29 June 2002 - Struts Newsletter
Path-based action mapping in 1.1
One of the architectural advances from Struts 1.0 to Struts 1.1 involved
supporting multiple applications with a single Struts controller
servlet. As part of the initial implementation of this functionality,
some configuration flexibility was lost: the multi-application
controller only supports mapping URLs to Struts "actions" by extension
(i.e. "*.do") while Struts 1.0 also supported mapping by path prefix
(i.e. "/do/*"). After James Young asked if any fixes were in the works
[1], Craig McClanahan pointed out some of the complexities involved
[2]. Ted Husted described a possible solution and asked for feedback
about whether to pursue it. [3]
[1] dev #8226
[2] dev #8234
[3] dev #8244
Tiles add-in to moved to core
Craig McClanahan moved the "Tiles" add-in into the core CVS source tree
from the "contrib" directory.[4] Ted Husted initiated a discussion about
some code modifications to "Tiles" to make it work more closely with the
core code base.[5]
[4] dev #8682
[5] dev #8621
FormBean: Interface or Class?
The discussion about whether the "FormBean" concept was best implemented
as an interface or a class resurfaced, and Craig McClanahan wrote a
decisive response explaining the motivation for maintaining it as a
class.[6] In summary, designing FormBean as an interface would
facilitate inappropriate tangling of the "model" layer with the "view"
layer, while making it a class of its own encourages clean separation of
those layers.
[6] dev #8253
Struts and the Java Standard Tag Library (JSTL)
After announcing the 1.0 release of the JSTL, Shawn Bayern offered
assistance towards integrating the rich Struts tag libraries with the
JSTL, which in many cases offers equivalent functionality.[7] Craig
McClanahan indicated that a likely goal for a post 1.1 release of Struts
would be thorough integration with the JSTL expression language, and
aiming towards an eventual replacement of the Struts "bean" and "logic"
tag libraries with the equivalent tags from JSTL.[8]
[7] dev #8434
[8] dev #8439
New Committer: James Holmes
James Holmes, author of the popular Struts Console tool, was proposed as
a committer by Ted Husted [9] and was accepted unanimously.
[9] dev #8341
Steps towards Struts 1.1b2
As much of the activity on the list in June involved "swatting" bugs in
the current 1.1b1 release, Craig McClanahan proposed steps towards a
Struts 1.1b2 by around July 8th[10] The requirements for the next beta
are basically closing any remaining bugs and improving documentation of
new Struts features. Committers responded promptly with +1 votes and
further contributions.
[10] dev #8691
24 June 2002 - Tiles article in DeveloperWorks
The IBM DeveloperWorks site is featuring a new article entitled
"
Struts and Tiles aid component-based development" by Wellie Chao.
12 June 2002 - Struts Console version 1.12.1
Struts Console version 1.12.1 is now available.
Download Now:
www.jamesholmes.com/struts/struts-console-1.12.1.zip
-- OR --
www.jamesholmes.com/struts/struts-console-1.12.1.tar.gz
Struts Console is FREE software.
This release is a bug fix release and does not introduce any new functionality.
Changes with Struts Console v1.12.1
- Fixed bug where the Action screen was not
properly updating the Type/Forward/Include data
properly.
- Fixed bug where the "Newlines" output option was
not correctly setting the newline.
- Fixed bug where "Indent Elements" output option
allowed for an empty value which caused the app
to throw exceptions.
- Fixed "console.sh" Unix startup script to
correctly set the classpath for invoking the
standalone Struts Console.
12 June 2002 - Easy Struts 0.2
Easy Struts 0.2 for Eclipse is out
Features:
- Wizard for action, form, jsp creation
- Create & Run with Tomcat Sysdeo Plugin
Changes
- Wizard for forward creation added
- Distribution
- Some fix
More :
- http://sourceforge.net/projects/easystruts
- http://easystruts.sourceforge.net/
12 June 2002 - Artimus 0.4
An updated version of the Artimus example application is now available at:
See the README.TXT to get started.
This application demonstrates some of the design strategies discussed on the list recently:
- The business tier is represented by a set of "ProcessBeans", dispatched using the Command pattern.
- A framework Action is used to dispatch the ProcessBeans. The bean type is specified using the parameter property.
- The framework Action (ProcessAction) returns a data transfer object (ResultList), designed for use by the presentation layer.
Other goodies include:
- SQL commands are stored in external properties files and can be changed without recompiling.
- All SQL commands are processed through a pair of easy-to-use static methods.
- ResultSets are automatically transferred to a collection of beans.
