Apache Struts – Apache Struts is a free, open-source, MVC framework for creating elegant, modern Java web applications. It favors convention over configuration, is extensible using a plugin architecture, and ships with plugins to support REST, AJAX and JSON.
Examples
- How to create a Struts 2 web application
- Hello World Using Struts 2
- Using Tags
- Coding Actions
- Processing Forms
- Form Validation
- Message Resource Files
- Exception Handling
- Debugging Struts
- Form Tags
- Form Validation Using XML
- Control Tags
- Wildcard Method Selection
- Themes
- Spring and Struts 2
- Annotations
- Introducing Interceptors
- Unit Testing
- HTTP Session
Struts is a Java web framework developed and released by Apache in May 2000. The first version of Struts was called, well, Struts, but as of 2008, it has since been discontinued and replaced by the more advanced Struts 2, which continues to receive updates to this day.
Struts was revolutionary for its time as it enabled developers to create Java web applications using the MVC (Model View Controller) framework.
The MVC framework separates Java applications into three distinct components: Model, which handles the underlying business logic of the app; View, which presents the UI (User Interface) to the end user; and Controller, which stores the data required for the app to function properly.
As an open-source and freely available product, Struts is also compatible with other Java technologies, including JavaBeans (reusable software components) and XML (a markup Java programming language used to encode documents).
Key Features of Struts
Struts contain several features designed to aid in Java web application development, including interceptors, the MVC architecture, and result types, to name a few. Let’s take a closer look at what some of these features are and how they work:
Interceptors
As the term implies, interceptors are designed to prevent certain app requests from being processed. This enables the app to prioritize which requests to execute in a specific order, ensuring the app responds to the right requests (at the right time) and in a manner that matches user expectations.
Action Support
A special business class that instructs the Controller (business logic) to handle all incoming requests and come up with appropriate responses. The Action class is also called the POJO, otherwise known as the Plain-Old-Java-Object.
Ajax Support
Ajax is a type of class designed to streamline the development of interactive web apps. It does this by enabling the app to make HTTP requests and update portions of a web page without refreshing the entire page.
Spring
Spring is a Java framework developed and released by VMware in October 2002. It is one of the most popular Java frameworks in use today. According to the 2021 Java Developer Report conducted by JRebel, Spring Boot (an extension of the original Spring framework) was voted the most popular framework, with a 62 percent majority over other frameworks like Quarkus, Micronaut, and DropWizard.
The Spring framework comes with a range of features to help users develop fast, scalable, and user-friendly Java applications. These include features like AOP (Aspect Oriented Programming), a dependency injection container, an IoC (Inversion of Controller) container, and a Data Access framework, to name a few. Spring also allows developers to build applications from POJOs (Plain Old Java Objects), ordinary objects not bound by formal naming conventions or special restrictions.
Key Spring Features
There is a wealth of features that come preloaded with Spring. This allows developers to quickly jump into a project, customize their settings and configurations, and begin developing new Java applications. Let’s take a closer look at what those features are and how they assist with Java development:
Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP)
AOP is a style of programming that, as the name heavily implies, denotes aspects as the unit of modularity (the organizational structure of the software system). This allows developers to break down programs into parts (or aspects), which helps reduce the program’s complexity and makes it easier to maintain.
Additionally, developers can use AOP to create custom aspects, increasing app scalability and innovation.
Inversion of Controller (IoC) Container
The purpose of an IoC container is to allow developers to create, configure, and manage Java objects for the entire duration of each object’s lifecycle. It achieves this by using dependency injection, a programming technique that supports the creation of dependent objects (outside of the class they were originally designated to).
Data Access and Transaction Management Framework
The Data Access framework is designed specifically to simplify database communication. This enables a Java app to seamlessly send and retrieve data from an associated database, and it comes in a range of optional frameworks such as JDBC and JPA (Java Persistence API).
Meanwhile, the Transaction Management framework helps developers build a transaction management system without disrupting the rest of the code. It supports both local and global transactions, which developers configure by using JDBC Hibernate.
What Are the Differences Between Struts and Spring?
There are many differences between Struts and Spring, so you must take the time to understand what those differences are and how they may influence the success of your project.
Generally speaking, the Struts framework is a great choice for developing older, large-scale legacy applications, while Spring has become the framework of choice for developing microservices apps, especially when used with the Spring Boot-enhanced framework.
Let’s take a closer look at what makes these two Java frameworks unique.
Architecture
Struts uses the MVC architecture to help separate business logic, UI, and data, while Spring uses the AOP architecture, a more layered architectural pattern for developing enterprise-class solutions. Due to the MVC architecture, Struts is a popular choice for developing web apps, particularly those based on servlets (Java classes) and J2EE specifications.
Struts are considered a heavyweight framework (some say ‘tightly coupled’), as developers have to apply changes to multiple files while working, while Spring is considered a more lightweight framework, as developers only change the files they work on, as opposed to updating the entire codebase.
Although Struts 2 is still in use today, it is considered a legacy framework. Spring has largely taken over as the framework of choice due to its fast performance, lightweight nature, and greater flexibility. That said, Struts 2 is still suitable for working on legacy applications and for working with clients who are unwilling to change to something else.
By using a tag library, Struts makes it less stressful for developers to create all kinds of features and functions, such as property statements, URLs, and data entry systems, to name a few. On the other hand, Spring MVC does not support tags at all, which increases the time spent on developing new features and functions.
Struts Vs. Spring: Which Is Right for Your Project?
There are many factors to consider when choosing a framework for your Java project. What type of app do you want to build? Who is your target audience? What kind of tasks do you want your users to be able to do? How many features and functions do you wish to include?
Use Struts When:
- Maintaining older, legacy applications
- Working with apps that use a monolithic structure
- Your development team wants more control over the app design
Use Spring When:
- Building microservices apps (especially when used in conjunction with Spring Boot)
- Converting monolithic apps into microservices apps
- Building relatively small-scale, simple Java web apps
Spring Framework
The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications – on any kind of deployment platform.
A key element of Spring is infrastructural support at the application level: Spring focuses on the “plumbing” of enterprise applications so that teams can focus on application-level business logic, without unnecessary ties to specific deployment environments.
Features
Core technologies: dependency injection, events, resources, i18n, validation, data binding, type conversion, SpEL, AOP.
Testing: mock objects, TestContext framework, Spring MVC Test, WebTestClient.
Data Access: transactions, DAO support, JDBC, ORM, Marshalling XML.
Spring MVC and Spring WebFlux web frameworks.
Integration: remoting, JMS, JCA, JMX, email, tasks, scheduling, cache and observability.
Languages: Kotlin, Groovy, dynamic languages.
Content
Spring Boot
Spring Framework
Spring Data
Spring Data JDBC
Spring Data JPA
Spring Data LDAP
Spring Data MongoDB
Spring Data Redis
Spring Data R2DBC
Spring Data REST
Spring Data for Apache Cassandra
Spring Data for Apache Geode
Spring Data Couchbase
Spring Data Elasticsearch
Spring Data Envers
Spring Data Neo4j
Spring Cloud
Spring Cloud Data Flow
Spring Security
Spring Authorization Server
Spring for GraphQL
Spring Session
Spring Integration
Spring HATEOAS
Spring Modulith
Spring REST Docs
Spring AI
Spring Batch
Spring CLI
Spring AMQP
Spring CredHub
Spring Flo
Spring for Apache Kafka
Spring LDAP
Spring for Apache Pulsar
Spring Shell
Spring Statemachine
Spring Vault
Spring Web Flow
Spring Web Services
Training :: Online / Classroom Course.
Duration :: Regular Track – 3 Months