Struts notes

Struts :-
Struts Framework is used to develop the web based application. Itsimplifies the
development of web based applications.
By using Struts we can develop only web based applications. We can’t develop the
standard alone applications.
We can use any of the following frameworks to develop the web based
applications.
The y are :
1. Struts 2.Spring 3.Jsf 4.Web work 5.OpenSymphony
Struts framework is a piece of softwarewhich contains the solutions to
commonly repeatedly occurred problems across multiple projects.
The following are the advantages of Frameworks like Struts andspring:-.
 Frameworks resolvetheproblems of identifying the architecture. Every
framework likeStruts and Spring is delivered with MVC2 architecture.
 If weuse Servlets and Jsps we haveto develop our own Controllers. If we
use frameworks like Struts and Spring internally they came with Controllers
Eg: ActionServlet in Struts
DispatcherServlet in Spring
 When we useany framework weno need to use RequestDispatcher codeas
well as we no need to hard code the resourcepath names. By using these
frameworks wecan configurethem in the configuration files.
 If weuse JDBC, Servlets, Jsps to develop the formbased applications we
have to write huge amount of code to take care of Server sidevalidations
and displaying errors in the same form.
 By using JDBC, Servlets, Jsps wehave to providehuge amount of code to
develop the I18n applications. (Theprograms which displays theoutput
based on client regional Languages)

 The frameworks likeStruts and spring delivered with set of predefined tag
libraries. If we useServlets and Jsps we haveto develop our own tag library
which is difficult.
 When we usethe frameworks likeStruts and spring we can use
pdf/velocity/jsf as view components.
Most of the experienced guys aredevelops the new frameworks.
Every Company uses their own frameworks to develop the projects .all these
frameworks internally uses the other frameworks.
Infosysis using Pinacle framework.
Apache Company has released Struts framework to develop web based
applications based on Model2 Architecture.
Apache guys has released Struts framework in 2 versions.
They are: 1) Struts 1.x
2) Struts 2.x
We can download the framework fromin multiple flavors. i.e. we can download
only the Struts jar file or we can download only documentation or example
applications. We can download struts fromfollowing link
http://struts.apache.org/
When we download the Struts softwaremajorly weget the following 3 files.
1. Set of Struts related jar files (struts-core.jar, struts-taglib.jar).
2. The documentation is available in Docs folder.
3. All the sample examples are available in apps folder.
Developing First Struts basedapplication:
We can create the Struts based application by copying the jar files manually and
we can configurethem in web.xml.

Instead of doing manual work wecan develop our first struts based application
fromstruts-blank.war.
 Create a folder whosefolder name is projectname. and copy the struts-
blank.war file into above created folder and extract the contents of it by
using following command
Jar -xvf struts-blank.war
When we download struts framework wegetthe following four components :-
1. A servlet whosename is org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.
2. Set of predefined classes , some of them are :
Action, ActionMapping, ActionForward, ActionErrors, ActionError,
ActionMessage, ActionForm.
3. Set of Struts tag libraries
a. Html
b. Bean
c. Logic
d. Nested
4. Get the struts-config.xml and validation.xml .
The following is the struts configuration file :

The following steps will be carriedout whenwe deploy Struts basedproject :
1. Server will read the contents from web.xml file and store the information
in jvm’s memory.
2. As there is <load-on-startup> tag for ActionServlet server has created
ActionServlet object.
3. After server has created ActionServlet object server executed 1st
init(ServeltConfig) method and it will call the 2nd
init() method. As part of
init() method it will find the configuration file name details and by using
parser program it read the contents from configuration file and store it in
jvms memory.

The following is samplecode available in predefined class ActionServlet
Whenever any client sends any request to server whoseurlpattern end with .do
ActionServlet service() throws an exception saying InvalidPathException: No
action config found for the specified url.
A framework defines a procedureto carry out a task/work.
We will get the path of the resourcefromurl when remove the .do frompath

In struts if wewould like to carry outany work weneed to develop Action classes.
Without Action class we can’t carry out any work.
What is an Actionclass?
ans) A class which is a subclass of org.apache.struts.action.Action is called as
Action class.
Developing Actionclasses:
The following is Action class

ex:
To compile the above programwehave to set the CLASSPATH to servlet-api.jar
and struts-core.jar.
We must configureevery Action class in struts-config.xmlfile.
Whenever we deploy a project in server it reads the content fromweb.xml file.
Server represents the every tag in the form of Object. When we deploy the Struts
project server has created the following two objects.

Whenever server has encounter an <action> tag in struts configuration file. Itis
creating an ActionMapping object. and it’s containing the the path and type as
shown below.
The following steps will be carried out when a client has send requestto server
whoseurl pattern end with .do.
1. Server creates requestand responseobjects and handover to ActionServlet
service().
2. ActionServlet service() get’s the servletPath information using request
object as shown below
request.getServletPath() Then it will remove the .do fromthat. Then it will
get Path of the resourceof Action class.
3. service() method checks is there any ActionMapping object is available
whosepath is matches to /ao.
4. If there is no ActionMapping object is available whoseurl pattern matches
to /ao then server throw an exception InvalidPathException.
5. If ActionMapping object is available server gets the name of the Action
class. then it will check is there any ActionOneobject is available or not. If
available it will not create any new ActionOne object other wiseit will
create a ActionOneclass object using Class.forName(ActionOne). So always
we have to main default constructor in Action classes. Then ActionServlet
service() will call the execute() using ActionOne object.
6. As ActionOne class execute() method returning ActionForward objectwith
null value.

7. Whenever ActionServlet service() method has encountered a null value as
part of ActionForward object. Itstops execution of request. It will display a
blank screen to the user.
To get the values fromActionMapping object for that we can usegetXxx()
methods of ActionMapping class as follows

Whenever we change struts configuration file we must restartthe server. This is
because ActionServletreads the contents fromconfiguration file at the time
deployment only.
We use parameter attribute in configuration file to supply an extra information to
that particular action.
<action path=”/ac” type=”ActionMappingDemo” parameter=”one” />
name attribute is used as logical name to identity a particular action. This name
attributed used mainly in developing formbased application.
As part of the Struts configuration file added an extra tag as <forward>
when we deploy the Project for the aboveconfiguration server reads the
web.xml and then creates the ActionServlet object and call the init() .
As part of this server reads the configuration file and when Parser encounters the
<action> tag and <forward> then it will creates ActionMapping and
ActionForward objects as shown below

To check whether an ActionMapping object contains a specific ActionForward
object or not . we can use a method mapping.findForward(“Forwardname”)
syntax:
ActionForwardfindForward(String forwardName);
when we call findForward() method if the ActionForward objectis available it
return the reference of that Object. with that name if no ActonForward objectis
not available it return null value.
For the abovecode it returns ActionForward objectfor af1 and af2. For af3 it
returns a null value.
Developing an Action class which forwards therequestto one.jsp
The following steps are carried out when client sends the requestto Action class
1. ActionServlet service() creates the Action class object if required.
2. ActionServlet service() finds the path of the Action class in ActionMapping
object and call the execute() (ActionServlet service() supplies the

ActionMapping, ActionForm, HttpServletRequest, HttpServletResponse
objects).
3. server execute execute() method and return ActionForward objectto
ActionServlet service().
4. Once if the ActionForward objectreturns to service() method. it checks the
path of the resourceand Itgives input to RequestDispatcher object and it
will dispatch the request to appropriatejsp.
Develop a struts based application to retrieve all the records fromemp table and
display to the client. we should not write the any java code in jsps.
we have to follow the following steps:
1. Develop an Emp javaBean class to storeEmplopee details

2. Develop an Action class to interact with database server and retrieve the
records and store it in requestscope. For that develop one DAO class
which will return the ArrayListobject.

Now develop the Actionclass as follows.
3. The following is the jsp which display output to the client by using core tag
libraries.

JSTL :
jstl has given sqltaglibrary. This tag library contains set of tags which are used to
interact with database server.
It’s notrecommended to use sqltag library in the jsps . This is because if we use
sql tag library we are clubbing business logic and presentation logic.
The following DataSourceand update querys areused to write jdbc code in jsp.
The following <query> tag is used to display all the records fromEmp table.

I18N Applications :-
The application which display the output to the client based on their regional
language.
We can use property files to develop I18Napplications.
I18Napplications can be developed for both standalone applications as well as
web based applications.
By using properties files we can remove hard coding also.
Every property file mustend with an extension called as .properties
In a projectwe maintain multiple properties files
In a properties file we supply the data in the formof key and value.
eg:
The following is an example demonstrates how to read the contents from
properties file.