- A connection pool adapter allows use of the Struts connection pool from the business tier (and I said it couldn't be done :o). Other pools (Poolman, Resin, et cetera) may be configured through the web.xml.
- Lucene is used side-by-side with JDBC to provide better searching when appropriate.
- A helper servlet is used to load custom resources so ActionServlet does not need to be subclassed.
- Application settings can be configured through the web.xml or a properties file.
Most of these come out of the updated Scaffold package that is bundled in this distribution. The versions of Artimus and Scaffold in the Apache-Struts CVS will be updated shortly.
11 June 2002 - Struts Builder v0.4 beta
The SourceForge project "RiverNorth" has released Struts Builder v0.4 beta.
"Struts Builder" is an Opensource tool (GPL license) originally developed
for internal use to aid in development of Struts-based web applications
(1.1 style). The standalone Swing application allows users to create from
scratch and/or import existing Struts 1.x struts-config.xml files, modify
them via a forms-based GUI and generate the shell code including JSP/HTML
pages, web.xml, struts-config.xml and java source files for Actions and
ActionForms classes required for an implementation. I'm currently working
on transferring info from our internal bug tracking system to the source
forge site.
Planned future enhancements include creating plugin versions for popular
IDEs, XMI import/export for WebUML, and the addition of a purely visual
component for visualizing/editing the application model.
The tool is available at: rivernorth.sourceforge.net
This project is actively seeking feedback and contributors.
11 June 2002 - JavaPro Articles on Struts
JavaPro printed some articles regarding Struts in April and May.
In case you missed them, here's the links:
07 Jun 2002 - O'Reilly Chapter 7
Chapter 7 of the upcoming Struts book by Chuck Cavaness is now available
on The ServerSide for community review.
http://www.theserverside.com/resources/strutsreview.jsp
Chapter 7 - Struts View Components - Chapter 7 introduces the components that make up the view
portion of the Struts framework.
The framework uses the view components to render dynamic content for the client. Based
primarily on JavaServer Pages, the components provide support for internationalized
applications, as well extensive support for user input acceptance, validation, and error handling,
all of which make it easier for the developer to focus on business requirements. This chapter
concludes the three-part discussion of how the Struts framework implements the MVC pattern.
07 Jun 2002 - Introduction to Struts Presentation
A general introduction to Struts by Dave Hay. Appropriate for team meetings. Use as-is or a basis for your own.
www.husted.com/struts/resources/struts-intro.ppt
06 Jun 2002 - Wanted: Struts Newsletter Editors
Our parent project, Apache-Jakarta, is organizing a joint newsletter
www.mail-archive.com/general%40jakarta.apache.org/msg05603.html
Keeping the News and Status page updated from week to week is all the Struts
committers can handle right now. Other volunteers to help create a monthly highlight
of what's happening on the lists would be welcome.
Followup thread:
www.mail-archive.com/struts-user@jakarta.apache.org/msg32915.html
05 Jun 2002 - Struts Console version 1.12
Struts Console version 1.12 is now available.
http://www.jamesholmes.com/struts/
Download Now:
www.jamesholmes.com/struts/struts-console-1.12.zip
-- OR --
www.jamesholmes.com/struts/struts-console-1.12.tar.gz
Struts Console is FREE software.
This release fixes a few bugs and adds significant new
functionality with the addition of new options for
output in the stanadalone version. Now you can select
the format for how your XML file will be saved. To
access this new functionality go to the "Options" menu
in the standalone version of the software.
Changes with Struts Console v1.12
- Fixed bug in standalone version where files
were being added to the recent files menu even if
they were never successfully opened.
-
Fixed bug where adding new Exceptions or Forwards
to Actions would misplace the nodes in the tree
view.
-
Added new options for how XML output is generated
in standalone version of app.
-
Updated Message Resources screen to also show the
Messages key.
07 Jun 2002 - Easy Struts on SourceForge
The Eclipse & JBuilder plugins for Struts are now available under the EasyStruts project
at sourceforge.net.
EasyStruts on Sourceforge
04 Jun 2002 - FL Child Support Payments: Powered by Struts
"My boss gave me the OK to give the Struts User Group access to the
Struts-based application I'm working on.
"I recently finished a beta release of a Child Support Payment (CSE-PAY)
system for the state of Florida. The system is a Struts-based webapp where
I use several Struts features -- as much Struts as I could figure for my
first Struts project.
