logics in developing web applications
following Model 2 architecture instead of developing it as a part of out
project development, which can reduce the development time and cost, and even
improves the performance and productivity of the application. This is where the
need for web application frameworks comes and as reply for this requirement one
of the solution is given by Apache Software foundation group under the title
struts framework. Struts framework has restructured the way that web
programmers think about and constructs web application in java.
Benefits of Struts Framework
We have number of benefits in
using struts framework for developing web applications in java , before we look
into the benefits of struts you need to remember that all the benefits of the
MVC approach and Model 2 development model are available when using struts. For
example, MVC model 2 provides a clear separation between the presentation logic(for
example HTML, and tag libraries) from the request handling code( using java
servlets, plain java classes and jsp scriptlet etc) is also one of the benefit
of struts ie., web applications developed using struts frame work are easier to
develop understand and maintain. The following are the added benefits of using
struts framework for developing web applications.
Ø Struts
are open, which allows us to download the source code and modify that code according to our requirement that
supports user extensions.
Ø The
other important advantage of struts being open source is that its code is
exposed to the developers(i.e for us) and this enables fast development and
maintenance cycle, as a result web can expect fast response from the struts team
in fixing the buts and response to the new requirements in the market.
Ø Struts
is implemented using the standard java technologies like java servlets and jsp
and other open libraries like commons bean library of apache, thus we are
allowed to host struts project on any java enterprise web server by just
including the struts jar files into the lib on our web application / project.
Ø Reduces
the development time & cost in developing the controller and view parts of
web application developed following MVC architecture and Model 2 development
model.
Ø Struts
uses XML based configuration files to collect the configuration details from
the application provider.
Ø Centralized
XML file based configuration: This allows us to configure most of the
application properties in XML files rather then hard coding into java classes,
which means that many changes can be made without modifying or recompiling java
code, and the changes can be made by modifying a single file.
Ø This
lets the Java Developers focus on implementing the business logic without
needing to know about the overall system layout.
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