The following programfor write the contents to Properties file
The following properties file created when werun aboveprogram.
We can write the comments in Properties file using # symbol. We can observe
that in aboveexample.
In web based applications to read the contents fromproperties file we are using
getResourceAsStream(“properties filename”);which is available in Class class.
To read the properties file by using this method we have to place the properties
file in classpath if the program doesn’tcontain packagestatement. If the program
contains package statement we have to place this properties file inside package
folder. we have to place properties files where.classes file is available.

ex: withoutpackage in a program we have to keep properties file in classes
folder. Otherwisewehave to place that in package folder ex.
blmse/jee/struts/DBUtil.properties.
An organization ISO has assigned thetwo letter code for every country and every
language.
Generally the country letter code will be representing in Capitals e.g.: IN, US
Generally the language letter code will be represent in small letters e.g: te, en
To develop I18Napplication we required regional and language information of
that computer.
To find the current computer regional and language information wecan use
java.util.Locale object.
To find the Locale information of our computer we have to get the Locale object.
Fromthe Locale object we can get country code and language code.
ex:
To develop I18n applications weneed to create multiple properties files. These
properties files are called as Bundle.

Procedure touse I18N applications instandalone applications:
1. We need to create the properties files. The no. of properties files are based
on the languages supported by our project.
In our projectwe would like to supportto 2 languages they are: English and
Telugu.
2. To read the contents fromproperties fie based on client regional language
we have to take the help of java.util.ResourceBundle class
The following example demonstrates how to read the contents from
ResourceBundle.

When we are retrieving a key from ResourceBundle which is not available it
throws an Exception saying:
When we test our application for the properties files which doesn’tsupportother
languages application then it throws an Exception saying:
The project supports two languages and when we run the sameproject in the
computer which doesn’tsupportthe other languages we should not get any
exception rather than that we should display the default language.
To achieve this fromthe properties file name we have to remove the country
code and language code. ex
Procedure touse I18N applications in webbased applications:
We have developed the following jsp to display the output based on the Client
regional language. But it is always displaying outputin English language only. This
is becausewe have hardcoded the values in jsp.
Fromthe following jsp we haveto removethe highlighted hardcoded values.

When the client sends the requestto a server, Server creates requestand
responseobjects. Now server finds the client’s regional language fromAccepted-
Language header and creates the Locale object. That Locale object is associated
with requestobject.

The following is the jsp demonstrates that how to do we find the Locale objectof
client and send it back.
<% Locale objLocale = request.getLocale();
out.println(objLocale);
%>
Procedure touse I18N applications in webbased applications:
1. Create the properties files to supportmultiple languages as shown below.
2. Copy all the properties files into classes’ folder. This is because all the web
based application classpath is set to classes folder.
3. Develop a jsp to find the client regional language and based on that read
the contents fromproperties file and display messageto the user.

The disadvantageof above jsp is we have provided lot of java code. It’s not
recommended to write java code in Jsps. To removethe java code fromabove
jsp we haveto usejstl tag library as shown below.

Procedure touse I18N applications in Struts based applications:
1. Create the properties files to supportmultiple languages as shown below.
2. Copy all the properties files into classes folder. This is becauseall the web
3. Configurethe properties files in struts-config.xmlfile by using
<message-resources>tag.
ex:
<struts-config>
<message-resources parameter="messages"/>
</struts-config>
4. Develop a jsp to display the output to the user based on the struts tag
library. Use message tag of bean tag library. as shown below

When we usethe message tag for a key which is not available it will throw an
exception saying Missing messagekey for bundle.
Generally when multiple people are working on same projectand they want to
shareproperties files and whenever we are using a key which is not available my
application should not throw any exception. To achieve this we haveto configure
null=false in the struts configuration file as shown below
<struts-config>
<message-resources parameter="messages”null =“false”/>
</struts-config>
By default struts uses null=”true” the meaning of null= true is if the key is not
available if returns a null value to struts. When it returns null value to struts it
throws an exception.
When we specify null=false even if the key is not available it will not throw any
exception it throws thefollowing error.
eg: ???en_US.msg.ls???
Itis nothing but client regional language and which key is not available.
Using multiple bundles in struts:
We are trying to usemultiple bundles in struts based projects. As shown below.
1. Develop the properties files for multiple bundles as shown below

3. Copy all the properties files into classes folder. This is becauseall the web
4. Configurethe properties files in struts-config.xmlfile by using
<message-resources>tag.
ex:
<struts-config>
<message-resources parameter="resone"/>
<message-resources parameter="restwo"/>
</struts-config>
5. Develop a jsp to display the output to the user based on the struts tag
library. Use message tag of bean tag library. as shown below

When we run above program it will throw an exception Missing key for resource
userName andpassword . we have observed that for the aboveconfiguration in
struts configuration file it is able to read the contents fromonly one resource
bundle that is which is configured as last file in struts configuration file. in our
example it is able to read the messages fromonly restwo bundle. When we are
reading keys in resonebundle server throwing an exception.
To resolvethe above the problem we havemade changes in struts configuration
file by adding an attribute key in message-resources tag.
<struts-config>
<message-resources parameter="resone" key=”rone”/>
<message-resources parameter="restwo" key=”rtwo”/>
</struts-config>
While we are using the message tag in the jsp weneed to specify in which bundle
Ithave to search by using an attribute called as bundle.

Explanation:
When we configureResourceBundles withoutkeys they try to storetwo bundles
into application scope(ServletContext object) by using same key as
org.apache.sturts.action.Message whenever server has encountered
<message-resources > tag Server is creating a org.apache.struts.util.
PropertyMessageResources object.
<struts-config>
<message-resources parameter="resone" />
<message-resources parameter="restwo"/>
</struts-config>
When the above configuration is executed it will try to create two
PropertyMessageResources objects. And trying to storethese objects In
application scope with default key (org.apache.sturts.action.Message).
eg:
application.setAttribute(Globals.MESSAGE_KEY, objPropertyMessageResources1);
application.setAttribute(Globals.MESSAGE_KEY, objPropertyMessageResources2);
in this example objPropertyMessageResources2 is overrides the firstvalue. that ‘s
why we are able to read the values fromonly one ResourceBundle.

When we modify the properties files we need restartthe server. Because
properties files read by server only once. ie at the time of deployment.
org.apache.sturts.action.Message valueis available as key for
Globals.MESSAGE_KEY.
The logic tab library contains set of tags which are used to check the logical
conditions. for example Present, notpresent, greaterthan and lessthan etc .
<logic:present name=” Globals.MESSAGE_KEY” scope=”application ”>
The key is available
</logic:present>
When we specifiy key attribute in message-resources then with that key
PropertyMessageResources objectwillbe stored in application scope as shown
below
application.setAttribute(“rone”, objPropertyMessageResources1);
application.setAttribute(“rtwo”, objPropertyMessageResources2);

How to deal with errors in struts?
In struts 1.2 they have given 4 differentclasses to deal with errors/Messages.
They are
1. ActionErrors
2. ActionError
3. ActionMessages
4. ActionMessage
But in struts 1.3 they removed the ActionError class . so in struts 1.3 we have only
three classes to deal with errors.
If wewant to deal with ActionErrors wehaveto create ActionErrors objectand
add Error messageby using ActionMessageobject.
Requrirement :Develop an action class which generates 5 errors and display it in
the jsp.
Step1:create the properties files and add all the errors to properties files. then
place those properties files in classes folder then configure that in the struts
configuration file.
ex:

step2: Develop an action class which generates errors and add it to the request
scope.
Step3:ConfigureAction class into struts configuration file. As shown below
Step4:Display errors inone.jsp
To display errors in struts weuse <errors>tag in html tag library.

Explanation:
When client sends the request to the server to execute TestErrorAction the
following steps are carried.
step1: Server has handover requestobjectresponseobject to the ActionServlet
service() method. ActionServlet service() creates the Action class object if
required.
step2: ActionServletservice() finds the path of the Action class in ActionMapping
object and call the execute() (ActionServlet service() supplies the ActionMapping,
ActionForm, HttpServletRequest, HttpServletResponseobjects).
step3: execute() method create ActionErrors objectand add the ActionMessage
object’s to that. ActionMessageis taking the error key as parameter.
Step4:When the saveErrors(aes, request) method is called ActionErrors object
will be stored in request scopeby using a key org.apache.struts.action.ERROR
Step5:server execute execute() method and return ActionForward objectto
ActionServlet service(). Onceif the ActionForward objectreturns to service()
method. it checks the path of the resource in ActionForward object and Itgives
input that to RequestDispatcher object and it will dispatch the requestto
error.jsp.
Step6:One.jsp displaystheerrors.
when the <html:errors />tag is evaluated it will get error key fromrequest scope
and get all the error messges fromthe properties files and display to the client.

