You are on page 1of 39

07/21/2005

Step by Step Guide


for building a simple
Struts Application

In this session, we will try to build a very simple Struts application


step by step.

1
07/21/2005

Sang Shin
sang.shin@sun.com
www.javapassion.com
Java™ Technology Evangelist
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
2

2
07/21/2005

Disclaimer & Acknowledgments


? Even though Sang Shin is a full-time employees of Sun
Microsystems, the contents here are created as their own personal
endeavor and thus does not reflect any official stance of Sun
Microsystems.
? Sun Microsystems is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the
contents.
? Acknowledgments:
– The source code examples are from Keld Hansen

3
07/21/2005

Revision History
? 11/10/2003: version 1: created by Sang Shin
? Things to do
– Speaker notes need to be added
– Contents still need to be polished

4
07/21/2005

Sample App We are


going to build

5
07/21/2005

Sample App
? Keld Hansen's submit application
? The source files and Ant build.xml file can
be found in the hands-on/homework
material in our class website
– Creating ActionForm object
– Creating Action object
– Forwarding at either success or failure through
configuration set in struts-config.xml file
– Input validation
– Internationalizaition
? You can also build it using NetBeans
6

The sample application we are going to use and show is Keld Hansen's
submit application. The source files and ant build.xml script can be found
in the handson/homework material you can download from class website.

This is a simple application but it uses most of Struts framework.

6
07/21/2005

Steps to follow

Now let's take a look at the steps you will follow.

7
07/21/2005

Steps
1.Create development directory structure
2.Write web.xml
3.Write struts-config.xml
4.Write ActionForm classes
5.Write Action classes
6.Create ApplicationResource.properties
7.Write JSP pages
8.Write ant build script
9.Build, deploy, and test the application
8

So this is the list of steps. Of course, you don't exactly follow


these steps in sequence. In fact, it is expected that some of these
steps will be reiterated.

8
07/21/2005

Step 1: Create Development


Directory Structure

The first step is to create development directory structure.

9
07/21/2005

Development Directory
Structure
? Same development directory structure for
any typical Web application
– We will use the source/build directory structure of
J2EE 1.4 SDK sample Web applications
? Ant build script should be written
accordingly

10

The source directory structure is the same directory structure we


used for other Web application development under Java WSDP.
Of course, the build.xml script should be written accordingly.

10
07/21/2005

Struts
*.jar files

11

Please note that all the jar files of Struts framework is under lib
directory. These jar files will be copied into ./WEB-INF/lib
directory.

11
07/21/2005

Step 2: Write web.xml


Deployment Descriptor

12

Step 2 is to write web.xml file.

12
07/21/2005

web.xml
? Same structure as any other Web
application
– ActionServlet is like any other servlet
– Servlet definition and mapping of ActionServlet
? There are several Struts specific
<init-param> elements
? Struts tag libraries also need to be defined

13

Because Struts application is a genuine Web application, it has


to follow the same rules that any Web application has to follow.
And one of them is the presence of web.xml deployment
descriptor file.

The web.xml file should define ActionServlet, which is the


controller piece that is provided by the Struts framework, and its
mapping with URI.

As you will see in the example web.xml file in the following


slide, there are several Struts specific initialization parameters.
Also the Struts tag libraries also need to be declared.

13
07/21/2005

Example: web.xml
1 <!DOCTYPE web-app
2 PUBLIC " -//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Web Application 2.2//EN"
3 "http://java.sun.com/j2ee/dtds/web-app_2_2.dtd" >
4
5 <web-app>
6 <display-name>Advanced J2EE Programming Class Sample App</display-name>
7
8 <!-- Standard Action Servlet Configuration (with debugging) -->
9 <servlet>
10 <servlet-name>action</servlet-name>
11 <servlet-class>
12 org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet
13 </servlet-class>
14 <init-param>
15 <param-name>application</param-name>
16 <param-value>ApplicationResources</param-value>
17 </init-param>
18 <init-param>
19 <param-name>config</param-name>
20 <param-value>/WEB-INF/struts-config.xml</param-value>
21 </init-param>
22 </servlet> 14

This is the first part of web.xml file. Please note the definition of
ActionServlet. Also resource file and servlet-config.xml file are defined as
well.