"You can access the system at:
test.myfloridacounty.com/cse-pay/
Login to the web server with:
User: myflc
Pass: myflc
"Once logged in you're welcome to experiment with the system as much as you
like, i.e. sign up a phony user, credit card (e.g. Visa 4111111111111111),
add casses, make payments, etc...
"I have not got the OK to release all the source as a bundle, yet. But, I
can release snippets on a case-by-case basis -- that is, I can send the code
that implements some behavior you're interested in. Hopefully I can release
the complete source, soon."
For more, see the mail archive.
03 Jun 2002 - strutsGuessingGame1.0
Struts Guessing Game v1.0
A guessing game written with Struts like the one that comes with Tomcat's examples, includes sources, ANT build script
and a Struts jar distribution
27 May 2002 - Struts Tips
Struts Tips is a twice-weekly column featuring practical cut-and-paste
advice for Struts developers.
The columns first run on the MVC-Programmers list and will later be available through Husted dot Com and JGuru.
MVC-Programmer List
- www.basebeans.com:8081/mailman/listinfo/mvc-programmers
Struts Tips archives
- jguru.com/faq/subtopic.jsp?topicID=893704
- www.husted.com/struts/tips
27 May 2002 - Struts Action Plug-in Extension 1.0
The Action Plug-In Extension is, in concept, very similar to the Servlet Filter mechanism. It
is meant to provide a clean and transparent way to plug-in common controller logic (such as
authentication, workflow, etc.) for Struts actions in an application.
www.asqdotcom.be/struts
27 May 2002 - Eclipse Struts Wizard v2.0
Same user interface as our JBuilder Wizard but:
Features:
- ActionForm, Action, input JSP and struts-config.xml generation powered by eclipse framework.
- Compatible with Tomcat plugin from Sysdeo.
- And some bug fixes ...
Available at www.mycgiserver.com/~eboudrant/
25 May 2002 - Struts Console version 1.11
Struts Console version 1.11 is now available.
www.jamesholmes.com/struts/
www.jamesholmes.com/struts/struts-console-1.11.zip
www.jamesholmes.com/struts/struts-console-1.11.tar.gz
This release adds more support for 1.1 config files and updates some of the help documentation.
Changes with Struts Console v1.11
- Fixed bug in NetBeans/Forte module where Struts Console module was disabling printing for Struts config files.
- Added support for <messages-resources> and <plug-in> elements in 1.1 config files.
- Updated code to be more efficient and use less memory.
- Changed distribution to have a master directory (i.e. struts-console-1.11).
22 May 2002 - O'Reilly Chapter 10
Chapter 10 of the upcoming Struts book by Chuck Cavaness is now available
on The ServerSide for community review.
http://www.theserverside.com/resources/strutsreview.jsp
Chapter 10 - Exception Handling
This chapter will look at how you can properly use the Java exception handling mechanism
within your Struts applications to help make your applications more industrial-strength and
allow them to gracefully respond when things don't go as expected. Special attention will be
given to the differences between performing the exception handling programmatically and
using the new declarative feature added to the new version of Struts.
22 May 2002 - Struts Console v1.10
Struts Console version 1.10 is now available.
http://www.jamesholmes.com/struts/
http://www.jamesholmes.com/struts/
This release adds more support for 1.1 config files and updates some of the help documentation.
Changes with Struts Console v1.10
- Added ability to specify new config file version in stand-alone app when creating new config files from scratch.
- Added support for <controller> element in 1.1config files.
- Removed unnecessary duplicate of JDOM classes from console.jar thus making downloads smaller.
- Updated help/installation documentation.
13 May 2002 - Struts Wizard v1.0.2 for JBuilder
The Struts Wizard v1.0.2 for JBuilder is now available.
Updated in 1.0.2 release:
- Re-add a deleted property fixed.
- Some JBuilder 6 problems (about jbuilder test path) with java code generation fixed.
- String initializer don't need quotes (except null).
13 May 2002 - Struts SOS Service
As part of the recent Supporting Open Source announcements, the Struts Support area is now open for public access.
See http://sos.multitask.com.au
Support requests can be placed after purchasing support, however the rest of the information is available for free.
10 May 2002 - ReviewAlert - Powered by Struts
Ever want to watch the reviews on amazon for a little while before you buy
something?... how about a group of items before you pick one?...