To display error messges weare using a tag <html:errors />This tag is uses html
tags which are configured in properties file. The following are the tags which are
available in properties file.
# -- standarderrors --
errors.header=<UL>
errors.prefix=<LI>
errors.suffix=</LI>
errors.footer=</UL>
It’s recommended to use <html: messages>tag to display errors
To display the specific errors based on a group we use property attribute as
shown below. Here e1 is group name with which we stored ActionMessage
object into ActionErrors object. eg: aes.add(“e1”, am1);
<html:messages id="msg" property="e1">
<li><bean:write name="msg"/></li>
</html:messages>
We achieve same thing using <html:errors /> tag also. eg:
<html:errors property=”e2”/>

In Struts we can use any URL pattern in web.xml file. for eg: we can use *.htm
for Action servlet as shown below.
Generally struts people follow any of the following URL patterns .
1. *.do
2. /do/*
eg: as shown below configuration in web.xml

When client sends the request to server which ends with .do or which startwith
/do/ then that URL matches to ActionServletso ActionServlet service() method
will be executed.
eg:
1. login.do
2. /do/login
In both examples it will invokethe login Action class whose path is login
configured in struts-config.xmlin ActionMappings tag.
If wewant to work with Messages in struts we have to create ActionMessages
object and add the messages to ActionMessageobjectthen add the
ActionMessageobject to ActionMessages object . eg:
Requrirement : Develop an action class which generates 5 messages and display it
in the jsp.
Step1:create the properties files and add all the messages to properties files.
then place those properties files in classes folder then configurethat in the struts
configuration file.

step2: Develop an action class which generates messages and add it to the
request scope.
When saveMessages()method is executed all messages are stored into request
scope by using a key org.apache.struts.action.MESSAGE
Step3:ConfigureAction class into struts configuration file. As shown below
Step4:Display messages in messages.jsp

To display messages in struts we use<messages>tag inhtml tag library as shown
below.
By default messages tag get the data from ERROR KEY. To get the data from
org.apache.struts.action.MESSAGE KEYwemust specify message=trueattribute.
For<html:messages >tag we can use property attribute to display based on the
location or group.
eg: <html: messages id=”msg” property=”header” message=”true”>
In programit self we can create the ActionForward object and give an input to the
jsp file to which jsp we want to forward therequest.
ActionForwardaf = new ActionForward(“/one.jsp”);
It’s notrecommended this approach. This is becausewe are hard coding the path
of the resource.

Form based application in Struts :
Majorly in struts we have 3 ways to develop the form based applications: They
are :
1. ActionForm
2. DynaActionForm
3. DynaValidatorForm
Form basedapplicationusing ActionForm:
we have to follow the following steps to develop formbased apps
Step1 : Get the Prototype. Fromthe prototypeidentify the following three
elements
1. Identify the field names (Property name) for every field available in that
form.
2. Identify the formname (the name shouldn’tcontain any spaces)
3. Identify the all the validations required on that form.
eg:
Step2:Developthe FormBeanclass
What is FormBeanclass?
A class whichis a subclass of org.apache.struts.action.ActionFormdirectly or
indirectly

Developing StudentFBclass with 3 properties and overridethe reset() and
validate() methods as shown below.

Step3:configure the FormBean class in struts configurationfile
1. copy all the formbean classes into classes folder.
2. provideall the error messages in properties files and configurethem in
struts configuration file.
3. configurethe Formbean class in sturts configuration file in <form-beans>
tag
Step4:Developthe input formor form view
The following formresponsibleto display the formas like prototypewhich uses
html tag library.

Step5:Developanaction class which is responsibleto capturethe data and store
it databaseserver.
The struts internal code is responsibleto create FormBean object and capture the
data and storeit in FormBean object. This formbean object supplied to
parameter to execute() method .
In the execute() method fromthe actonformobjectwe get the data and store in
database server.

Step6:Configure the actionclass instruts configurationfile
Step7:developa success form(success view).
This is responsibleto display success messageto the user.

Deploy the projectand test it. Oncewe have deploy the above projectwe have to
starttesting the project fromthe jsp(studentregform.jsp).
When we starting executing the studentregform.jsp wehaveobserved that the
internal code is creating FormBean object and doing a lot of other work.
Explanation:
When we send the requestto the server for studentregform.jsp server start’s
executing that. As part of that when server encounters <html:html > it will
evaluated by jsp compiler has converted into regular <html> tag.
We can providean attribute called as lang to the html tag. This attribute will find
the languagesetting of the client and sent it back. The advantage of this attribute
is to fix some language specific problem.
<html:html lang=”true”/>
When the jsp compiler encountered head, title, body tags it is treated as
template text and sent to the client.

<html:form >
To create the formin jsp weuse <html:form > tag. Whenever we are using
<html:form > tag without action attribute it throwing an exception.
<html:form >
</html:form >
The above tag will throw an NullPointerException. this is becausewe doesn’t
supply the action attribute to the formtag.
When <html: form > tag is evaluated (evaluating the java code) it takes the value
of the action attribute. Fromthe value it will removethe .do if it is available .
Now we got the path of the resource. Now struts internal code checks is there any
ActionMapping objectis available whosepath matches to it. If ActionMapping
object is not available it throw an Exception saying : Can’t retrieve mapping for
action
If ActionMapping object is available it gets the name fromActionMapping object.
For that name Struts internal code checks is there any FormBean object is
available whosename matches to it. If not available it throwan Exception saying:
Matching FormBeanobject is not available.
If matching fomBean object is available then it gets the name of the FormBean
class. Now struts internal code checks whatis specified scopeattribute in action
tag. In that scope it will check whether FormBean object is available or not. If
FormBean object is not available then it’s creates the FormBean object using
Class.forName().
After creating the FormBean objectit will call the reset() method. This FormBean
object is added to specified scope.
Now html:form tag will sentregular html form tag to the client.

Fromthe abovediagram we haveunderstand that FormBean objectis added to
request scope. When the server sends the output to the client immediately server
removes requestand response objects. Now the server removethe FormBean
object also when scopeis request.
If wedon’t specify the scopeattribute in configuration file by default the scope it
uses as Session. scope=”session” --- default value for scope attribute.
<html:text />
Whenever <html:text /> is evaluated the following steps will be carried out:-

1. Itchecks whether the mandatory attribute property is provided or not. If
not available send error messages.
2. If the property attribute is available it gets the value of property attribute
and check whether this property is available in FormBean object or not? If
not available it sends an error message.
3. if matching property is available then struts internal code will call the
getXxx() methods.
The struts internal code uses return value of getter () methods and generates
regular html tags as shown below.
<html:submit />
When the above tag is evaluated it will generate regular submit button.
For submit button we no need to provide the property attribute. If we supply
property as attribute it takes property as name. This attribute is used to uniquely
recognizethe button.

<html:errors />
When abovetag is evaluated it will check any errors areavailable in request
scopeor not. If not available it will not display any errors. If itis available it will
display errors to the user.
<html:base />
When this tag is evaluated it will find the corresponding jsp which is getting
executed and it gives that URL as value to the basetag. The advantageof this is
the maintenance of projectbecomes easy.
For the <html: form /> tag we can supply the attributes like disabled, focus, and
onsubmitattributes. By using onsubmit attribute we can performclient side
validations.
disabled=”true” :To disable the form.
ex: <html:form action=”sa.do”disabled=”true” />then form is not available to
do any operation
focus=”propertyName” :To focus on the element or put cursor on specified field
<html:form action=”sa.do”focus=”sno”/>
onsubmit=”returnvalidate()” :

If we wantto makesure that the formis submitted only once, The user clicks on
submit button weneed to disabled submit button so that formis submitted only
once.

The following steps will be carriedout whenwe submit the form: ---
The request will go to the server. Request and responseobjects will be created
then ActionServlet service() method will execute as part of this it will check is
there any name attribute. If it finds the name attribute then it gets the value of
that with that name it will check is there any FormBean object is configured if it
finds then it will get the FormBean class name.
1) Now server will check is there any FormBean object is available in specified
scope. If required the struts ActionServletservice() (struts internal code)
Create FormBean object and call the reset().
 if scope=”request” every timewhen we submitthe formevery time it will
create FormBean object.
 If scope=”session” FormBean objectis created only once.
2) Struts internal code (ActionServlet service()) will capture the data and store
the data into FormBean object by calling setXxx () methods.
Note:Internally struts uses request.getParameterNames () and reflection API to
storethe values to FormBean object.
3) Struts internal code (ActionServletservice() ) checks whether validate
attribute is available or not in struts configuration file. If we are not writing
any validate attribute in configuration file then the default value for
validate is true fromstruts 1.3
Before that validate =”false” up to struts 1.2 .
 If value is true it will call the validate () method of FormBean class.
 if validate=”false” it will not call validate () method. Struts internal
code (ActionServlet service() method ) will create Action class object
and call the execute() method. execute() method is responsibleto
storethe data into databaseserver and forward therequest to
appropriatesuccess form.
4) if the validate() method returns errors to ActionServlet service() method
then it will check the input attribute value specified in <action > tag and
get’s the value and forward therequest to student.jsp.
<action name=”a” input=”/student.jsp”/>

 If there are no errors returnby validate() method to ActionServlet
service() method then struts internal code(ActionServlet service()
method ) will create Action class object and call the execute()
method.
 execute() method is responsibleto storethe data into database
server and forward the requestto appropriatesuccess form.