14
07/21/2005

Example: web.xml
1 <!-- Standard Action Servlet Mapping -->
2 <servlet-mapping>
3 <servlet-name>action</servlet-name>
4 <url-pattern>*.do</url-pattern>
5 </servlet-mapping>
6
7 <!-- Struts Tag Library Descriptors -->
8 <taglib>
9 <taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-bean.tld</taglib-uri>
10 <taglib-location>/WEB-INF/struts-bean.tld</taglib-location>
11 </taglib>
12 <taglib>
13 <taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-html.tld</taglib-uri>
14 <taglib-location>/WEB-INF/struts-html.tld</taglib-location>
15 </taglib>
16 <taglib>
17 <taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-logic.tld</taglib-uri>
18 <taglib-location>/WEB-INF/struts-logic.tld</taglib-location>
19 </taglib>
20
21 </web-app>
22 15

This is the continuation of the web.xml file. Here you see the declarations of
Struts tag libraries.

15
07/21/2005

Step 3: Write
struts-config.xml

16

The next step is to write struts-config.xml

16
07/21/2005

struts-config.xml
? Identify required input forms and then define
them as <form-bean> elements
? Identify required Action's and then define
them as <action> elements within <action-
mappings> element
– make sure same value of name attribute of
<form-bean> is used as the value of name
attribute of <action> element
– define if you want input validation
? Decide view selection logic and specify them
as <forward> element within <action>
element
17

(read theslide)

17
07/21/2005

struts-config.xml: <form-beans>
1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding=" ISO-8859-1" ?>
2
3 <!DOCTYPE struts-config PUBLIC
4 "-//Apache Software Foundation//DTD Struts Configuration 1.1//EN"
5 "http://jakarta.apache.org/struts/dtds/struts-config_1_1.dtd" >
6
7 <struts-config>
8
9 <!-- ========== Form Bean Definitions ================= -->
10 <form-beans>
11
12 <form-bean name="submitForm"
13 type= "submit.SubmitForm"/>
14
15 </form-beans>

18

This is <form-beans> section of the struts-config.xml file. Here we


define one <form-bean> element. The value of the name attribute of
the <form-bean> element is the same as the value of name attribute of
<action> element in the following slide.

18
07/21/2005

struts-config.xml:
<action-mappings>
1
2 <!-- ========== Action Mapping Definitions ============ -->
3 <action-mappings>
4
5 <action path="/submit"
6 type="submit.SubmitAction"
7 name="submitForm"
8 input="/submit.jsp"
9 scope="request"
10 validate="true">
11 <forward name="success" path="/submit.jsp"/>
12 <forward name="failure" path="/submit.jsp"/>
13 </action>
14
15 </action-mappings>
16
17 </struts-config>
19

This is an example of <action-mappings> element.

19
07/21/2005

Step 4: Write
ActionForm classes

20

20
07/21/2005

ActionForm Class
? Extend org.apache.struts.action.ActionForm
class
? Decide set of properties that reflect the input
form
? Write getter and setter methods for each
property
? Write validate() method if input validation is
desired (Struts 1.0)

21

21
07/21/2005

Write ActionForm class


1 package submit;
2
3 import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
4 import org.apache.struts.action.*;
5
6 public final class SubmitForm extends ActionForm {
7
8 /* Last Name */
9 private String lastName =" Hansen " ; // default value
10 public String getLastName() {
11 return (this.lastName);
12 }
13 public void setLastName(String lastName) {
14 this.lastName = lastName;
15 }
16
17 /* Address */
18 private String address = null;
19 public String getAddress() {
20 return (this.address);
21 }
22 public void setAddress(String address) {
23 this.address = address;
24 }
25 ...
22

22
07/21/2005

Write validate() method


1 public final class SubmitForm extends ActionForm {
2
3 ...
4 public ActionErrors validate(ActionMapping mapping,
5 HttpServletRequest request) {
6
7 ...
8
9 // Check for mandatory data
10 ActionErrors errors = new ActionErrors();
11 if (lastName == null || lastName.equals( " " )) {
12 errors.add( " Last Name " , new ActionError( " error.lastName " ));
13 }
14 if (address == null || address.equals( " " )) {
15 errors.add( " Address " , new ActionError( " error.address " ));
16 }
17 if (sex == null || sex.equals( " " )) {
18 errors.add( " Sex" , new ActionError( " error.sex " ));
19 }
20 if (age == null || age.equals( " " )) {
21 errors.add( " Age " , new ActionError( " error.age " ));
22 }
23 return errors;
24 }
25 ..
When this “LogonForm” is associated with a
26 } 23

controller, it will be passed to the controller


whenever it’s service is requested by the
user.
JSP pages acting as the view for this
LogonForm are automatically updated by
Struts with the current values of the
UserName and Password properties.
If the user changes the properties via the JSP
page, the LogonForm will automatically be
updated by Struts
But what if the user screws up and enters
invalid data? ActionForms provide
validation…
Before an ActionForm object is passed to a
controller for processing, a “validate”
method can be implemented on the form
which allows the form to belay processing
until the user fixes invalid input as we will
see on the next slide... 23
07/21/2005

