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| // ======================================================================== 78 |
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| <faqs title="Kickstart FAQ"> |
| <part id="general"> |
| |
| <faq id="why"> |
| <question>Why do we need Struts?"</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>Java technologies give developers a serious boost when |
| creating and maintaining applications to meet the demands |
| of today's public Web sites and enterprise intranets. |
| Struts combines standard Java |
| technologies into a unified framework. |
| </p> |
| |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="how"> |
| <question>How does Struts work?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>Java Servlets are designed to handle requests made by Web |
| browsers. Server pages are designed to create dynamic web |
| pages that can turn billboard sites into interactive |
| applications. Struts uses a special |
| Servlet as a switchboard to route requests from Web |
| browsers to the appropriate server page. |
| Along the way, a special Java class, called an Action, |
| can interact with a data access framework or business |
| logic classes. |
| A layered architecture makes enterprise-grade web |
| applications easier to create and maintain. |
| (For more detail, see the longer version of |
| <a href="works.html">"How Does Struts Work?".</a>) |
| </p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="compat"> |
| <question>Is Struts compatible with other Java |
| technologies?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>Yes. The Apache Struts Project is committed to supporting |
| industry standards. |
| Struts acts as an integrator of Java technologies so that |
| they can be used in the "real world".</p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="who"> |
| <question>Who wrote Struts?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>There are several |
| <a href="http://struts.apache.org/volunteers.html">active committers</a> |
| to the Apache Struts project, working cooperatively from |
| around the globe. Dozens of individual developers and |
| committers contributed to the Struts 1.x codebase. All |
| interested developers and wordsmiths are invited to |
| <a href="http://struts.apache.org/helping.html#contribute"> |
| contribute to the project</a> |
| . |
| </p> |
| <p>The initial Struts codebase (Struts 0.5) was created by |
| Craig R. McClanahan in May 2000 and donated to The Apache |
| Software Foundation in May 2000. Craig was the primary |
| developer of both Struts 1.x and |
| <a href="http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/index.html"> |
| Tomcat 4</a> |
| . Tomcat 4 was the basis for the official reference |
| implementation for a servlet 2.3 and JSP 1.2 container. |
| </p> |
| <p>After serving as the co-lead of the JSR 127 specification |
| (JavaServerFaces), Craig created another rendition of |
| Struts |
| based on JavaServer Faces, called Shale. The new framework |
| began as an Apache Struts subproject, but later Shale |
| graduated to a top-level Apache project |
| in its own right. |
| <a href="http://shale.apache.org/"> |
| Apache Shale</a> is an excellent choice for teams |
| creating complex applications that utilize JSF |
| as a foundation technology. |
| </p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="first"> |
| <question>Was Struts the first web application framework |
| for Java?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>No, not by a long shot. When Struts 1.0 shipped in June |
| 2001, there were already several other web application |
| frameworks available, including Barracuda, Expresso, |
| Maverick, Tapestry, and Turbine, to name a few. Struts did |
| not enter a "greenfield". Back in the day, there were |
| lively comparisons between the available frameworks, |
| just as there are today. |
| </p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="popular"> |
| <question>Is Struts the most popular web application |
| framework for Java?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>Yes. By any objective measure, Struts continues to |
| be the most popular web application framework for |
| Java.</p> |
| <p>As of 2006, the vast majority of job offerings for Java |
| developers cite Struts as prerequisite. According to |
| OnJava magazine between their reader surveys for 2005 and |
| 2004 the popularity of Struts remained steady. Likewise, |
| the number of Struts articles published in all online |
| journals also remained constant between 2004 and 2005. |
| (For a complete list, see the |
| <a href="http://www.StrutsCentral.net/"> |
| Struts Central website</a>.) |
| New and updated books about Struts continue to be |
| published regularly.</p> |
| <p>While some people characterize the space of Java web |
| application framework as being "fragmented", the truth is |
| that |
| <b>more web developers use Struts than all other |
| alternatives combined.</b> |
| This observation is as true in 2006 as it was in 2005, |
| as it was in 2004. It's probably been true since Struts |
| released its 1.0 version in 2001. |
| </p> |
| <p>Of course, some developers are finding that JavaServer |
| Faces can be a faster way to write new applications, |
| especially modest intranet applications. And |
| that's great! More than anything else, every Struts |