Validations:
We can performtwo types of validations on the form. They are:
1. Server side validatations.
2. Client side validatations.
Server side validatations:-
 The server side validations will be carried out in the server. The
disadvantageof this is it consumes moreresources of server. The
advantageis we write the validation code in java.
 If weare performing server side validations if multiple clients send the
request at the samewe can find more load on the server. To resolvethis
type of operation we can use client side validations.
Client side validatations :-
The client side validations will be carried out in the browser itself. For client
side validations we will write in JavaScript.
We want to develop a formbased application where we wantto get city and state
data fromthe user. But the information about city and state available in a table
called as city-state table. In this example if we want to performclient side
validations we haveto writehuge amount of JavaScript code to carryout
validations. In this type of scenarios notrecommended to use client side
validations.

When do we use Server side validations?
If wewant to check the data entered by the user with the data available in
database server wehave to use server sidevalidations.
When do we use Client side validations?
If wewant to check the data entered by the user is not dependant on the data
which is available in database server wehave to use client side validations.
In a projectif we want we can carry outboth server side validations and client
side validations.

Form basedapplicationusing DynaActionForm:
We have to follow the following steps to develop formbased apps
When we are working with DynaActionFormweno need to write setter() and
getter() methods in FormBean class. Internally it is implementing to DynaBean as
part of this interface it is providing the setter and getter() methods. DynaBean is
available in commons-beanutils.jar file.
elements
form.
eg:
Step2:Developthe FormBean class basedonDynaActionForm
What is FormBeanclass?
A class whichis a subclass of org.apache.struts.action.ActionFormdirectly or
indirectly

Developing ProductFB class :
in formbean class override the reset() and validate() methods as shown below.
To store the data into a property we usesetter() method. To get the data from
property we usegetter().
Syntax: void set(String propertyName, Object value)
Object get(String propertyName)

Step3:configure the FormBeanclass instruts configurationfile
4. copy all the formbean classes into classes folder.
5. provideall the error messages in properties files and configurethem in
struts configuration file.
6. configurethe Formbean class in sturts configuration file in <form-beans>
tag

html tag library.
Step5:Developan action class which is responsibleto capturethe data and store
it databaseserver.
data and storeit in FormBean object. This FormBean object supplied to
parameter to execute () method.
database server.

Deploy the projectand test it. Oncewe have deployed the above projectwe have
to start testing the projectfromthe jsp (productForm.jsp).

PlugIns:
Plugin is a piece of software. We can integrate plugin softwarewith any other
software. Onceif you integrate a plugin softwarewith any other softwarethe
capability of existing softwarewill be increased.
By using IDE’s likeeclipse wecan’t performthe operations like developing AWT
and Swing application quickly. If we wanteclipse IDEto carryoutAWTand swings
we need to download a plugin and add the plugin to eclipse software.
We can use a plugin visualeditor to develop AWTand swing applications in
eclipse IDE. The advantage of this approach is we can finish the work quickly
when we compared with manualwork.
To work with hibernate in eclipse IDEwe have to integrate JBossTools Plugin with
eclipse ide.
There are multiple ways are available to integrate the plugins with eclipse ide.
1. Download the plugin, Extract the contents of plugin and place them in
eclipse folder.
2. We can directly install the plugin in eclipse software.
Help--- InstallNew software------>add ---- Provideplugin name and url
and click on ok.
1. Know your Eclipse & JBoss Tools version to download
First, you have to find out the correct version of Hibernate/JBoss tool for your Eclipse IDE. Go
here – http://www.jboss.org/tools/download for the available combination version to download.
For example,
1. If you are usingEclipse 3.6/ Helios,downloadJBossTools3.2
2. If you are usingEclipse 3.5/ Galileo,downloadJBossTools3.1
2. Eclipse update site for JBoss Tools
Point to your correct version, right click to copy the Eclipse update site for JBoss tools. For
Eclipse 3.6, the URL is ” http://download.jboss.org/jbosstools/updates/stable/helios/ ”

3. Install It
In Eclipse IDE, menu bar, select “Help” >> “Install New Software …” , put the Eclipse update
site URL.
Type “hibernate” in the filter box, to list down the necessary components for Hibernate tools.
Select all the “Hibernate Tools” components and click next to download.

Warning
Do not selectall components,itwill take muchlongertime downloadmanyunnecessary components.
You wantHibernate toolsonly,notothers.
4. Restart Eclipse
After the download progress is completed, restart Eclipse to take effect.
5. Verification
If Hibernate tools is installed properly, you are able to see the “Hibernate Perspective” in
“Windows” >> “Open Perspective” >> “Others“.

In Struts we can develop our own plugins and we can integrate.
Procedure touse plugins struts:
1. Develop a plugin class
2. Configurea plugin class into struts configuration file
What is plugin class?
A class which provides the implementation of plugin interface is called as Plugin
class.
Developing a plugin class:
public class TestPlugInimplements PlugIn{
public void init(ActionServlet servlet, ModuleConfig config){
System.out.println("Init() is called");
}
public void destroy(){
System.out.println("destroy() is called");
}
}
2) configuring that instruts configurationfile.

we can supply property to the <plug-in> tag . To do that in the plug-in class we
have to supply a property and we need to supply the value to it.
//read the contentes of configurationfile
public class TestPlugInimplements PlugIn{
String fileName;
public void setFileName(String fileName){
this.fileName=fileName;
}
public String getFileName(){
returnfileName;
}
public void init(ActionServlet servlet, ModuleConfig config){
System.out.println("Reading the configurationfrom" + fileName);
ServletContextapplication=servlet.getServletContext();
application.setAttribute("fileName", fileName);
}
public void destroy(){
fileName =null;
System.out.println("removing contents fromjvmmemory");
}
}

We have to configurethe Plugin class in struts configuration file.
When struts 1.0 is released they have not taken care of performing validations. In
struts 1.1 they haveprovided the code to take care of validations. But the Struts
guys are released the softwarein the form of Plugin. The advantage of this wecan
integrate this softwarewith any other software.
FromStruts 1.1 onwards apacheguys itself has integrating validator plugin and
releasing Struts softwareweneed to usevalidator plugin directly in our project.
Form basedapplicationusing DynaValidatorForm:
we have to follow the following steps to develop formbased apps:
When we are working with DynaValidatorForm weno need to write setter() and
getter() methods in FormBean class. Internally it is implementing to DynaBean as
part of this interface it is providing the setter and getter() methods. DynaBean is
available in commons-beanutils.jar file.

elements
form.
eg:
Validations tocarry out the above form:
1. All fields aremandatory
2. UserName mustbe minimum of 5 characters
3. Password and retypepassword mustbesame
4. Dob must be date format
5. age must be numeric
6. age must be >= 21 and <= 30

Step2:Developthe FormBean class basedonDynaValidatorForm

Developing UserRegistrationFB class :
We no need to write any thing in UserRegistrationFBclass. this is becausesetter
and getter() methods are inherited fromDynaBean and validate() inherited from
DynaValidatorForm.
In DynaValidatorFormthey haveoverridea validate() to take care of validations.
public class UserRegistrationFBextends DynaValidatorForm{
}
Step3:configure the FormBeanclass instruts configurationfile
1. copy the FormBean classes into classes folder.
2. configurethe FormBean class in struts configuration file in <form-
beans> tag

html tag library.
Step5:Developanaction class which is responsibleto capturethe data and store
it databaseserver.
data and storeit in FormBean object. This formbean object supplied to
parameter to execute() method .
database server.

Deploy the projectand test it. Oncewe have deploy the above projectwe have to
starttesting the project fromthe jsp (UserRegister.jsp).
We have to configurethe all validations in validation.xml file as follows

Validator Plugin takes care of somepredefined validations only. These are the
common validations which are available across multiple projects.
Instead of we develop the code to take care of validations struts guys developed
the code to take care of validations. All these code is available inside common-
validator.jar.
Apache guys havedeveloped some predefined classes to take care of validations.
Every validator is mapped with an error key. These error keys are configured in
default properties file (MessageResources.properties).
eg: required----errors.required
The following are some of the validators and corresponding error codes:-
email -----errors.email
minlength -----errors.minlength
maxlength ----errors.maxlength
date ----errors.date
All these validators are configured in validation-rules.xml. This xml file is available
in struts-core.jar.

The following is an example of validation-rule.xml
we can find all these validators in the documentation.
To use predefined validations we mustconfigure all the validations in
validation.xml file.
When we submitthe formit will execute validate() of DynaValidatorForm.
The internal code of () of DynaValidatorFormvalidate() read the contents from
validation.xml and performthe validations.
<bean:message>
By using <bean:message> tag we can read the value of Configurable
messages(Which haveparameters in that message) from properties file.
eg: errors.maxlength={0}cannot be greater than {1} characters.
<bean:message key=”errors.maxlength” />
when we run aboveprogramit will display the messageas “null can not be
greater than null characters.”
But we want to replace parameter with a value like Age and 5.

