dev@jsftemplating.java.net

Re: JSFTemplating: Basic questions

From: Ken Paulsen <Ken.Paulsen_at_Sun.COM>
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:18:53 -0800

Hi Gary,

I don't mind at all... in fact I'm glad you took the time to do it.  JSFT's worst problem is its lack of documentation. :(  However, the developers are active and responsive, so emailing or joining the #jsftemplating irc channel is your best way to get answers.

Gary Horton wrote:
    1 -- is JSFTemplating open-source? Can it be used without problem in a commercial product?
It is open source and is used by GlassFish which is also sold commercially as SJS AS 9.x.
    2 -- will it work with the MyFaces 1.1.5 JSF implementation and the Tomahawk 1.1.6 component set?
I don't actively test with the MyFaces implementation.  Most people I've spoken with prefer the Sun implementation... imo, Ryan Lubke has done an excellent job maintaining it (and of course serveral others have helped).

Is MyFaces 1.1.5 a JSF 1.1 implementation?  If so, the latest JSFTemplating will not work with it as it leverages many of the enhancements of JSF 1.2.  I think MyFaces has a JSF 1.2 compliant version available.

JSFTemplating should work with any JSF 1.1 or 1.2 implementation, however, for 1.1 you will need to download the 1.1 jsftemplating jar files from the jsftemplating www site:

    https://jsftemplating.dev.java.net/servlets/ProjectDocumentList

As for Tomahawk components, they should work fine.  You will need either a facelets-taglib.xml file for them, or you will need to provide your own JSFTemplating factories for the comonents, which are easy to write, but I don't have them for Tomahawk components.
    3 -- does it require use of facelets, or is it an alternative that can be used with JSP pages?
It does not use facelets, although it supports most of the Facelets syntax (1.2 version only -- this feature wasn't available during the 1.1 release).

JSPs can co-exist with JSFTemplating pages w/o any problem right out of the box.
    4 -- if it does not use/require facelets, is the migration path from JSFtemplating to facelets relatively straightforward?
Depends on which features of Facelets you're using.  If you're using features I don't yet support... then I will have to support them, or you'd have to implement it differently.  I'd be very interested in hearing how well your facelets pages run and fixing any problem you encounter as compatibility is a high priority for me.  JSF 2.0 will be adopting a Facelets-like syntax and I want JSFT to have a very solid implementation.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Ken
x42083


Hi Ken, et. al. --

    Just wanted to shoot you some basic questions before I dig into your JSFtemplating tutorial and then hit a dead-end...I've already done this twice in the last 2 days with RichFaces and Facelets, so I hope you don't mind my "lazy" approach here.

    My basic questions are these:

    1 -- is JSFTemplating open-source? Can it be used without problem in a commercial product?
    2 -- will it work with the MyFaces 1.1.5 JSF implementation and the Tomahawk 1.1.6 component set?
    3 -- does it require use of facelets, or is it an alternative that can be used with JSP pages?
    4 -- if it does not use/require facelets, is the migration path from JSFtemplating to facelets relatively straightforward?

    While I wait for your answers, I'll dig into your website and look for this info myself - but I just wanted to get this in the queue since my time is very limited; I need to make a decision on using your framework very soon.

Thanks mucho!
-gh
-- 
Gary Horton                                                  
Storage Platform Software Group              
Sun Microsystems, Inc., Broomfield, CO
303-443-1518, x79140, 303-272-9140 
http://blogs.sun.com/lokibear
http://www.linkedin.com/in/garyhorton