...well here's the tool to use. Simply register items on Amazon
against your email address, and they'll watch the item's review listing. When
a new review is posted, they'll email you about it and tell you what's going
on, and a link to get you there.
www.reviewalert.com/
10 May 2002 - O'Reilly Chapters 5 and 6
Chapters 5 and 6 of the upcoming Struts book by Chuck Cavaness are now
available on The ServerSide for community review.
http://www.theserverside.com/resources/strutsreview.jsp
Chapter 5 - Struts Controller Components
The Struts framework uses a servlet to process incoming requests, however it relies on many
other components that are part of the controller domain, to help it carry out its
responsibilities. The Struts controller components have been briefly mentioned in previous
chapters, but it's time to take in-depth look at what components have responsibility for the
controller functionality in the framework.
Chapter 6 - Struts Model Components
This chapter introduces the components that make up the model portion of a Struts
application. The model represents the business data for an application and should closely
resemble the real-world entities and business processes for the organization. We will explore
the roles and responsibilities of the model components within the Struts framework and focus on building an architecturally correct
implementation for the storefront application. Special attention will be given to using a persistence framework that can be easily and effortlessly
integrated into a Struts application.
04 May 2002 - Chinese Translation of Struts User Guide
The translated document is being reviewed in a
small circle of experienced Java programmers in both mainland China and US.
Preview can be found at
www.beaconsystem.com/pub/doc/Struts/userGuide_CN/index.html
02 May 2002 - Struts Wizard v1.0 final for JBuilder
StrutsWizard v1.0 is an opentool for JBuilder IDE. This gallery wizard can create ActionForm, Action
and fully JSP input page. Update in 1.0 release:
- Work with Struts Console (JBuilder opentool mode) by James Holmes, now struts wizard update struts-config.xml via Struts Console..
- 7 Types added in form properties creation (String, int, float, boolean...)
- You can now choose the input tag type foreach properties.
- You can now set the initializer foreach properties.
- Class generation based on Borland JOT (Java Object Toolkit), so syntax errors are detected (and commented;).
More info: http://www.mycgiserver.com/~eboudrant/
You can download it at: http://codecentral.borland.com/codecentral/ccweb.exe/listing?id=17849
01 May 2002 - stxx 0.9.5 is available
The latest update to stxx is available at
www.openroad.ca/opencode/
The biggest change in this version is the ability to have your transform
tags do xsl:fo transformations (for example to PDF or SVG).
There are also bug fixes and updates to the examples.
Struts for transforming XML with XSL (stxx) is an extension of the
Struts framework to support XML and XSL without changing the
functionality of Struts .
stxx sits on top of Struts, extending it's existing functionality to
allow Action classes to return XML that will be transformed by an XSL file.
The idea of stxx is to remove the need to be use JSP and TagLibs for the
presentation layer of this framework. However, stxx does not force you
to go the XML/XSL route, both technologies work side by side.
28 Apr 2002 - StrutsTestCase v1.7 Released
StrutsTestCase v1.7 introduces support for Struts 1.1,
provides several requested enhancements, and fixes many
reported defects.
The project home page can be found here:
strutstestcase.sourceforge.net
Notes for this release can be found here:
http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=87036
Questions and comments are always welcome!
25 Apr 2002 - O'Reilly Chapters 1 and 2
Chapters 1 and 2 of the upcoming Struts book by Chuck Cavaness are now available on
The ServerSide for community review.
http://www.theserverside.com/resources/strutsreview.jsp
Chapter 1 - Introduction
This introduction chapter discusses some preliminary concepts such as MVC, Model 2, and the idea of a software framework. Although many
developers may understand some or all of the ideas presented here, the inclusion of the material is necessary to ensure all readers are starting
from the same place. The concepts presented in this chapter help to lay the foundation for the rest of the book.
Chapter 2 - Inside the Web Tier
The Struts framework is based on the Java Servlet Technology and to a lesser extent, JavaServer Pages, and therefore is tightly coupled to a
web container. For Struts developers, understanding how the web container processes client requests is fundamental to having a deeper
understanding of the framework itself. This chapter illustrates the various components that are part of the web container and what each
component's responsibilities are.
24 Apr 2002 - Struts1.1 UML Class diagrams
UML diagrams representing the main classes from Struts 1.1 Framework, and also showing depreciation
from Strut 1.0, are available at:
http://www.mycgiserver.com/~eboudrant/
23 Apr 2002 - Synthis Corporation announces support for the Apache Struts J2EE Architecture
Synthis Corporation is pleased to announce that Adalon, a next-generation functional design tool for modeling Internet
applications, now offers full support for the Struts framework, the leading open-source J2EE Web application architecture
from the Apache Software Foundation.
Adalon provides a single, integrated environment to gather and track business requirements, visually model the process
foundations of an application, and generate complete functional design documentation and code frameworks for ANY target
software architecture, programming language, and development platform.