To do that weuse an attribute arg .
<bean:message arg0=”UserName” arg1=”10” key=”errors.maxlength” />
when we run aboveprogramit will display the messageas “UserName cannot be
greater than 10 characters.”
In the above example arg0 is used to replace parameter value with UserName
and arg1 is used to replace parameter value with 10.
When we configuring validations we haveto check what is the errorcodereturn
by that Validator. we need to get the Configurablemessage for that validator. If
messagecontains parameter we have to supply the value to it by using <arg > tag
for Eg: we are using required validator. This validator will return the
errors.required error key. So weneed to get the message for errors.required key
fromthe properties file that is “{0} is required”. This messagecontains a
parameter {0} . So we haveto supply the value to parameter {0} by using <arg>
tag
<arg name=”” postion=”0” key=”” resource=””/>
<arg> tag is taking four attributes as shown abovetag.
1) position:
This attribute indicates to which parameter number we are supplying the
values. If weare not supply these attribute by default it will takes the value
as zero. Afterwards it will increment by one.
Eg: <arg postion=”0” key=”User Name” resource=”false”/>
(or)
<arg key=”User Name” resource=”false”/>
2) key :
This attribute is dependent on resource attribute. The key attribute value is
supply as input to parameter.

3) resource :
when resource=”false” thekey attribute value is supply as input to
parameter.
eg: <arg key=”User Name” resource=”false”/>
for above tag it will display as
User Name is required
when resource=”true”It takes the key attribute value and check whether
the key value is specified in properties file or not. If key is not configured in
Properties file it returns a null value. If it is configured it get the value of it
and display to the client.
eg: <arg key=”User Name” resource=”true”/>
For above tag it will check in properties file for UserName key. If it is there
it will get the value of that and display to the user.
User Name is required
otherwiseit displays null is required.
4) name :
We can supply name attribute to <arg> tag. This name indicates to which
validator the argument value has to be supplied.
According to the aboveconfiguration the first<arg> tag is used by required
validator. and second <arg> tag is used by minlength validator.

Note:If wedon’t specify the name attribute by default the <arg> is applicable to
all validators. i.e above first<arg> tag is applicable to all validators
By default the error groupNameis sameas propertyName in DynaValidatorForm.
we usethese groupNames to display the error messages at specific location.
eg: <html:errors property=”userName” />
If wesupply a validator which is not available in predefined list it will throw an
Exceptionsaying:validatorException : no validator found
Different validators uses differentvariables we can find the all variables in
manual. We can configurethe variables in validation.xml as shown below.
By default date validator uses a class java.text.SimpleDateFormat. When ever the
object is created to this class it uses month-date-year format. If wewould like to
change the format we haveto supply the value based on requirement. To supply
our own date format weare using a variable datePattern.
If wewant the date pattern which is used in xml file and datePattern enrered by
the user mustbe same, in this scenario we use another variable
datePatternStrict. When weusedatePatternStrict itwill verify the no.of
characters which we entered.

The disadvantageof above configuration is when ever customer ask us to change
minlength we have to do in two places. Because this weget maintainance related
problems. To resolvethis can define constant in global as shown in below
To use the above constantvariable in our programweuse ELExpressions as
shown below.

Standard Built InValidations
Validator ships with a set of pre-defined validators, as follows:
required- mandatoryfieldvalidation.Hasnovariables.
<field property="name" depends="required">
<arg position="0" key="customer.name"/>
</field>
validwhen- validatorforchecking one fieldagainstanother.
minlength- validate inputdataisn'tlessthana specifiedminimumlength.Requiresa minlength
variable.
<field property="name" depends="required,minlength">
<arg position="1" name="minlength" key="${var:minlength}"
resource="false"/>
<var><var-name>minlength</var-name><var-value>3</var-value></var>
</field>
maxlength- validate inputdatadoesn'texceedaspecifiedmaximumlength.Requiresa maxlength
variable.
<field property="name" depends="required,maxlength">
<arg position="1" name="maxlength" key="${var:maxlength}"
resource="false"/>
<var><var-name>maxlength</var-name><var-value>30</var-value></var>
</field>
mask - validate formataccordingtoa regularexpression.Requiresa mask variable tospecifythe regular
expression.Since version1.1,the regularexpressionmuststartwitha ^ andendwitha $ (see example
below).
<field property="name" depends="required,mask">
<msg name="mask" key="registrationForm.lastname.maskmsg"/>
<arg position="0" key="registration.name"/>
<var><var-name>mask</var-name><var-value>^[a-zA-Z]*$</var-value></var>
</field>
byte - validatesthata fieldcanbe convertedtoa Byte.
<field property="age" depends="byte">
<arg position="0" key="employee.age"/>

</field>
short - validatesthata fieldcanbe convertedtoa Short.
<field property="productnumber" depends="short">
<arg position="0" key="order.prodno"/>
</field>
integer- validatesthatafieldcanbe convertedtoan Integer.
<field property="ordernumber" depends="integer">
<arg position="0" key="order.number"/>
</field>
long - validatesthata fieldcanbe convertedtoa Long.
<field property="ordernumber" depends="long">
<arg position="0" key="order.number"/>
</field>
float - validatesthatafieldcanbe convertedtoa Float.
<field property="amount" depends="float">
<arg position="0" key="sale.amount"/>
</field>
double - validatesthatafieldcanbe convertedtoa Double.
<field property="amount" depends="double">
<arg position="0" key="sale.amount"/>
</field>
date - validatesthatafieldcanbe convertedtoa Date.Thisvalidatoruses
java.text.SimpleDateFormat to parse the date and optionallyeithera datePattern or
datePatternStrict variable can be used.If no patternisspecifiedthe defaultshortdate formatis
assumed.The difference betweenusingthe datePatternStrict and datePattern variablesisthat
datePatternStrict checks additionallythatthe inputdataisthe same lengthas the patternspecified
(sofor example 1/1/2004 wouldfail withapatternof MM/dd/yyyy ).
<field property="saledate" depends="required,date">
<arg position="0" key="myForm.saledate"/>
<var><var-name>datePattern</var-name><var-value>MM/dd/yyyy</var-
value></var>
</field>

<field property="saledate" depends="required,date">
<arg position="0" key="sale.orderdate"/>
<var><var-name>datePatternStrict</var-name><var-value>MM/dd/yyyy</var-
value></var>
</field>
range - validate numberrange.
Deprecated, use intRange, longRange, floatRange
or doubleRange.
intRange - validatesthatan integerfieldiswithinaspecifiedrange.Requires min andmax variablesto
specifythe range.Thisvalidatordependsonthe integer validatorwhichmustalsobe in the field's
depends attribute.
<field property="age" depends="required,integer,intRange">
<arg position="1" name="intRange" key="${var:min}" resource="false"/>
<arg position="2" name="intRange" key="${var:max}" resource="false"/>
<var><var-name>min</var-name><var-value>18</var-value></var>
<var><var-name>max</var-name><var-value>65</var-value></var>
</field>
longRange - validatesthata longfieldiswithinaspecifiedrange.Requires min andmax variablesto
specifythe range.Thisvalidatordependsonthe long validatorwhichmustalsobe in the field's
depends attribute.
<field property="age" depends="required,long,longRange">
<arg position="1" name="longRange" key="${var:min}" resource="false"/>
<arg position="2" name="longRange" key="${var:max}" resource="false"/>
<var><var-name>max</var-name><var-value>65</var-value></var>
</field>
floatRange - validatesthata floatfieldiswithinaspecifiedrange Requires min andmax variablesto
specifythe range.Thisvalidatordependsonthe float validatorwhichmustalsobe in the field's
depends attribute.
<field property="ordervalue" depends="required,float,floatRange">
<arg position="0" key="order.value"/>
<arg position="1" name="floatRange" key="${var:min}" resource="false"/>
<arg position="2" name="floatRange" key="${var:max}" resource="false"/>
<var><var-name>max</var-name><var-value>4.99</var-value></var>
</field>

doubleRange - validatesthata double fieldiswithinaspecifiedrange Requires min and max variablesto
specifythe range.Thisvalidatordependsonthe double validatorwhichmustalsobe in the field's
depends attribute.
<field property="ordervalue" depends="required,double,doubleRange">
<arg position="1" name="doubleRange" key="${var:min}" resource="false"/>
<arg position="2" name="doubleRange" key="${var:max}" resource="false"/>
<var><var-name>max</var-name><var-value>4.99</var-value></var>
</field>
creditCard - validate creditcardnumberformat
<field property="name" depends="required, creditCard">
<arg position="0" key="customer.cardnumber"/>
</field>
email - validate email addressformat
<field property="customeremail" depends="email">
<arg position="0" key="customer.email"/>
</field>
url - validatesurl format.Hasfouroptionalvariables( allowallschemes , allow2slashes ,
nofragments and schemes ) whichcan be usedtoconfigure thisvalidator.
allowallschemesspecifieswhetherall schemesare allowed.Validvaluesare true or false (defaultis
false ). If thisis setto true thenthe schemes variable isignored.
allow2slashesspecifieswhetherdouble '/'charactersare allowed.Validvaluesare true or false
(defaultis false ).
nofragmentsspecifieswhetherfragementsare allowed.Validvaluesare true or false (defaultis
false - i.e.fragmentsare allowed).
schemes- use to specifyacommaseparatedlistof validschemes.If notspecifiedthenthe defaultsare
usedwhichare http , https and ftp .
<field property="custUrl" depends="url">
<arg position="0" key="customer.url"/>
</field>
<field property="custUrl" depends="url">
<arg position="0" key="customer.url"/>
<var>
<var-name>nofragments</var-name>

