Programming Tutorials

Struts Vs JSF (A comparison of Struts against JSF)

By: Freddy Ng in JSF Tutorials on 2008-08-13  

Struts and JSF are two popular Java web frameworks used for building web applications. While Struts has been around for longer, JSF is a more recent framework that was developed to address some of the limitations of Struts. Here is a comparison of Struts against JSF:

1. Architecture: Struts follows a Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture where the controller is responsible for managing the flow of the application. JSF, on the other hand, follows a Component-View-Controller (CVC) architecture where the controller manages the state of the components.

2. Ease of development: JSF has a more modern and intuitive API that is easier to use compared to Struts. The JSF API is based on the use of components, which means that developers can drag and drop components onto a page and then configure them using simple properties. Struts, on the other hand, has a more complex API and requires more coding to achieve the same results.

3. Performance: Struts is known for its performance and can handle a large number of concurrent requests. JSF, on the other hand, can be slower due to its complex lifecycle and overhead of rendering components.

4. Reusability: JSF provides a high level of component reusability due to its modular architecture, which allows developers to create reusable components that can be used across multiple applications. Struts, on the other hand, has limited reusability and requires developers to write custom code for each application.

5. Integration: Struts integrates easily with other Java frameworks such as Hibernate and Spring. JSF, on the other hand, can be more difficult to integrate with other frameworks due to its complex lifecycle.

6. Community support: Both Struts and JSF have strong community support and active developer communities. However, JSF has a larger community of developers due to its more recent development and use of modern technologies.

In conclusion, both Struts and JSF have their strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of framework depends on the specific needs of the project. While Struts is known for its performance and integration with other frameworks, JSF provides a more modern and intuitive API and a high level of component reusability.