Is it worth learning Java Server Faces?

[josh.s17]

I don't want to start a flame war but would appreciate some comments. I
have some experience with Struts and get the impression that Struts is
on the way out. Recent projects I have been involved with have used
Spring MVC and Spring Webflow instead of struts but my current work
colleagues don't seem to think much of Java Server Faces. I was
wondering if it is worth learning about Java Server Faces. Is there a
general perception of how successful it is? Is it taking off or is it
dead?

thanks
Josh

 

[Danno]

I love JSF, but let me be realistic about it. There were many kludges
in 1.0, and gave itself a bad name. 1.1 works better, and the up and
coming 1.2 is going to be a fireworks show as to what it can do with
AJAX components. We will see a rush to learn JSF due to these AJAX
components and people will then have an appreciation for it. Sun
Studio Creator is open source and free now, and I think that will help
bring even more popularity to JSF. JSF is also an up and coming star
in the job market too, so won't be doing a disservice to you by
learning it.

 

[Chris Smith]

I don't want to start a flame war but would appreciate some comments. I
have some experience with Struts and get the impression that Struts is
on the way out.

Obviously, Struts will be around for quite some time... but yes, it is
becoming less popular for new development.

Recent projects I have been involved with have used
Spring MVC and Spring Webflow instead of struts but my current work
colleagues don't seem to think much of Java Server Faces.

That's a shame. JSF 1.2 will be a huge improvement over the current
version, but it's still far and away superior to Spring MVC. Spring MVC
is rather unimaginative in that it forces you back into the same
application structure as Struts did... and it comes with the added
disadvantage of an ideological dependency on the core Spring concepts.

I was wondering if it is worth learning about Java Server Faces. Is
there a general perception of how successful it is? Is it taking off
or is it dead?

I've seen a fair amount of interest, and a moderate to low number of
development projects actually using it. Unfortunately, JSF 1.0 was more
of a proof of concept than anything else. Someone forgot some important
design principles when it was written, and it was rushed to market too
soon to properly handle the interactions with JSP. Nevertheless, those
problems are being solved, and the interest is still there.

--
www.designacourse.com
The Easiest Way To Train Anyone... Anywhere.

Chris Smith - Lead Software Developer/Technical Trainer
MindIQ Corporation

 

[Danno]

Wow, I didn't think I would see a second agreement on here about JSF.

 

[hiwa]

The JavaServer Pages or JSP has been a defact
standard of JSF view technology and same time
been an huge fetter both for JSF application
development and cusbom JSF component
development.

Lately, however, the heavy iron dumbbell is
going to be taken away from the feet of JSF
by the advent of the Facelets technology
invented by one of long time JSF EG members.

I recommend to read:
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-facelets/
http://www.jsfcentral.com/articles/facelets_1.html

 

[Thomas Dickey]

components and people will then have an appreciation for it. Sun
Studio Creator is open source and free now, and I think that will help

Is that so? I've seen that NetBeans is opensource, etc., and know that
Studio Creator is _based_ on NetBeans, but see that much of Studio Creator
is not in NetBeans. (A quick google doesn't show any difference).

 

[Danno]

That last sentence didn't come out right. Can you rephrase that?

 

[Thomas Dickey]

That last sentence didn't come out right. Can you rephrase that?

Sun Studio Creator 2 contains NetBeans.
Sun Studio Creator 2 is free for use, but is not the same as NetBeans.
Sun Studio Creator 2 contains other parts than NetBeans.
Sun Studio Creator 2 may contain parts whose source I cannot read.

The last part of course was aimed at getting clarification -
the available information does not tell me that all of Studio Creator 2
is free to read (aka opensource).