<var-value>true</var-value>
</var>
<var>
<var-name>schemes</var-name>
<var-value>http,https,telnet,file</var-value>
</var>
</field>
Constants/Variables
Global constants can be inside the global tags and FormSet/Locale constants can be created
in the formset tags. Constants are currently only replaced in the Field's property attribute, the
Field's var element value attribute, the Field's msg element key attribute, and Field's arg
element's key attribute. A Field's variables can also be substituted in the arg elements (ex:
${var:min}). The order of replacement is FormSet/Locale constants are replaced first, Global
constants second, and for the arg elements variables are replaced last.
<global>
<constant>
<constant-name>zip</constant-name>
<constant-value>^d{5}(-d{4})?$</constant-value>
</constant>
</global>
The var element under a field can be used to store variables for use by a pluggable validator.
These variables are available through the Field's getVar(String key) method.
<field property="integer" depends="required,integer,intRange">
<arg position="0" key="typeForm.integer.displayname"/>
<arg position="1" name="intRange" key="${var:min}" resource="false"/>
<arg position="2" name="intRange" key="${var:max}" resource="false"/>
<var>
<var-name>min</var-name>
<var-value>10</var-value>
</var>
<var>
<var-name>max</var-name>
<var-value>20</var-value>
</var>
</field>
Designing Complex Validations with validwhen
[Since Struts 1.2.0] A frequent requirement in validation design is to validate one field against
another (for example, if you have asked the user to type in a password twice for confirmation, to
make sure that the values match.) In addition, there are fields in a form that may only be required
if other fields have certain values. The validwhen validator is designed to handle these cases.

The validwhen validator takes a single var field, called test . The value of this var is a boolean
expression which must be true in order for the validation to success. The values which are
allowed in the expression are:
 The token *this* , whichcontainsthe value of the fieldcurrentlybeingtested
 Otherfieldsinthe formreferencedbyfieldname,suchas customerAge
 The token null whichwill matchagainsteithernull oran emptystring
 Single ordouble-quotedstringliterals.
 Integerliteralsindecimal,hex oroctal format
Using our own validator.xml
Instead of using validator.xml file for validations we can use our own xml file as
validator.xml. But we need to configure it in Struts configuration file.
Instead of using predefined validator_rules.xmlfile, we can use our own xml file
and we need to configure it in struts configuration file. As shown below file we
change the configuration in struts-config.xml
Here validation_test.xml file is our own validation file. Generally
validator_rules.xmlfile is available in struts-core.jar. Butherewe placed it in
WEB-INF folder.

Procedure to work with Custom Validators:
1. Develop a class with static method by supplying the standard parameters to
a method.
Creating Pluggable Validators
The methodParams attribute takes a comma separated list of class names. The
method attribute needs to have a signaturecomplying with the abovelist. The list
can be comprised of any combination of the following:
 java.lang.Object- Bean validation is being performed on.
 org.apache.commons.validator.ValidatorAction - The current
ValidatorAction being performed.
 org.apache.commons.validator.Field - Field object being validated.
 org.apache.struts.action.ActionMessages - Theerrors objectto add an
ActionMessageto if the validation fails.
 javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest - Current requestobject.
 javax.servlet.ServletContext - The application's ServletContext.
 org.apache.commons.validator.Validator - The current
org.apache.commons.validator.Validator instance.
 java.util.Locale- The Locale of the current user.

2) Copy the .class file into classes folder. Configure CustomValidator class in
validator-rules.xml by specifying a validator key(shortnamefor this class)
3) Configurethis validator-rules.xmlfile in struts-config xml file as shown
below. Makesure that validator-rules .xml file is available in WEB-INF folder.
4) Configure our own validator class invalidator_test.xml file

Q) Whenwe developCustomValidator classes?
Ans:If there is a filed which is used across all the screens of projectand
predefined validator is not available then we will use validator class.
Q) Whenwe will override validate () methodinthe FormBeanclass?
Ans:If there is a validation which has to take care of only one field that validation
is carried out in validate () method. Then only wewill overridevalidate () to carry
out the validation.
eg: we have fields like password and retypepassword and wewantcheck
whether both values are sameor not . If values are different then we have to
display an error messageon jsp.
When we override validate() method weneed to makesure that we calls super
class validate() method. This is because the super class validate() takes careof
reading the contents fromvalidation.xml and performvalidations which are
configured as part of validation.xml. If weare not call the validate () method then
predefined validation’s can’t be carried out.
Eg:

Generating JavaScript using DynaValidatorForm:
By using DynaValidatorFormwecan generate client side validations also.
To generate javascriptin jsp we usethe <html:javascript />
the mandatory attribute is formName . For formName attribute we have to
supply formname as input to that.
Eg: <html:javascript formName=”UserRegistrationForm”/>
when the above tag is evaluated it will generate a javaScript function whose
name validate+formName attribute value. eg: Here it will generate
validateUserRegistrationForm(form) in userRegistration.jsp
By default the DynaValidatorFormwill not call the
validateUserRegistrationForm(form) method. Wehave to call that method
explicitly. We are using onsubmitevent to call the above JavaScriptfunction. as
shown below.
The DynaValidatorForm plugin can generate JavaScriptonly for predefined
validations. If we wantto carry outour own validations by using JavaScriptwe
have to write our own JavaScriptfunctions.
Apache guys has developed their own validations using JavaScriptand placed
inside validator plugin.jar file. The validator plugin take the JavaScriptformthis
jar file and place the JavaScriptin jsp whenever we use <html:javascript />

Whenever we use our own JavaScriptfunction to carry out client side validations
fromthat also we can call the generated JavaScriptfunction as shown below.
eg:
There are n no. of ways arethere to develop FormBean classes. Someof them are
1. ActionForm 2.DynaActionForm 3. DynaValidatorForm
4. DynaValidatorActionsForm 5.ValidatorForm 6.ValidatorActionForm

We can use other ways of using FormBean classes like BeanValidatorForm,
LazyValidatorForm and etc.
Form basedapplicationusing ValidatorForm:
When we working with validatorFormweno need to take care of the validations.
We have to providesetter () and getter methods for identified properties.eg:
public class SignupFB extends ValidatorForm{
String firstName;
String lastName;
//provide setter andgettersfor above properties }
The remaining procedureis same as above DynaValidatorForm.

Form basedapplicationusing ValidatorActionForm:
When we working with validatorActionFormweno need to take care of the
validations. We have to provide setter() and getter methods for identified
properties.
public class SignupFB extends ValidatorActionForm{
String firstName;
String lastName;
//provide setter andgettersfor above properties
}
To compile aboveprogramwe haveto set the classpath to struts-extras.jar.
When we develop an application based on ValidatorActionForm, wehave to
configurethe validation.xml as follows.
In <form> tag for name attribute wehave to supply the <action> tag path
attribute specified value. Otherwisevalidations will not carry out.
In DynaValidatorActionForm also weshould specify the path of the resourceto
name attribute in validator.xml as shown as above example.

In Struts ActionServlet, Actionclasses, FormBean classes acts as Controllers. It’s
not recommended to write business logic in Action classes or FormBean classes.
So we should not transfer the FormBean class to Model class.
Developa complete FormBasedapplicationby using MVC2 architecture:
We have to capture the data from the above formand savethat details in
database server. Thefollowing is flow of the Project.
To implement the aboverequirement we have to performthe following steps:-

Step1:- Develop a javaBean to write the business logic . The business logic is get
the formdetails and storethose in DataBase server and send an email to register
mail id.
eg:
Step2:- Develop a FormBean class and configurethat in Struts Configuration file.
In this programwedon’t requireto overridethe reset() and validate() methods.
that’s why weare not writing any FormBean class but we are using predefined
class DyanValidatorForm. configurethatin struts-config.xmlfile

Step3:- Configure the validation in validations.xmlfile as shown below

Step4:- Develop an action to capturethe data and call the methods of javaBean
and forward therequest to Welcome.jsp
Configurethe aboveclasses in Struts configuration file
In the above projectthe java bean programis clubbed with busiess logic and Data
Access Logic. It’s always recommended to separate out the business logic and
Data Access Logic. To separate out the business logic and Data AccessLogic weuse
DAO designPattern.

