|
|
Re: MVC and Struts
|
Posted: Oct 29, 2003 11:32 AM
|
|
The Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture leverages the strengths of servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSP), while minimizing their weaknesses. In essence, user requests are sent to a controller servlet, which determines the nature of the request and passes it off to the appropriate handler for that request type. Each handler is associated with a particular model, which encapsulates business logic to perform a specific and discrete set of functions. Once the operation is completed, the results are sent back to the controller, which determines the appropriate view and displays it.
Struts, a Jakarta project, provides a framework for writing applications using the MVC architecture. Struts uses "ActionMapping," which enables the servlet to turn user requests into application actions. ActionMapping usually specifies a request path, the object type to act upon the request, and other properties as needed.
The Action object used as a part of the ActionMapping is responsible for either handling the request and sending the response back to the appropriate view (normally a Web browser), or passing the request along to the appropriate model.
The bridge between the model and the view is a form bean that can be created by subclassing org.apache.struts.action.ActionForm. The form bean can be used to hold data from the user prior to processing, or from a model prior to display back to the user. Struts includes custom tags that can automatically populate fields from the form bean created.
Struts is an application development framework that is designed for and used with the popular J2EE (Java 2, Enterprise Edition) platform. It cuts time out of the development process and makes developers more productive by providing them a series of tools and components to build applications with. It is non-proprietary and works with virtually any J2EE-compliant application server. Struts falls under the Jakarta subproject of the Apache Software Foundation and comes with an Open Source license (meaning it has no cost and its users have free access to all its internal source code).
In addition to helping you work faster and having no cost, Struts also helps make your end work products better.
|
|
Previous Topic
