Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I had to learn Struts2 quickly since I recently changed jobs and my new team has several web application projects built using Struts2.
Overall, I thought the book was done very well if you are looking for a good introduction to Struts2. The first 8 chapters are very good.
The main negative is the source code for the book's examples. The authors provide one very large war file with all the source code embedded into the war file along with an overall web application divided into sub-applications for each chapter.
This packaging of the source code into the war file made it difficult for me to create individual projects in my development IDE that demonstrated just the material in a specific chapter. I had to spend quite a bit of time breaking down the source code into individual web projects and then figuring out on my own what jars needed to go into each project, what the struts.xml file needed to have, and what ever else was necessary to separate out just that chapter's sub-application so I could run that example and play with it.
Where this really became a problem was in chapters 9 and 10. Chapter 9 is a very advanced introduction to integrating Spring and Hibernate/JPA into Struts2. I never could get this chapter's example to work correctly.
However, chapter 10 on the validation framework then uses the same code as chapter 9, so you really cannot separate out the code for either chapter 9 and 10.
The validation framework is likely something even beginning Struts2 developers will want to use, while Spring/JPA/Hibernate is for more advanced developers and should have been well after the chapter on how to use the validation framework.
Also, the authors really don't give you a good understanding of what Struts2 jars you need to have to build a basic Struts2 application. There is some information about this in chapter 13 (setting up your IDE) but this information should really be at the beginning of the book. Also I don't think the list the authors provide is accurate since my basic HelloWorld (get the user to enter a name, call an Action class, and then display Hello userName in new jsp) worked with far fewer jars. Note there is apparently a new example war that just is a basic Hello World so there may be some information in that war file. That war was not on the manning web site when I purchased the book.
This book is good but be prepared to struggle working with the code examples if you want to work on the examples in your own development environment.
I recommend the authors create separate complete war files for each chapter's example to make it easier for users to just get that chapter's example code into their development IDE.
Lastly, the book does get 4 stars because the author's explanations of the basics of Struts2 (chapters 1-8) is very easy to follow for experienced Java developers. I'm now ready to tackle the Struts2 applications in my new job.
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The original Struts project revolutionized Java web development and its rapid adoption resulted in the thousands of Struts-based applications deployed worldwide. Keeping pace with new ideas and trends, Apache Struts 2 has emerged as the product of a merger between the Apache Struts and OpenSymphony WebWork projects, united in their goal to develop an easy-to-use yet feature-rich framework. Struts 2 represents a revolution in design and ease of use when compared to classic Struts. It adds exciting and powerful features such as a plugin framework, JavaServer Faces integration, and XML-free configuration.
Struts 2 In Action introduces the Apache Struts 2 web application framework and shows you how to quickly develop professional, production-ready modern web applications. Written by Don Brown, one of the leading developers of Struts 2, Chad Davis, a passionate Struts 2 developer, along with Scott Stanlick, this book gently walks you through the key features of Struts 2 in example-driven, easy-to-digest sections.
Struts 2 in Action delivers accurate, seasoned information that can immediately be put to work. This book is designed for working Java web developers-especially those with some background in Struts 1 or WebWork. The core content, covering key framework components such as Actions, Results, and Interceptors, includes new features like the annotation-based configuration options. You'll find chapters on Struts 2 plugins, FreeMarker, and migration from Struts 1 and WebWork 2. Finally, new topics such as the Ajax tags, Spring Framework integration, and configuration by convention give familiar subjects new depth.