DAO DesignPattern:
DAO strands for DataAccess object. DAO design pattern make surethat we
clearly separateout business logic and Data Access Logic.
In the DAO classes we providethe code to interact with the data base server only.
In this we will use jdbc or hibernate or any persistenttechnologies. So if any
change in Persistentcode we will modify only Dao classes. Itwill not affect on any
other layer.
Develop the following form based application using mvc2 and DAO,DTO design
pattern

To implement the aboveproject we haveto performthe following steps:
DTO DesignPattern:
Itresolves the problems of transferring the data fromone component to another
component .In the aboveexample we transfer the data like signupform details in
the formmethod parameters to JavaBeans fromController. This is not
recommended approach becausewhen ever any changein the parameter we
have to modify our programbecauseof this we may face maintenance related
problems. Instead of passing each value as method parameter to javabean we will
create a DTO which contains instance variableand setter and getter methods and
we will supply this DTO as parameter to javabean. And it will call the DAO method
which takes the DTO as parameter. DTO will pass fromController to DAO
Develop a projectwhich uses MVC2 designpattern DAO and DTO designpatterns.
step1:- Createa DTO class which can hold the FormBean data. This class has store
the data of which enter by the user in the above shown form

step2:- Develop a DAO program. In this wewrite the only the code which is
responsibleto interact with the database server. This DAO class componenttakes
the DTO object as parameter as shown below. This method is called by the
Controller as it shown in controller program. eg:
In aboveexample we have a registerUser() method which is responsibleto store
the user details in db. This method is returning Boolean value. If the data is
successfully registered then this method returns true otherwise it returns false.
We used this value in controller to forward theappropriate jsp.eg. If user data is
successfully registered then forward to success.jsp otherwiseforward to
inputform.jsp
step3:- Develop a JavaBean which is responsible to get the data fromController,
create an object to DAO class and call the methods of Dao. Usually in the
JavaBean we will write the business logic code.

Here We are calling the registerUser() method which is returning a value. we
storing that in isRegistered variable . If user details are stored then send a mail to
that email.
step4:- Develop FormBean class and Configurein struts configuration file.
In this example we no needto display default values to the form. That’s why we
are not overriding the reset() method. And we no need to take care the user
defined validation that means predefine validations are enough to carry outthe
validations. So in this scenario we no need to develop the our own FormBean
class for that we will use predefined FormBean class. In this example we are using
DynaValidatorForm.
The following is configurations of DynaValidatorFormin struts configuration file.

step5:- Develop Action class and capture the data and create object to Javabean
and call the methods of Javabean as follow
If user data is successfully registered then forward to success.jsp otherwise
forward to inputform.jsp . In Action class we can handle the errors. The errors in
the Action class should be based on the return type of DAO and javabean
methods.

step6:- Develop an input formand successform.
VO DesignPattern: (Value Object)
VO design pattern is used retrieve the data fromthe DAO layer and send the data
to view View Component. this design pattern is used to get the values from
database server and storethose values in Vo object. and transfer thesevo object
to View component by adding it to Arraylist.
eg :searchRecords:
Developthe following formbased applicationtosearch for the records and
display output to the client.
eg: searchRecords

The business logic is if user is entered any data in the pid field then it has to
display the corresponding recordof product table fromthe database.If records
arenot available then display “No records found” . If user doesn’t entered any
data, view has to display the all records of Product table.
we usethe design patterns like MVC2, DAO,DTO,VO design patterens.
Step1:- Develop the DTO class. which is responsibleto hold the pid field details.
And transfer this dto to javabean fromContrller.
ex:

Step2:- Develop the VO class. This class responsibility is hold the producttable
data.Itcontains instance variables and setter and getter methods. These instance
members based on the no of columns values we want storein VO object.This
class is instantiated by DAO class and represent each record in the formof an VO
object.
eg:
In this example we dealing with producttable which contains only three columns
that’s why we are taking three fields in our VO class.

Step3:- Develop a DAO class which is responsibleto represent the records in the
formObjects and add these to ArrayListobject.
In aboveprogramwe forming the query dynamically. representeach record in the
formSearchProductVO object. and storethese objects to Arraylist.
searchRecords() method is taking the DTO as parameter to it. and returning the
Arraylistobject.

Step4:- Develop the javabean (Model ) class. It has to call the Dao methods .
Model class responsibility is create the object to javabean and call the
searchRecords(). return this arraylistobjectto controller. If we want to write any
other business logic we will write in this class only.
Step5:- Developthe formbeanclass and configure that instruts configuration
file. In this example we are not developing any formbean class justweare
configuring the predefined Formbean class as shown below
Step6:- Developthe Action class andconfigure that instruts configuration. The
action class responsibility is capture the data and stored it DTO object and call
the javabean methods and get the arraylistobjectand store it in requestscope.

Step6:- Developthe Input form(search.jsp)
Step7:- Develop the success form (display.jsp) which is responsibleto get the
arrayListobjectfromthat display the product details to user.
Hibernate integration in Struts:
The following are some of ways to integrate hibernate in struts:

1. write hibernate code in Action class (not recommended)
2. Based on Developing our own Hibernate plugin
3. By using SingleTon Designpattern and hibernate Template design
pattern
Procedure to use hibernate in struts:
1. copy all the hibernate related jar files into struts project lib folder.
2. coy hibernate configuration file and hbm (mapping) files into
classes folder.
write hibernate code in Action class:
When we are writing hibernate code in Action class , for every request
the action class execute() method will execute. so every time it is
executing the configure() and buildSessionFactiory() methods. But it is
not recommended to call these methods every time. In a project life
time we have to call these methods only once. Because these methods
will take more amount of time to execute.

But it is not recommended to write the business logic in Controller and
not recommended call hibernate configure() and buildSessionFactiory(
) methods. For that we have to call these methods only once. This thing
can be achieved by using plugins which will execute only once that is at
time of deploying the project.
Based on Developing our own Hibernate plugin:
Procedure to use hibernate in struts:
1. copy all the hibernate related jar files into struts project lib folder.
2. coy hibernate configuration file and hbm (mapping) files into
classes folder.
3. Develop a hibernate plugin class based on plugin interface
4. Configure the HibernatePlugin class in struts configuration file
<plug-in className=” HibernatePlugin” />
5. Develop an action class to get the SessionFactory object from the
application scope and execute the query.
Develop a hibernate plugin class based on plugin interface

Develop an action class to get the SessionFactory
we shouldn’t use these two approaches. This is because we are writing
business logic and DataAccessLogic in Action class execute() method.
note: we should write the hibernate code only in DAO layer
Developthe following formbased applicationtosearchfor the records and
display output to the client. we must use MVC2,DAO,DTO,VO,SingleTon
designpatterns andHibernate Template designpatterns .
searchRecords
we have follow the following steps:
step1 and step2 are same as above searchRecords example

formObjects and add these to ArrayListobject. and return arrayListto model.
The following is an example of writing hibernate code in DAO class
But here weare calling configure() and buildSessionFactiory() every time.
to overcome this problem we using SingleTon design pattern
SingleTon design pattern:
If we want carry out any work only once we can use SingleTon design
pattern. This design pattern will make sure that this work will happens
only once. for that we will use static variable and static blocks. This is
because for these members memory will be allocated only once at time
of jvm loading the class into jvm’s memory.
we declare the construtctor as private because no one is allowed to
create an object this class. we can call the methods of this call directly
by using the class name.

Template Design Pattern:
When we take any project we try to perform the operations like insert,
update, delete and retrieve records. Instead of writing the code
repeatedly we develop a template designpattern. This design pattern
will help us in removing the redundant code of hibernate. Because of
this reason we call it as HibernateTemplate designpattern.(eg: instead
of writing accno, name,date etc.. in our own style daily we will follow
one template. that is easy to write the form)
The following is example of HibernateTemplate design pattern

formObjects and add these to ArrayListobject. and return arrayListto model.

Step4:- Developthe javabean(Model ) class. It has to call the Dao methods .
Model class responsibility is create the object to javabean and call the
searchRecords(). return this arraylistobjectto controller. If we want to write any
other business logic we will write in this class only.
Step5:- Developthe formbeanclass and configure that instruts configuration
file. In this example we are not developing any formbean class justweare
configuring the predefined Formbean class as shown below
Step6:- Developthe Action class andconfigure that instruts configuration. The
action class responsibility is capture the data and stored it DTO object and call
the javabean methods and get the arraylistobjectand store it in requestscope.

Step6:- Developthe Input form(search.jsp)
Step7:- Develop the success form(display.jsp) which is responsibleto get the
arrayListobjectfromthat display the product details to user.

