Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 4-1.
Key Features of the Struts 2 Framework
Features
Description
Ajax support
Struts 2 integrates Ajax support. Besides out-of-the-box Ajax, Struts 2 also
supports a myriad of Ajax-centric plug-ins.
Convention over
configuration
Struts 2 adheres to the principle of convention over configuration and eliminates
unnecessary configuration.
Declarative architecture
using annotations
Struts 2's declarative architecture using annotations reduces XML configuration
and keeps the configuration closer to the action class.
Data conversion
Struts 2 provides automatic type conversion of string-based form field values to
objects or primitivetypes, removing the need to provide conversion code in the
action class.
Dependency injection
Struts 2 uses dependency injection for the action to collaborate with the
components it needs.
Extensibility
Struts 2 is extensible, in that the classes in the framework are interface based.
Plug-in architecture
The core Struts 2behavior can be enhanced with plug-ins. You can find a number
of plug-ins available for Struts 2 here:
POJO forms and actions
Unlike classic Struts that used ActionForms, in Struts 2 you can use any POJO
to receive the form input. And any POJO can work as an action.
View technologies
Struts 2supports multiple views such as JSP, FreeMarker, Velocity, XSLT, and
so on.
Before diving into Struts 2, it is worthwhile to understand the architecture of classic Struts
(hereafter referred to as Struts). Struts is an MVC-based framework. The central component of a
Struts framework is the
ActionServlet
, which implements the Front Controller web-tier Java EE
pattern. Figure
4-1
illustrates the architecture of Struts.
Figure 4-1.
Architecture of the Struts framework