| committer wants every developer to get more out of every |
| work day. (We're developers too!) As these new JSF |
| applications grow in complexity, we're glad that |
| <a href="http://shale.apache.org/"> |
| Apache Shale</a> is ready to do for |
| <em>JSF</em> |
| developers what Struts has |
| been doing for |
| <em>JSP</em> |
| developers, year after year |
| after year. |
| </p> |
| <p>Meanwhile, enterprise web developers who have standardized |
| on Struts can be assured that new releases of |
| Struts 1 will continue, even as we break new ground with |
| Struts 2.</p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="where"> |
| <question>Where can I get a copy of Struts |
| Framework?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>The best place to download Apache Struts products is at |
| <a href="http://struts.apache.org/">struts.apache.org</a> |
| </p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="install"> |
| <question>How do I install Struts?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>To develop applications with Struts, you can usually just |
| add the Struts JAR file |
| to your Java development environment. You can then start |
| using the Struts classes as |
| part of your own application. A blank Struts application |
| (in the |
| <code>webapps</code> |
| directory, open |
| <code>struts-blank.war</code> |
| ) |
| is provided, which you can just copy to get a quick-start |
| on your own brainchild. |
| </p> |
| <p>Aside from the Struts jar, the blank |
| application includes the other Struts |
| Library JARs and dependencies. |
| All dependencies are compatible with the Apache License. |
| </p> |
| <p>Since the full source code for Struts is available, we also |
| provide |
| <a href="http://struts.apache.org/downloads.html#Building"> |
| instructions</a> |
| for compiling your own Struts JAR from scratch. |
| (With Maven, building Struts is easy!) |
| </p> |
| <p>Your Struts application can usually be deployed using a |
| standard WAR file. In most |
| cases, you simply deposit the WAR file on your application |
| server, and it is installed |
| automatically. If not, step-by-step installation |
| instructions for |
| <a href="../userGuide/installation.html#Containers"> |
| various servlet |
| containers</a> |
| are available. |
| </p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="jar"> |
| <question>When do I need the Struts JARs on my |
| classpath?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p>When you are compiling an application that uses the Struts |
| classes, you must have the Struts JARs on the classpath your |
| <strong>compiler</strong> |
| sees -- it does not |
| <em>have</em> |
| to be on your CLASSPATH environment variable. |
| </p> |
| <p>Why is that an important distinction? Because if you are |
| using a servlet container on your development machine to |
| test your application, the Struts JARs |
| <strong>must not</strong> |
| be on your CLASSPATH environment variable when running the |
| container. (This is because each Web application must also |
| have their own copy of the Struts classes, and the |
| container will become confused if it is on the environment |
| path as well.) |
| </p> |
| <p>There are several general approaches to this issue:</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li> |
| <strong>Use Ant or Maven</strong> |
| for building your projects -- it can easily assemble |
| classpaths for the compiler. |
| </li> |
| <li> |
| <strong>Use an IDE</strong> |
| where you can configure the "class path" used for |
| compilation independent of the CLASSPATH environment |
| variable. |
| </li> |
| <li> |
| <strong>Use a shell script</strong> |
| that temporarily adds struts-action.jar to the |
| classpath just for compilation, for example |
| <br/> |
| <em>javac -classpath |
| /path/to/struts-action.jar:$CLASSPATH $@</em> |
| </li> |
| </ul> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| |
| <faq id="tests"> |
| <question>Does Struts include its own unit |
| tests?</question> |
| <answer> |
| <p> |
| Struts currently has two testing |
| environments, to reflect the fact that |
| some things can be tested statically, and some really need |
| to be done in |
| the environment of a running servlet container.</p> |
| <p> |
| For static unit tests, we use the |
| <a href="http://www.junit.org">JUnit framework</a> |
| . |
| The sources for these tests are in the "src/test" |
| hierarchy in the source repository, and are executed via |
| the "test.junit" |
| target in the top-level build.xml file. Such tests are |
| focused on the |
| low-level functionality of individual methods, are |
| particularly |
| suitable for the static methods in the |
| org.apache.struts.util utility |
| classes. In the test hierarchy, there are also some "mock |
| object" classes |
| (in the org.apache.struts.mock package) so that you can |
| package up things |
| that look like servlet API and Struts API objects to pass |
| in as arguments |
| to such tests. |
| </p> |
| <p> |
| Another valuable tool is |
| <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/strutstestcase/"> |
| Struts TestCase</a> |
| which provides a useful harness for Action classes that |
| can be used with JUnit or |
| <a href="http://jakarta.apache.org/cactus">Cactus</a>. |
| </p> |
| </answer> |
| </faq> |
| </part> |
| </faqs> |