Action Chaining:
Executing the multiple actions in a single request is called as Action Chaining. For
example we havedeveloped two action classes, one class has to check whether
user is logged in or not then insertthe record in database server. Another class
also has to check the user is logged in or not then delete the record.
In the above action classes we are trying to check whether user is logged in or
not. But this code is provided in multiple Action classes. when ever we want
change the we have to change it multiple classes.Becauseof this wemay get
projectmaintainance problems. To resolvethese problems we needtomake sure
that one Actionclass has to carry out only ont task. By using this wecan remove
the redundancy codein project.
 We can configure one action class with different path values.
eg: <action path=”insert” type=”InsertAction” />
<action path=”ins” type=”InsertAction” /
Fromthe abovecode we have understand wecan use either /insert.do or
/ins.do to execute the InsertAction

 An ActionForward can forward therequestto a jsp or another action class.
If wewant to forward the requestto another action class we haveto use
that action class path in path attribute as shown below
The above ActionForward is forwarding therequestto a jsp as well as
another class also.
one Actionclass has to carry out only ont task. To get the aboverequirement we
are writing 3 action classes i.e UserCheckAction , InsertAction, DeleteAction
UsercheckAction has to check whether user logged in or not. InsertAction has to
insert the record and DeleteAction has to delete the records
eg:

To achieve Action chaining we have to configureaction classes in struts
configuration file.
for example when client send the requestto server with /insert.do first
UsercheckAction has to execute then InsertAction has to execute.
when client send the requestthe server with /delete.do FirstUserccheckAction
has to check whether user is there are not then ActionTwo has to execute to
delete the record.
for that we are configuring the action classes as shown below.

What is local forward?
A forward which is specific to an Action class is called as local forward.
This forward objectcan be access by only ActionOneclass in struts configuration
file
What is global forward?
A forward objectwhich can be accessible by all the actions are called as global
forwards.
This forward objectcan be access by any of Action class in struts configuration file
Global Exceptions:
An Exception is a runtime error which disturbs the flow of execution of the
program. Exceptions are two types: 1) Checked Exceptions 2) Unchecked
Exceptions
When a programthrows checked exceptions wehave to handle. We can do that
in two ways
1. Maintain try catch in the program itself.
2. Use throws keyword.

we have developed two action classes, ActionOne and ActionTwo . ActionOne
class is trying to load a class which is not available in that folder. ActionTwo class
is trying to load a file which is not available in that folder.
When the client sends the requestto abovetwo actions they are throwing an
exception to Actionservlet service() method. Actionservlet service() checks
exception is handled here or not. As exceptions are not handled in that it will
throw an exception to server. Server throws an Exception to user directly. But it is
not recommended to throw an exception to user instead of that wewill display a
messageto user.
when ever an FileNotFoundException is raised errors.jsp willbe executed and the
output sent to client.

Predefine Actions:(Built-inActions)
Struts guys has given somepredefined Action classes. TheseAction classes are
available in org.apache.struts.actions. package. Thefollowing are some of the
predefined actions
1. BaseAction
2. ForwardAction
3. IncludeAction
4. DispatchAction
5. LookupDispatchAction
6. SwitchAction
7. MappingDispatchAction
To work with predefined actions we mustuse Struts-extras.jar file. When we
developing action classes based on these classes we mustcopied the struts-
extras.jar into projectlib folder.
The problem in struts1.xis using servlet (ActionServlet) as a controller. This is
because the url pattern is configured as *.do . So which request ends with .do
that requests only handled by the ActionServlet.
When we using jsp’s in struts1.xdirectly jsp are getting executed. This is against
to the rules of MVC2 architecture . Jsp’s also must access through controller only.
ForwardAction :
By using ForwardAction wecan forward the requestto jsp through controller. If
we doesn’tuse ForwardAction wehaveto develop so many empty action classes
which forwards therequest to one -one jsp. Because of this reason Maintenance
of the project becomes difficult. To resolve this problem we use ForwardAction.

The following the configuration of Forwardaction in configuration file.
If wantto execute the home.jsp we haveto send the requestto server as
/home.do. Then it ForwardAction execute() method will be executed. as part of
that they will get the parameter attribute value as like this
According the SunMicroSystems documentation it is not recommended to
develop a java programwith morethan 2000 lines of code as well as not
recommended to develop a programwith very less amount of java code also.
DispatchAction:
DispatchAction make surethat it club multiple action classes into a single action
class. If wewant to develop multiple formbased applications which does the
relevant work wecan use DispatchAction. for eg:

If wewant to develop the above four forms wecan club four action classes into a
single Action by using DispatchAction.
Develop an action class with our own methods which takes only four parameters
as like execute() method. and these parameter order should be sameas in
execute(). and return type must be ActionForward objectonly.

step 2:
Configureabove action class into struts configuration file by specifying parameter
as attribute. The parameter attribute can be any thing. eg:
Step3:
To execute the specific method of an Action class we usethe following url
mname as query string.
http://localhost:8000/preactions/store.do?mname=storeProduct
To work with DispatchAction end user will not remember the url’s . In the jsp’s for
action attribute value we specify the query String.

IncludeAction is much like ForwardAction except that the resulting resourceis
included in the HTTP responseinstead of being forwarded to. Itis rarely used. Its
only significantuse is to integrate legacy applications with Struts transparently.
Consider a web site that aggregates information from disparatesources – someof
which are non-Struts. The JSP for such a web site consists of <jsp:include>s to
include different resources. Oneof such <jsp:include>that might be as follows:
<jsp:includepage=”/xoom/LegacyServletA” />
Itis very clear fromthe value of the page attribute that it is a non-Struts resource.
Wouldn’tit be better to have a <jsp:include> that pretends as if the resource
exists in the currentStruts application? Itwould be ideal if the page include
looked as follows:
<jsp:includepage=”/App1/legacyA.do” />
The /legacyA.do cannotbe a ForwardAction becauseit would performa HTTP
Forward to the aboveresourceinstead of including the resourcein the HTTP
response. Sincethe HTTP Response OutputStream closes (The J2EE jargon for this
is the responsehas been committed) after HTTP Forward, theservletcontainer
cannot process the restof the JSP and include its responsein the OutputStream.
Consequently it throws a IllegalStateException with a messagethat “Response is
already committed”. IncludeAction addresses this problem. Instead of forwarding
to the specified resource, it includes the resourcein the currentresponse.
Consequently the output of the LegacyServletA is displayed in the same HTML as
that of the Struts application. You have to add the following ActionMapping in the
Struts Config file:
<action path=”/legacyA”
parameter=”/xoom/LegacyServletA”
type=”org.apache.struts.actions.IncludeAction” />
The parameter attribute indicates the actual resourcethat has to be included in
the response. As mentioned earlier, the use of IncludeAction is limited to

including responses fromexisting Servlet in the currentpage. This requires the
use of <jsp:include> in the page. If you web application is aggregating response
fromlegacy servlet applications, portlets seems to be the way to go. Portlet API –
JSR 168 has been finalized and it is matter of time beforeyou can develop
standardized portals aggregating contents fromdisparateweb applications. Tiles
framework is the way to go if you are on a short-termprojectthat wants to
aggregate information now (Fromdifferentapplications or may be from various
Actions in the same Struts application). Tiles provides a robustalternative to the
primitive <jsp:include>. Chapter 7 provides an in-depth coverageof Tiles in
conjunction with Struts.
We say that ActionServlet is the backbone of the struts application but actually it just receives the
request and invoke RequestProcessor process() method and this RequestProcessor processes all
aspects of the request.
If the above is true , then RequestProcessor should be the heart of struts application or do we
consider {ActionServlet + Requestprocessor} as a single unit when we say "ActionServlet is the
backbone of the struts application".
1. ActionServlet receives the request.
2. The doPost() or doGet() methods receive a request and invoke the process() method.
3. The process() method gets the current RequestProcessor and invokes the RequestProcessor.
process() method
4.The RequestProcessor.process() method is where the current request is actually serviced. This
method retrieves, from the struts-config.xml file, the <action> element that matches the path
submitted on the request. It does this by matching the path passed in the <html:form /> tag's action
element to the <action> element with the same path value
5. When the RequestProcessor.process() method has a matching <action>, it looks for a <form-
bean> entry that has a name attribute that matches the <action> element's name attribute.
6. When the RequestProcessor.process() method knows the fully qualified name of the FormBean, it
creates or retrieves a pooled instance of the ActionForm named by the <form-bean> element's type
attribute and populates its data members with the values submitted on the request
7. After the ActionForm's data members are populated, the RequestProcessor.process() method calls
the ActionForm.validate() method, which checks the validity of the submitted values.
8. At this point, the RequestProcessor.process() method knows all that it needs to know and it is time
to actually service the request. It does this by retrieving the fully qualified name of the Action class
from the <action> element's type attribute, creating or retrieving the named class, and calling the
Action.execute() method
9. When the Action class returns from its processing, its execute() method returns an ActionForward
object that is used to determine the target of this transaction. The RequestProcessor.process()

method resumes control, and the request is then forwarded to the determined target.
10. At this point, the ActionServlet instance has completed its processing for this request and is ready
to service future requests.

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