Here is what people are saying about Adalon and Struts:
"The hardest part of designing any application can be deciding what to build. Adalon helps clients clearly define "the
what" and "the why" of an application, and the code generation templates give Struts developers a serious jumpstart on "the
how", helping us to build not only a great application, but also the right application." -- Ted Husted,
Active contributor to the Jakarta-Struts framework.
"We have incorporated Adalon into our development process and are currently training our consultants on the product. With
Adalon, our consultants now have a great tool to manage the process of developing custom Struts solutions, from initial
requirements gathering through to the delivery of implemented code." -- Dmitry Shugaev, Vice President of Technology,
Computer Consulting Services Corporation (CCSC).
Synthis is offering support for Struts in the Adalon Struts Community Edition, and the Adalon Developer Edition. For more
details on the Adalon Struts Community Edition and the Adalon Developer Edition, please visit
www.synthis.com/products/adalon.
To download a 30-day evaluation version of Adalon, please visit www.synthis.com/downloads.
23 Apr 2002 - JForms: a visual tool for Struts-based Web forms
SolanaSoft JForms is a visual tool for rapid creation of
Struts-based Web forms. JForms let you define the properties to capture in
a form, along with data types, and basic validation, then generates all of
the required Struts actions, forms, JSPs, application resources, error
messages, and configuration files. Finally, JForms compiles, packages, and
deploys a WAR file to an embedded Tomcat app server for easy testing of the
form.
Its currently in beta, and we're still looking for a few volunteers to try
it out.
There is an online demonstration available at the website, and you can send
an email to sales@solanasoft.com to sign up for the beta program.
The site address is:
http://www.solanasoft.com
22 Apr 2002 - Expresso 4.1 rc2
A new release is available onsite for download for the open source Expresso
Framework which builds on and extends the Struts framework.
Download at:
http://www.jcorporate.com/product/expresso.html.
4.1 early access release candidate 2 of Expresso includes new features such
as integration with Struts ActionForm, basic workflow capabilities,
type-safe schema definitions and transition objects, ActionForm support in
Unit Tests, and more Unit tests. A couple performance enhancements have
been made including to reduce lookup CPU cycles, and reduce locking
time/contention. In addition, maintanence changes included removing
depreciated testable interface and depreciated setup values, updated French
message bundle, updated Sybase support, separate test suites, as well as
refactoring ListBase and createTable. Various corrections and bug fixes have
also been made. This release includes some new user documentation including
on workflow which is onsite. Additionally there are EDG updates such as the
section on XML Viewhandler. The EDG documents are not yet updated onsite but
will be soon.
This release is the second early access candidate which is intended to
prepare the way for a production quality stable 4.1. There will probably one
more release candidate before the final release. Expresso is an
architectural framework which has more than 91,000 downloads and ~4700
people on it's listserv.
16 Apr 2002 - Struts Console v1.8
Struts Console version 1.8 is now available.
This release adds support for the most commonly used new 1.1 config file elements and fixes an outstanding JDeveloper bug.
http://www.jamesholmes.com/struts/
http://www.jamesholmes.com/struts/struts-console-1.8.zip
Changes with Struts Console v1.8
-
Added support for new 1.1 config file elements:
<global-exceptions>, <exception> and <form-property>.
- Fixed Oracle JDeveloper Addin to support JDeveloper 9i RC2 and future versions.
09 Apr 2002 - Struts Tutorial (Wiesner)
An easy step by step introduction to Struts.
rzserv2.fhnon.de/~lg002556/struts
05 Apr 2002 - Struts Tutorial in Spanish (Izura)
This is an announcement of a new tutorial of Struts written in Spanish, with sample code.
Saludos!
Por si a alguien le interesa hay un nuevo tutorial sobre struts que se
puede descargar de javahispano.org o de ciberia.ya.com/pxai.
Contiene ejemplos de codigo que pueden ser utiles para iniciarse.
Hasta otra!
rzserv2.fhnon.de/~lg002556/struts
04 Apr 2002 - struts-layout 0.4 released
struts-layout is a specialized and open source taglib for struts that allows
fast UI development by providing tags to insert usual components (form, fields,
lists etc.) in a page. The tags deal with the layout and the developer don't
have to write HTML code any more.
struts-layout 0.4 supports value formatting and the display of input fields
read-write or read only according to the user profile or the type of action
done (creation of data, edition of data, inspection of data).
For more information about struts-layout please visit
http://struts.application-servers.com
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