Step 5: Write
Action classes

24

24
07/21/2005

Action Classes
? Extend org.apache.struts.action.Action class
? Handle the request
– Decide what kind of server-side Model objects
(EJB, JDO, etc.) can be invoked
? Based on the outcome, select the next view

25

25
07/21/2005

Example: Action Class


1 package submit;
2
3 import javax.servlet.http.*;
4 import org.apache.struts.action.*;
5
6 public final class SubmitAction extends Action {
7
8 public ActionForward execute(ActionMapping mapping,
9 ActionForm form,
10 HttpServletRequest request,
11 HttpServletResponse response) {
12
13 SubmitForm f = (SubmitForm) form; // get the form bean
14 // and take the last name value
15 String lastName = f.getLastName();
16 // Translate the name to upper case
17 //and save it in the request object
18 request.setAttribute("lastName", lastName.toUpperCase());
19
20 // Forward control to the specified success target
21 return (mapping.findForward("success"));
22 }
23 } 26

26
07/21/2005

Step 6: Create
ApplicationResource.properties
and Configure web.xml
accordingly

27

27
07/21/2005

Resource file
? Create resource file for default locale
? Create resource files for other locales

28

28
07/21/2005

Example:
ApplicationResource.properties
1 errors.header=<h4>Validation Error(s)</h4><ul>
2 errors.footer=</ul><hr>
3
4 error.lastName=<li>Enter your last name
5 error.address=<li>Enter your address
6 error.sex=<li>Enter your sex
7 error.age=<li>Enter your age

29

29
07/21/2005

Step 7: Write JSP pages

30

30
07/21/2005

JSP Pages
? Write one JSP page for each view
? Use Struts tags for
– Handing HTML input forms
– Writing out messages

31

31
07/21/2005

Example: submit.jsp
1 <%@ page language= " java " %>
2 <%@ taglib uri= " /WEB-INF/struts-bean.tld " prefix= " bean " % >
3 <%@ taglib uri= " /WEB-INF/struts-html.tld " prefix= " h t m l" % >
4 <%@ taglib uri= " /WEB-INF/struts-logic.tld " prefix= " logic" %>
5
6 <html>
7 <head><title>Submit example</title></head>
8 <body>
9
10 <h3>Example Submit Page</h3>
11
12 <html:errors/>
13
14 <html:form action= " submit.do " >
15 Last Name: <html:text property= " lastName" /><br>
16 Address: <html:textarea property=" address " /><br>
17 Sex: <html:radio property= " sex " value= " M " />Male
18 <html:radio property= " sex" value= " F " />Female<br>
19 Married: <html:checkbox property= " married " /><br>
20 Age: <html:select property= " age " >
21 <html:option value= " a " >0-19</html:option>
22 <html:option value= " b " >20-49</html:option>
23 <html:option value= " c " >50-</html:option>
24 </html:select><br>
25 <html:submit/>
32
26 </html:form>

32
07/21/2005

Example: submit.jsp
1 <logic:present name= " lastName " scope= " request " >
2 Hello
3 <logic:equal name= " submitForm" property= " age " value= " a " >
4 young
5 </logic:equal>
6 <logic:equal name= " submitForm" property= " age " value= " c " >
7 old
8 </logic:equal>
9 <bean:write name= " lastName " scope= " request " />
10 </logic:present>
11
12 </body>
13 </html>

33

33
07/21/2005

Step 8: Write Ant Build


Script

34

34
07/21/2005

Step 9: Build, Deploy,


and Test Application

35

35
07/21/2005

Accessing Web Application

36

36
07/21/2005

Accessing Web Application

37

37
07/21/2005

Accessing Web Application

38

38
07/21/2005

Live your life


with Passion!

39

39

You might also like