Java Reference
In-Depth Information
JavaServer Faces 2.2
The JavaServer Faces 2.2 Specification was developed under JSR 344. This section
gives you only an overview of improvements in the API. The complete document
specification (for more information) can be downloaded from
http://jcp.org/aboutJava/
What is JavaServer Faces?
JavaServer Faces
(
JSF
) is a component-based architecture with a set of standard UI
widgets and helper tags (
convertDateTime
,
inputText
,
buttons
,
table
,
con-
verter
,
inputFile
,
inputSecret
,
selectOneRadio
). It was released after the
Servlet and JSP Specification in order to facilitate the development and maintenance
of component-oriented web applications. In this light, it offers developers the ability to:
• Create web applications that meet the design pattern of MVC(Model-View-
Controller). This design pattern allows a clear separation of the presentation
layer from the other layers and facilitates the maintenance of the whole applic-
ation.
• Create different types of components (widgets, validators, and so on).
• Reuse and customize multiple components provided by the specification ac-
cording to need.
• Bind Java components to different views and manipulate them easily by using
Expression Language
(
EL
).
• Generate web pages in different formats (HTML, WML, and so on) through
render kits.
• Intercept the various events that occur on a form and manage the lifecycle of
Java components according to the request scope.
To make this possible, the lifecycle of JSF applications includes six phases (restore
view phase, apply request values, process validations, update model values, invoke
application, and render response), each of which manages a specific aspect while
processing the form instead of just managing requests/responses, as is the case with
Servlets.
