Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10. Web Application Primer 1: Struts and JSTL

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Case Study: Virtual Realty Listing Service (VRLS)

• Application requirements

• Technology choices

• Overview of Struts

• Structure of the VRLS application

• Design decisions

• Enhancements

OBJECTIVES

• Review the notion of a web application.

• Use the VRLS case study to discuss the requirements gathering and application design processes.

• Provide an overview of the Struts framework and examine the inner workings of a Struts application in the context of VRLS.

• Explain the reasons behind application design decisions.

• Propose enhancements to the VRLS application.

As we mentioned in Chapter 1, web applications are client–server applications that use a browser as their client program. However, web applications are not limited to the interactions between browsers and servers. Server-side application components can operate as "clients", interacting with back-end data sources such as databases, web services, and legacy systems. In multi-tier web applications, every set of adjacent tiers represents a pairing of a client and a server, and every intermediate tier may act as either a client or a server, depending on which of its neighbors it is interacting with. For example, just as the browser connects to the web server to make a request, the application component executing on the web server may connect to a business logic layer, acting as a client for that layer's services.

In the last few chapters, we have covered both client-side techniques and server-side ...