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Version: 3.1.0.GA
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If you prefer to develop web applications using Struts technology JBoss Tools also meet your needs. The professional developer toolset provides all necessary editors and wizards for creating Struts resources that enhances the process of building high-quality web applications.
Note:
Note that JBoss Tools support the Struts 1.1, 1.2.x versions.
In this guide you will learn how to take advantage of Struts support that JBoss Tools provide.
For a start, we propose you to look through the table of main features of Struts Tools:
Table 1.1. Key Functionality for Struts Tools
| Feature | Benefit | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
Struts Support | Step-by-step wizards for creating a new struts project with a number of predefined templates, importing existing ones and adding struts capabilities to non-struts web projects. | struts support |
Support for Struts Configuration File | Working on file using three modes: diagram, tree and source. Synchronization between the modes and full control over the code. Easy moving around the diagram using the Diagram Navigator. Working with struts projects that have multiple modules. Possibility to use Struts configuration file debugger allowing to set break points on struts diagram and then launch the server in debug mode. | graphical editor for struts configuration file debugger |
Support for Struts modules | A Struts module (struts-config.xml) is automatically created while creating a new project. There is also possibility to add new ones or edit already existing modules in your existing project or while importing Struts project. | modules |
Verification and Validation | All occurring errors will be immediately reported by verification feature, no matter in what view you are working. Constant validation and errors checking allows to catch many of the errors during development process that significantly reduces development time. | verification and validation |
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JBoss Tools provide the following functionality when working with Struts:
Create new Struts projects
Import (open) existing Struts projects. You can import any project structure
Add Struts capabilities to any existing Eclipse project
Import and add Struts capabilities to any existing project created outside Eclipse.
Now, we'll focus on all these points more fully.
JBoss Tools provides a New Struts Project Wizard that radically simplifies the process for getting started with a new Struts project. You just need to follow these steps:
Select File > New > Project... from the menu bar. Then, select JBoss Tools Web > Struts > Struts Project in this dialog box. Click Next:
On this form, provide the Project Name. You can also select where to create the project or use the default path.
Next to Struts Environment set which Struts version to use.
Tip:
Don't put spaces in project names since some OS could experience problems with their processing and searching these files.
You can select the KickStart template, then the project created will include a simple Hello World type application that is ready to run.
Next, you register this application with the current servlet container defined for your workspace (JBoss AS, by default) in order to allow you to test your application more easily while still developing it. A new entry will be added in the servlet container configuration file to enable running the application in-place (called null deployment or link deployment). Uncheck the "Target Server" check box if for some reason you don't want to register your application at this point.
On the next form, you can select the TLD files to include in this project:
After the project is created, you should have the following project structure (if you used the KickStart template):
Tip:
If you want to hide the jar files from Web App Libraries in view, select the down-pointing arrow in the upper right corner, select Filters..., check the box next to Name filter patterns (matching names will be hidden), and type *.jar into the field. Then, click OK.
For detailed information on migration projects to JBoss Developer Studio see Migration Guide.
Here, we'll consider how to add Struts functionality (Struts libraries, tag libraries and a Struts configuration file) to any existing Web application project in your Eclipse workspace.
By adding a Struts Nature to your project, you can now edit files using JBoss Tools editors, such as the Struts configuration editor and the JBoss Tools JSP editor. To take advantage of this just right-click the project and select JBoss Tools > Add Struts Capabilities from the context menu. This will start the process of adding all necessary libraries and files to make a Web Struts project from your one.
In the wizard you should point to location of your deployment descriptor file web.xml and name of the project.
After hitting Next, you will see the following screen. This screen simply means that you need to add at least one Struts module to your project to make this project a Struts project. Adding a Struts module means that a new struts-config.xml will be added to your project and registered in the web.xml file. In addition, all required Struts libraries will be added. To add a Struts module, select the Add Struts Support button.
Here you can select what Struts Version, Servlet Class, URL Pattern and TLDs to add to this project.
When done, you will see the default Struts module configuration information. See how to Edit Struts modules.
On the last screen you can set the different folders for your project as well as register this application with a servlet container. If you want the libraries (.jar files) will be automatically added to your project, click on the checkbox Add Libraries.
When done, you can open end edit the struts-config.xml file using useful Struts configuration file editor provided by JBDS. (The Struts configuration is shown below in the Tree viewer).
You can find more in-depth explanation on how to work with special wizards, editors and views that can be used in various scenarios while developing Struts applications in our Visual Web Tools guide.
