After completing this course, the student should be able to:

• Understand and explain the Jakarta Struts framework
• Design and build Struts based applications

• Struts Architecture and Overview
• A Simple Struts Application
• Struts Development Cycle
• Struts Tag Libraries
• Struts Extensions, Internationalization, Error Handling and Logging
• Miscellaneous Advanced Features such as Validators and DynaActionForm
• Database Programming
• Templates and Tiles
• Unit Testing Struts Applications - StrutsTestCase
• JSTL

1. Struts Architecture and Overview
• Objectives
• Review: MVC Model
• Review: Request, Session and Application
• What is Struts?
• Struts Flow
• Components in Struts
• The Model
• The View
• The Controller
• Struts Flow
• struts-config.xml
• struts-config.xml Content
• The data-sources element in the struts-config.xml
• The form-beans element in the struts-config.xml
• The global-forwards element in the struts-config.xml
• The action-mappings element in the struts-config.xml
• Sample struts-config.xml
• The Role of web.xml for the Application
• Configuring Struts in the web.xml
• web.xml Content
• Steps to Configuring Struts in the web.xml
• Step 1. Configuring the Action Servlet Instance in the web.xml
• Action Servlet Config Example
• Step 2. Configuring the Action Servlet Mapping in web.xml
• Prefix Mapping Example
• Extension Mapping Example
• Step 3. Configuring the Struts Tag Libraries in the web.xml
• Sample web.xml
• Summary


2. The First Struts Application
• Objectives
• The application
• The Structure
• Setup Needed
• Directory Structure
• index.jsp
• index.jsp - continued
• The index.jsp Page
• struts-config.xml
• MultiplyForm.java
• MultiplyForm.java - continued
• MultiplyAction.java
• MultiplyAction.java - continued
• result.jsp
• The result page
• ApplicationResources.properties
• Summary


3. Development of Struts Applications Using WSAD v5.1
• Objectives
• Directory Structure of a Struts Application
• Directory Structure of a Struts Application – an Example
• WSAD Struts Support
• Create a Struts Web Application project
• View the Struts Project Structure
• Create a Struts JSP
• Insert Struts Tags
• Creating a Struts Form Bean
• Creating a Struts Form Bean – Cont’
• Create a Struts Action
• Create a Struts Action – Cont’
• Edit a Struts Configuration File
• Summary


4. Struts Development Cycle
• Objectives
• Struts Development Cycle
• Gathering Requirements
• Defining Screen Requirements
• Detailed screen design
• Struts view components – Data vs. ActionForm Bean
• Defining Screen Requirements – define FormBean
• Developing the FormBean
• Developing the FormBean – The reset( ) Method
• Developing the FormBean – The validate( ) Method
• Developing the FormBean – ActionErrors
• Developing the FormBean – Defining the Message Key
• Determining the Screen Flow
• Defining the ActionMappings in the struts-config.xml
• Developing the Action Class – action and Action Class
• Developing the Action Class
• Developing Actions – The execute() Method
• Developing Actions – ActionForward
• Developing Actions – ActionMapping class
• Developing Actions – execute() example
• execute() Method Example:
• Developing Business Logic – EJBs
• Developing JSPs
• Configuringstruts-config.xml and web.xml
• Build, Pack, and Deploy
• Summary


5. Custom JSP Tag Libraries
• Objectives
• JSP taglib Directive
• Components of a Tag library
• The JSP File
• The Tag Library Descriptor
• The Tag Handler Class
• An Example
• The TLD File – carPrice.tld
• TLD File – Example
• The Handler Class – CarPriceHandler.java
• The Handler Class – Example
• The JSP File – Carprice.jsp
• Tag Lib Handler Lifecycle
• Directory Structure: where Custom Tag Libraries Fit
• Struts TagLib
• Bean Tags
• bean:define
• bean:message
• bean:page
• bean:include
• bean:cookie
• HTML Tags
• html:form
• html:submit
• html:text
• html:link
• html:password
• Logic Tags
• Logic Tags functionality
• logic:equal
• logic:iterate
• Template Tags
• Example of Template Tags
• Summary


6. Struts Extensions, Internationalization and Error Handling
• Objectives
• Struts Extensions
• Extension Points
• Plug-ins
• A plug-in example
• Custom Configuration Class
• Writing a Configuration Class
• Custom Struts Servlet
• Custom Request Processor
• Base Action Class
• Base Form Beans
• Custom JSP Tags
• Disadvantages of Using Extensions
• Internationalization (I18N)
• I18N - continued
• Error Handling
• The ActionError class
• The ActionErrors class
• Error Handling : validate() method of ActionForm
• Displaying the errors found in the validate method
• Error Handling : execute() method of Action
• Error Handling : execute() method of Action - contd
• Declarative Exception Handling
• Syntax of declarative exception handling
• Programmatic Exception Handling
• Logging from Struts
• Logging (cont.)
• Using Commons Logging and Log4J in Struts
• Writing Commons Logging Code


7. Miscellaneous Advanced Features
• Advanced Features Discussed in This Chapter
• Integration of Jakarta Common Libraries - BeanUtils
• Integration of Jakarta Common Libraries - Digester
• Multiple Application Support
• DynaActionForms
• Validators
• Adding the Validator framework to a Struts application
• A tale of three files
• A sample rule in the file validator-rules.xml
• A rule in validator-rules.xml (continued)
• validator.xml file
• Validator Dependency
• Rule Variables
• Error Message
• Error Message (cont.)
• Basic Validation Rules
• Client Side Validation
• Validating multiplication example using DynaActionForm
• Writing Custom Validators
• Validator Class Example
• HTTP Redirection
• Working With Check Boxes
• Context Sensitive Form Validation


8. Database Programming
• Basic Concepts
• MVC Interaction
• Database Connection
• Transaction Management
• Data Source
• Defining a Struts Data Source
• Opening a Connection from a Struts Data Source
• Creating an Editor Form
• Example Form Display Action


9. Templates and Tiles
• Objectives
• Struts Templates
• Defining the Template
• A template
• Using the template in a JSP
• template:insert
• template:put
• A JSP that uses the template
• Struts Templates
• Templates as UI components
• Struts 1.1 Tiles Support
• Tiles
• Tiles example
• A JSP that uses the layout
• Tiles go beyond templates
• Inheritance in tiles definitions
• Definitions as Struts “forwards”
• Template or Tiles?


10. Unit Testing Struts Applications
• Objectives
• Unit Testing Struts Applications
• What is JUnit?
• Why JUnit?
• A JUnit Test
• Running the tests
• JUnit Basics
• A simple Struts test case
• The testcase
• Downloading STC
• Running STC inside WSAD
• Running STC inside WSAD …
• Executing the test
• Testing Strategies


11. JSTL
• JSP Expression Language (EL)
• Basic Usage
• Built-in Objects
• Working With Arrays and Maps
• Operators
• Full Example
• The future of Struts Tags
• JSP Standard Template Library (JSTL)
• Run Time Version
• Basic Tags
• Condition Tags
• Interator Tags
• Internationalization (I18N)
• Setting Preferred Locale
• Specifying Resource Bundle
• Display Translated Text
• Display Number
• Display Date
• JDBC Tags
• Specify Data Source
• Performing a Query
• Display Result
• Pagination Example
• XML Tags