|
Can you compare the advantages and disadvantages of JSF vs. Struts ?
Struts Questions and Answers
(Continued from previous question...)
68. Can you compare the advantages and disadvantages of JSF vs. Struts ?
This is a very popular question these days. In general, JSF is still fairly new and will take time to fully mature. However, I see JSF being able to accomplish everything Struts can, plus more. Struts evolved out of necessity. It was created by developers who were tired of coding the same logic again and again. JSF emerged both from necessity and competition.
Struts has several benefits:
* Struts is a mature and proven framework. It has been around for a few years and deployed successfully on many projects. The WebSphere Application Server admin console is a Struts application.
* Struts uses the Front Controller and Command patterns and can handle sophisticated controller logic.
* In addition to the core controller function, it has many add-on benefits such as layouts with Tiles, declarative exception handling, and internationalization.
There are disadvantages:
* Struts is very JSP-centric and takes other frameworks to adapt to other view technologies.
* Although Struts has a rich tag library, it is still geared towards helping the controller aspect of development and does not give a sense that you are dealing with components on a page. Therefore, it is not as toolable from a view perspective.
* Struts requires knowledge of Java™. Its goal was to aid Java developers, but not to hide Java. It does not hide details of the Java language to Web developers that well.
* ActionForms are linked programmatically to the Struts framework. Therefore, to decouple the model, you need to write transfer code or use utilities to move data from Action Forms to the Model on input.
JSF is an evolution of a few frameworks, including Struts. The creator of Struts, Craig McClanahan, is one of the JSF specification leads. Therefore, it is not by accident to see some overlap between Struts and JSF. However, one of JSF's major goals is to help J2EE Web applications to be easily developed using RAD tools. As such, it introduces a rich component model. JSF has several advantages:
* JSF is a specification from Sun® and will be included in future versions of the J2EE specification. All major vendors are pledging strong support for JSF.
* JSF uses the Page Controller Pattern and therefore aids in Page rich applications. Components can respond to event from components on a page.
* JSF has a well-defined request lifecycle allowing for plugability at different levels.
* One powerful example of plugability is building your own render toolkit. The ability to separate the rendering portion from the controller portion of the framework allows for wonderful opportunities of extensibility. Component providers can write their own toolkits to render different markup languages, such as XML or WML. In addition, the render toolkit is not tied to JSP.
* Because JSF has a rich component model, it favors a RAD style of development. I can now build my Web pages using drag and drop technology. In addition, JSF gives me a way to link visual components to back model components without breaking the layering.
JSF has disadvantages:
* JSF is still quite new and evolving. It will take some time to see successful deployments and wide usage. In addition, as vendors write components, they may not do everything you want them to.
* JSF by hand is not easier than Struts. Its goal was more oriented to RAD. Those who prefer to do things by hand (for example, the vi type guy who does not like IDEs) may find Struts easier to develop.
* Struts navigation may be a bit more flexible and adhere to more complex controller logic.
(Continued on next question...)
Other Interview Questions
| 