In this chapter we'll introduce you to featured graphical editors for specific Struts files such as Struts Configuration files, Tiles files, Struts Validation files and web.xml.
The web.xml file inside the WEB-INF folder is a deployment descriptor file for a Web Application. It describes the servlets and other components and deployment properties that make up your application.
JBoss Tools add the web.xml file to created Struts project automatically and provides a special editor for its editing. See the Visual Web Tools guide that gives a descriptive information on the web.xml editor.
First, let's dwell on the Struts Configuration file editor.
This editor has three views with different representation of struts-config.xml: Diagram, Tree and Source. The views can be selected via the tabs at the bottom of the editor. Any changes made in one view are immediately visible when you switch to any other view.
Now, we'll consider every view in more detail.
The Diagram view graphically displays the Web flow of the application defined in the Struts configuration file.
The Diagram view allows to edit navigation in your Struts application. Just by right-clicking anywhere on the diagram, you can use a context menu to create the building blocks of a Struts application:
Actions
Global forwards
Global exceptions
JSP Pages
Along the upper-left side of the editor is a stack of seven icons for changing the behavior of the cursor in the diagram.
The first icon switches to the default regular selection cursor, the second to the marquee selection cursor and the third to the new connection cursor. The last four icons switch the cursor to an insert cursor for each type of Struts build block listed above (and in the order listed).
For instance, clicking on the first of these four icons (the one with the gears) will switch the cursor to insert actions. Clicking anywhere in the diagram with this cursor has the same effect as right-click and selecting Add > Action... from the context menu with the regular cursor active. It's just more efficient to use this cursor if you're adding more than one action at once.
The Tree view represents the different elements of the Struts application that are organized into functional categories on the left-hand side and a form for editing the properties of currently selected items on the right-hand side.
You can right-click on any node in the category tree and perform appropriate operations through a context menu. For instance, by right-clicking on the action-mappings category node, you can add new actions to the application.
Let's consider the tree on the left more closely.
Under the data-sources node you can create a Data Source object that will be configured and made available as a servlet context attribute.
The form-beans node is meant for creating a set of form bean descriptors for this module. Every created element under this node is a JavaBean that implements the org.apache.struts.action.ActionForm class. Use the Properties editor on the right to adjust properties specific to every created form-bean.
The global-exceptions node is intended for registering the handlers for the exceptions that might be thrown by an Action object.
Use the global-forwards node to add, edit or delete a global forwards that represent ActionForward objects available to all Action objects as a return value.
The controller node allows you to configure the controller properties.
Under the resources node you can add, delete, or edit message resources.
Under the plug-ins node you can define a Struts plug-in. Right-click the node, select Create Plug-in and specify the plug-ib Id and ClassName by pointing to the Java class which implements the org.apache.struts.action.PlugIn interface.
In the Source view, you have complete editing control of the underlying XML coding.
When working in Source view, you always have all the following features available:
Content Assist
Open On Selection
File Folding
You can take advantage of code assist.
The editor will also immediately flag any errors.
Finally, you can use the Outline view with the editor to easily navigate through the file.
Find more information about editor features in the editor features chapter.
Here, you'll know how to make use of the special graphical editor for Tiles configuration files.
The editor has three main views: Tree, Diagram and Source. The views can be selected via the tabs at the bottom of the editor. Any changes made in one view are immediately visible when you switch to any other view.
Before we consider each view of the editor, let's look at the way of creating new Tiles files.
To create new Tiles files, right click any folder and select New > Tiles File.
The Tree view represents the different elements of the Tiles file that are organized into functional categories on the left-hand side and a form for editing the properties of currently selected items on the right-hand side.
To edit the file, simply right click any node and select among the available actions.
The Diagram view allows you to create complex Tiles files in the form of a diagram.
To create new definitions, simply right click anywhere in the diagram.
You can also use the Diagram toolbar to make editing easier.
It contains four icons for changing the cursor state. The first one is the default cursor state for selecting existing nodes. The second icon is marquee selector. The third is used for creating new connections and the last one is for adding definition template to the content.
The other view of the Tiles editor is the Source view that gives you full control over the source. Any changes here will immediately appear in other modes when you switch to them.
When working in Source view, you always have all following features available:
Content Assist
Open On Selection
Code assist is available in the Source mode.
Any errors are immediately reported as shown below:
You can also use the Outline view together with the editor's Source mode. It provides an easier navigation through the file.
