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The RichFaces framework is a rich component library for JavaServer Faces (JSF). It allows integration of Ajax capabilities into enterprise web application development without needing to use JavaScript.
RichFaces leverages several parts of the JSF2 framework including lifecycle, validation, conversion facilities, and management of static and dynamic resources. The RichFaces framework includes components with built-in Ajax support and a customizable look-and-feel that can be incorporated into JSF applications.
RichFaces provides a number of advantages for enterprise web application development:
Build on the benefits of JavaServer Faces with support for Ajax. RichFaces is fully integrated into the JSF lifecycle: it uses the action and value change listeners, and invokes server-side validators and converters during the Ajax request-response cycle.
Extend Ajax capability in existing JSF applications. The core Ajax library (a4j) adds extra Ajax functionality into existing pages, such that additional JavaScript code is unnecessary and existing components do not need to be replaced with Ajax ones. RichFaces enables page-wide Ajax support instead of the traditional component-wide support, and events can be defined on the page for invoking an Ajax requests and JSF Component Tree synchronization.
Create complex application views using out-of-the-box components. The RichFaces user interface (UI) library (rich) contains components for adding rich interactive features to JSF applications. It extends the RichFaces framework to include a large set of Ajax-enabled components that come with extensive skinning support. Additionally, the RichFaces framework is designed to be used seamlessly with other 3d-party libraries on the same page, so you have more options for developing applications.
Write your own customized rich components with built-in Ajax support. The Component Development Kit (CDK), used for the RichFaces UI library creation, includes a code-generation facility and a templating facility using XHTML (extended hyper-text markup language) syntax.
Package dynamic resources with application Java classes. Ajax functionality in RichFaces extends support for the management of different resources, such as pictures, JavaScript code, and CSS stylesheets. The resource framework makes it possible to pack dynamic resources along with the code for any custom components.
Generate binary resources on the fly. The resource framework can generate images, sounds, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and more during run-time.
Create a modern rich user-interface with skinning technology. RichFaces provides a skinning feature that allows you to define and manage different color schemes and other parameters of the look and feel. It is possible to access the skin parameters from JSP code and Java code during run-time. RichFaces comes packaged with a number of skins to get you started, but you can also easily create your own customized skins too.