RAD Frameworks For The Java Platform 

http://www.juixe.com/techknow/index.php/2006/05/18/rad-frameworks-for-the-java-platform/

For me the last session of the day was, RAD for the Java Platform Web Tier: Frameworks Panel Discussion. The three frameworks covered for this session was Grails, previously known as Groovy on Rails, Trails, and RIFE. Both Grails and Trails are heavily influenced by Ruby on Rails. All of these frameworks where developed because a web application on Java has been harder than it should be. According to the Trails author, once you develop your model you get your application for free. In the case of Trails, the framework heavily depends on annotations, a Java 1.5 feature.

All of these frameworks are not re-inventing the wheel, they are built on top of Java Open Source projects such as Hibernate or Spring MVC.

I am planning to attend the BOF sessions for these frameworks tomorrow. I am interested in using one of these frameworks for a project. Struts is pretty much out of the question, but at this point all three frameworks contenders. Maybe after tomorrow I will have a better idea of which framework to use.

*Tags*: javaone, java, rad, framework, grails, trails, rife, struts

Posted May 18, 2006, Juixe TechKnow

documented on: 2008-02-09

There is no "best" web framework 

  1. . . In embracing the diversity of human beings, we will find a sure way to true happiness.

Can this thinking be applied to web frameworks as well? What if it's not about choosing the best framework for your type of application? http://raibledesigns.com/rd/entry/choosing_a_jvm_web_framework What if it's all personality related?

documented on: 2008/02/06, by Matt Raible

There is no "best" web framework 

Makes sense — it would explain why so many web frameworks are less about the technology than the cult of personality around the lead developer (Tapestry, Rails, etc.) It would also explain the vast proliferation of frameworks that all function more or less the same way.

It amuses me that we may have reached the point in this well-worn area where it becomes about personality instead of technical merit.

Ben replied on Wed, 2008/02/06

There is no "best" web framework 

I think is very very interesting to have several "coding/development styles" because the development style selected has a strong influence in your web application architecture.

There are many frameworks but not so many development styles. I like to classify web frameworks in these categories (frameworks cited are examples, this is not an exhaustive list, DWR = DWR + some JavaScript framework):

Note: Tapestry is not clear because is integrated with Dojo, Dojo is for me in the "Initial page based on JavaScript" category.

For instance, if you don't like custom tags and view built programmatically, that is to say, you want pure HTML templates, you only have two options: Wicket and ItsNat, and if you are strongly focused on AJAX, you only have one option… ItsNat.

Disclaimer: I'm the author of ItsNat

Jose M. Arranz replied on Thu, 2008/02/07 - 9:03am