Providing full support for development Struts applications JBoss Tools comes with a visual validation editor. To open the editor double-click on the validation file or if you don't have it create a new one.
To create a new validation file, right click any folder in Project Explorer and select File > New > Other... from the context menu and then JBoss Tools Web > Struts > Validation File.
The validation editor works with five modes: Formsets, Validators, Constants and standard Tree and Source that you can easily switch over using tabs at the bottom of the editor.
The Formsets view shows forms and their elements on the left side and the dialogue for defining their validation rules on the right side.
The Constants view let you set constant values for your validation rules.
The validation file can also be viewed in a Tree view.
At any point you have full control over the source by switching to the Source view. Any editing in this view will immediately be available in other views of the editor.
You can also open your own custom or Struts-standard validation-rules.xml file.
The Validators view shows the validation rules for a selected validator. You can of course add your own rules.
Here are the validation rules shown in the Source mode.
JBoss Tools support working with Struts projects that have multiple modules. You can easily do the following:
Add new modules
Edit modules for an existing project or during Struts project import
Now, let's discuss this functionality in more detail.
During Struts project import, if the project has multiple modules, you will see a screen with all existing modules. You can select each module and edit its details.
To edit modules in an existing project, right click the project and select JBoss Tools > Modules Configuration.
You will see the same screen as above where you will be able to select a module and edit its details.
Adding a new module is very simple. First switch to Web Project view. Expand your project to the Configuration folder. Under that folder you should see the current modules. Right click on Configuration and select New > Struts Config.
You will see the screen below. You can specify a new module name and also add the new Struts configuration file to web.xml file.
JBoss Tools comes with a code generation feature. You can generate stub code for Struts Actions, FormBeans, Forwards and Exceptions.
The code generation that JBoss tooling provides is based on Velocity templates which can be modified for your use. The templates are located at {JBossStudioHome} > templates > codegeneration.
There are a number of ways to invoke code generation. One is simply right-clicking the Struts diagram and selecting Generate Java Code....
On this screen you can select for which elements to generate code. If you select Next you will be able to specify more options for each of the categories you selected.
Tip:
Please be careful not to override your existing files.
When generation is complete, a result window will appear letting you know how many classes were generated:
You don't always have to generate code for all elements at once. You can invoke generation for just an individual Struts artifact as well. Right-click an element on the diagram of the Struts configuration file and select Generate Java Code... from the context menu.
The same can be done from within the Tree viewer for the editor of the Struts configuration file.
JBoss Tools come with Struts configuration file debugger. It allows you to set break points on Struts diagram and then simply launch the server in debug mode.
Simply right click an Action or a page and select Add Breakpoint.
Custom page links allow you to define custom Struts page links that will be recognizable in the Struts application diagram. You can define these links by selecting Window > Preferences from the menu bar and then selecting JBoss Tools > Web > Struts > Customization from the Preferences dialog box.
In this section we'll consider one more functionality that JBoss Tools provide for Struts projects, namely adjusting projects verification.
To configure Struts project verification select Window > Preferences from the menu bar, select JBoss Tools > Web > Verification from the Preferences dialog box and then expand the Struts Rules node.
Suppose you are working in the Source viewer for a Struts configuration file as shown below:
While typing a class name or entering it from the graphical editor, you might make a minor typo (like "sample.GreetingAction1" instead of "sample.GreetingAction" ). After saving the file, verification checks to make sure everything is correct and finds the error below:
Notice that the Package Explorer View shows a marked folder and a marked file where the error is.
You can place the cursor over the line with the error to view a detailed error message:
The verification also checks to make sure you have specified the correct JSP page for the forward:
Once you place the cursor over the line, you can see the error message:
You can always invoke the verification by switching to the Diagram viewer, right-clicking and selecting Verify from the context menu:
Find out necessary information on Struts technology if you don't know enough.
In summary, this reference should help you to get familiar with those parts of JBoss Tools which are meant for development with Struts technology. If you've carefully gone through the document, you should know now how to create/import Struts project or enable Struts capabilities for an existing web project as well as organize and edit all necessary staff for your Struts application using a set of views and editors provided by JBoss Tools.
If you'd like to contribute your feedback is always appreciated. You can leave your questions and suggestions on our Forum.
We hope, this guide helped you to get started with the JBoss Struts Tools. Besides, for additional information you are welcome on JBoss forum.