Frameworks: The Framework Impasse Sessions

Frameworks: The Framework Impasse

with Track Host: Matt Raible, Java EE Developer, Founder, Raible Designs

The Framework Impasse track is designed to help developers understand today's relevant frameworks. In this track, get coverage of Spring, JSF, Tapestry, RIFE, Struts 2 and Hibernate and more; Learn how to choose a Java library; Learn how to pick the best framework; and learn how to combine frameworks for your specific application needs. Browse all framework sessions or select a title from below:

More framework-related sessions we recommend.


Sessions

• Architecting Applications with Apache Wicket with Nick Heudecker, Author, Hibernate Quickly

Apache Wicket has become a popular Web application framework since its introduction a few years ago. Developers need to know how to create flexible, scalable enterprise applications.  This presentation covers how to use popular containers like Spring and Guice with Wicket and presents fundamentals of component state management, Wicket models and security. 

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create Apache Wicket applications;

• How to leverage common enterprise technologies, including Spring and Guice, in Wicket applications;

• How to use models to reduce resource consumption and implement a security for a Wicket application;

• How Wicket fits into the overall enterprise application landscape.

Recommended general knowledge:

• Attendees should have a strong familiarity with object-oriented principles.

• Familiarity with Swing and/or another Web application framework is helpful.


• Hey! You Got Your Ruby in My Java! with Chris Nelson, Independent Consultant

Java is rapidly becoming a multi-language platform - Dynamic languages are gaining increasing attention thanks in large part to the interest in Ruby. Languages like Ruby allow you to write clearer, more concise and maintainable code. In the last couple of years, the Ruby language has gotten a lot of attention and inspired quite a bit of imitation. Today, Java developers no longer have to settle for a substitute: JRuby is “real” Ruby, not a variant - and it's production-ready now.

In this session, you will see how you can use the excellent Ruby language on the Java platform. We'll look how you can not only access Java APIs but actually make them easier to use. We'll look at many ways to leverage the Ruby language on the Java platform and do more with less code.  And, of course, we'll see how easy it to use Rails in your favorite Java app server.

In this session, you will learn:

• Ways to leverage the Ruby language on the Java platform and do more with less code;

• The basics of the Ruby language;

• How to call Java from Ruby;

• How to run Rails on a J2EE app server.


• Introduction to Seam with David Geary, Author, Core JavaServerFaces, Google Web Toolkit Solutions, and more

Why is that to implement a non-trivial (meaning database-backed) web application, you need to learn two frameworks, like: Struts AND IBatis, JSF AND Hibernate, or Tapestry AND EJB3? Why isn't there just one framework that gives us a single component model that spans both the user interface and the data model?

Actually, there is such a framework named Seam, that seamlessly ties JSF (1.1 or higher) and EJB3.0 (or Hibernate 3) together. Not only that, but Seam greatly simplifies many tasks that need simplifying in JSF, such as passing an object from a table row to a backing bean. Seam uses AOP and dependency injection to make application development a pleasure.

In this session, you will learn:

• Fundamentals of Seam;

• How to combine Seam with Facelets and Ajax4JSF to implement Web 2.0 applications;

• How Seam simplifies complex JSF tasks, including passing an object from a table row to a backing bean.  


• JavaServer Faces 2.0 with David Geary, Author, Core JavaServer Faces, Google Web Tookit Solutions, and more

JavaServer Faces (JSF) 1.0 was released in March 2004. Since then, JSF has undergone only two releases, both of which could be regarded as bug-fix releases. While the JSF spec has remained largely stagnant over the past four years, that's far from the case for the open source community, which has innovated with project such as Facelets, Ajax4JSF, Seam, JSF Templating, etc.

Now, it's time to harvest the best of that open source innovation and incorporate it into the JSF spec, so that developers can have all of that coolness out of the box. That's what the JSF 2.0 Expert Group is working on right now.

In this session, David Geary, a member of the JSF 2.0 Expert Group, will explore some of the upcoming features of JSF 2.0, and offer demos of the open source inspirations for those features.

In this session, you will learn:

• Upcoming features of JSF 2.0;

• How innovations from open source projects are being incorporated into the latest release;

• What to expect from the first non-bug-fixing release of JSF.


• RESTful Applications with Struts 2 with Don Brown, Tead Lead, Hosted Services, Atlassian Software

Web applications don't have to be cumbersome, information silos and Web services don’t have to be complex, XML-laden beasts that fight with the very nature of HTTP. By building your application with Struts 2, you can use the same presentation framework to provide RESTful HTML pages and Web services that leverage, not obscure, the mature features of the HTTP protocol.

In this session, Don examines three problems with today's Web applications and demonstrates how applying RESTful principles can resolve them. Don covers how Struts 2 can be used to implement these principles, offers a live demonstration that builds a resource-oriented Struts 2 application and shows you how to get self-describing XML and JSON-based Web services for free. Finally, he discusses the lessons learned from a recent deployment using Struts 2 and REST, and briefly explores building RESTful application with other Web frameworks.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use Struts 2 to leverage HTTP;

• How to create RESTful HTML pages and Web services;

• How to apply RESTful principles to solve common Web application development problems;

• How to improve the functionality of your Web applications and Web services.


• Spring for JavaServer Faces with Keith Donald, Co-founder and Principal at SpringSource, Inc.

In this session, Keith will illustrate how JavaServer Faces and Spring fit together with Spring Faces. Learn how to use these technologies together to create rich web applications.

In this session, you will learn to use Web Flow and Spring Faces to develop more easily with JSF, with insight into:

• How Spring plugs into the JSF lifecycle for navigation handling and state management;

• How Spring integrates with popular JSF libraries like Facelets and Ajax4JSF;

• How Spring enhances JSF's exception handling capabilities;

• How Spring usage compares to standard JSF Navigation Handling and to JBoss Seam;

• Patterns and practices for getting the most out of Spring in a JSF application;

• Roadmap for future integration enhancements.


• Expert Panel: Java Web Framework Smackdown: Struts 2, Spring MVC, Grails, Seam/JSF and Wicket. Moderated by Track Host, Matt Raible.

The leading advocates of today's popular Web frameworks will duel under the Vegas Lights. Come and learn when to use your favorite framework and to see if it can live up to its hype.

We're talking about productivity, scalability and maintainability of Java-based Web applications. The emerging trend is that simplicity is better and productivity matters. Furthermore, maintainability is the most costly part of any framework – how do these frameworks perform?

Attend if you're a Java Web developer, or if you simply like good entertainment. A working knowledge of the popular Java Web framework options will make this session more fun. If you haven't worked with any framework, come and learn who has the best spokesman.

And, ask the leading Java Web Framework experts specific questions - Get answers direct from the source! In this panel, you will learn:

• Sweet spots of various frameworks;

• Roadmaps for the future of each framework;

• Strengths & weaknesses of Grails, Struts 2, Spring MVC, JSF and Wicket.


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