Spring vs Struts in Java

Last Updated : 10 Mar, 2025

Understanding the difference between Spring and Struts framework is important for Java developers, as both frameworks serve distinct purposes in building web applications. The main difference lies in their design and functionality

Spring: Spring is a comprehensive, modular framework offering dependency injection, aspect-oriented programming, and extensive integration capabilities for enterprise applications.
Struts: Struct is an action-based MVC framework primarily focused on web applications, with less flexibility and integration compared to Spring.

Difference Between Spring and Struts

The table below demonstrates the difference between Spring and Structs.

Spring	Struts
It is a lightweight framework.	It is a heavyweight framework.
It does not support a tag library.	It supports tag library directives.
It has loosely coupled modules.	It has tightly coupled programming modules.
It is integrated with ORM Technologies using which, lesser coding is required after and before the main logic.	It supports manual coding.
It has a layered spring framework architecture containing 5 layers for presentation, business, data access, integration, and aspect-oriented programming(AOP).	It has a layered MVC architecture containing 3 layers for modeling, viewing, and controller.

Spring Framework

Modular, portable, and testable Java applications can be formed using the open-source Spring framework. It is a standard for developing web apps and can be used over J2EE aka Java to Enterprise Edition applications. This handles the infrastructure and makes the codes reusable and testable thereby enhancing their performance. It works on an inversion of control IoC and dependency injection concept. It is also used to decrease the coupling between the modules of the program.

Spring Framework Architecture

The below diagram demonstrates the Spring Framework Architecture

The Spring framework is modular and consists of several modules that provide different functionalities to help build enterprise applications. The modules can be broadly categorized into four main areas: Core Container, Data Access/Integration, Web, and Miscellaneous

Struts Framework

Struts is a framework based on MVC architecture that stands for model view and Controller architecture. It is an open-source platform and is used to develop enterprise edition web applications. It has a request handler and response handler because it is based on request-based Framework which handles the request from the user. AJAX, REST and SOAP are supported by Struts.

Working of Struts

The below diagram demonstrates the working of Structs.

Client Request: The client sends an HTTP request, which is received by the File Dispatcher (typically the Struts front controller, such as struts.xml).
Action Invocation: The File Dispatcher processes the request and invokes the appropriate Action class, passing through Interceptors for preprocessing (e.g., validation, logging, authentication).
Action Processing: The Action class executes the business logic and interacts with the model layer to process data.
Result Generation: The Action returns a Result, which determines the view (e.g., a JSP page) to be displayed to the client.
Response to Client: The HTTP response is generated and sent back to the client, rendering the final view.