Struts 1 for Enterprise Java Web Development: Hands-On

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this course about? This course provides the knowledge and skills to build enterprise Web applications using server-side Java within the Struts framework. You learn to streamline the application development process by integrating, applying and extending Struts components. What is Struts 1 and how is it used in this course? Struts 1 is an application framework developed by the Apache Jakarta group and is based on industry best practices and the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern. Struts provides developers with a flexible set of building blocks to create an infrastructure that implements low-level services such as form processing, data validation and application navigation. By leveraging the Struts framework, developers can follow a proven process for quickly developing scalable enterprise Java Web applications that satisfy requirements in a timely manner. Who will benefit from this course? This course is useful for programmers, software engineers, analysts and managers involved in developing Java Web applications with Struts. This course is also valuable for those evaluating Struts. What background do I need? Knowledge of Java at the level of Course 471, Java Programming: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, is assumed. You should have 3-6 months experience with Java and the ability to: Understand Java classes and the inheritance model; and Use the standard Java APIs. In addition, familiarity with Web development technologies such as servlets & JSP is helpful. For an introduction to Java Web development, we recommend Course 570, Developing Java Web Applications: Hands-On. How does this course differ from Course 570? Course 521 focuses on how to use the Struts framework to design and develop enterprise level Java Web applications. You learn how to apply and extend struts components such as Action Classes and form beans. You also learn to generate dynamic views using Struts custom tags, and how to take advantage of advanced Struts technologies such as the Validation Framework and the Tiles Framework. Course 570 covers core technologies of Java Web application development, including the Servlet API, Java Server Pages (JSP), session management, cookies, custom tag development and web application deployment. Course 570 provides a brief introduction to the Struts framework; however, for detailed coverage of Struts, you should take Course 521. What version of Java does this course cover? This course covers Sun's Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE). Does the course cover IDEs? This course does not cover Java IDEs. The emphasis is on the Java server-side technology, not the tools. However, the Eclipse Java IDE is used in hands-on exercises. The concepts you learn in the course also apply to Borland JBuilder, IBM WebSphere Studio and other Java IDE tools. How much time is devoted to each topic? Content Hours Introduction and overview 1.5 Struts fundamentals 3.0 JavaServer Faces overview 1.5 Handling application requests 5.5 Generating dynamic views 4.0 Validating user input 4.0 Adding Tiles for presentation flexibility 3.0 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. What is JavaServer Faces ? JavaServer Faces (JSF) is a specification from Sun that defines how to build Java Web applications. It has become part of Java EE 5. Major tool vendors such as Oracle, Sun, IBM are developing tool support for JSF. This course provides an overview of what JSF is and how its features compare to Struts. What is covered during the hands-on exercises? During the exercises, you learn how to: Process HTML data with Actions and form beans Generate content with Struts custom tags and JSTL Validate user input data on the client and server side Create a flexible presentation layout with Tiles Partition applications with Struts modules Internationalize applications with resource bundles Extend Struts with Plug-Ins Secure and deploy your application What systems and software are used? This course uses PCs running Windows, a Web browser and a Java application server. The course also uses Windows running Oracle as a database server. However, everything you learn during this course applies to UNIX, Macintosh and other systems. Which application server is used in this course? You use the Apache Tomcat application server for the classroom exercises. However, the course notes and exercises adhere to Sun's servlet and JSP standards. The applications developed in the course are portable to all J2EE application servers, including WebLogic, WebSphere, Oracle Java Application Server, JBoss, etc. Why should I take this course from Learning Tree? Learning Tree is dedicated to helping accelerate the careers of our clients by providing them with world-class IT training. Our independence from Sun Microsystems (and any other vendor) allows us to give an unbiased view of what works and what does not. This course is objective in its approach, having been developed independently from Sun Microsystems by industry experts who bring their real-world experience to the classroom. How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? Other hands-on related courses include: 570, Developing Java Web Applications: Hands-On provides experience developing and deploying enterprise Java Web applications. 517, Developing Enterprise Java Applications with Spring and Hibernate®: Hands-On offers the skills to develop scalable enterprise Java applications using the industry-standard Spring and Hibernate frameworks. 516, Best Practices in Java Programming: Hands-On provides the skills to solve real-world software development problems and deliver fast, reliable applications 575, Java and XML Application Development: Hands-On provides extensive experience using Java and XML for developing B2B applications. 577, Building XML Web Services with Java: Hands-On provides the knowledge and skills to design and build Web services using Java. 318, Building Java Enterprise Applications with Design Patterns: Hands-On provides experience designing scalable and maintainable Java EE applications and experience applying Java EE patterns to solve commonly recurring design problems.

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