>> Delivering Value

Struts 2.0
Session - 5

May, 2009

Presentation By
Training & Development
Introduction

Good Evening Guys! Welcome

back to the Struts 2 training
program. We are on Day 5,
the end of first week of Struts
training. We have seen 5 -
10% of Struts 2

As I have always been maintaining if you lay

a strong foundation by learning the concepts
thoroughly the rest will just be a cake walk
So, the point is, the first 20% of Struts 2 is
really important and the rest is just based on
this 20%

2
Introduction
 On Day 1 we learned the history of Web
Let us do a quick Applications starting from HTTP till Struts 2
overview on what we  On Day 2 we learned about a few important
have learned so far concepts which form the basis of Struts 2
namely Filters, Command pattern,
Annotations and Dependency Injection
 On Day 3 we learned the background of how
Struts 2 was formed. We also setup the
environment and did two great projects
namely Hello World and Ph.D in
Mathematics
 On Day 4 we dissected the Hello World
Project and Ph.D Project to know the
internals. We also got introduced to
important concepts called Interceptors,
Value Stack and OGNL
 Let us now do a random recap on the first 4
days
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Mr. Thinker

What are the main problems Separation of Concern is non-

with Servlets? existent. HTML code is
embedded in Java making it
difficult to maintain

4
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Jumbo! Does JSPs completely replace Servlets?

No Dumbo. JSPs still get converted to Servlets. So,

for each JSP we see, there will be a corresponding
servlet in the background

5
Mr. Thinker

What are the problems Separation of concern is

with JSPs? still a problem. Java code
is embedded in HTML
which is equally
undesirable

6
Mr. Thinker

How do Filters help? Repetitive tasks can be

moved to a Filter. (Eg.
Session checking,
authentication etc)

7
Mr. Thinker

How is dependency injection Dependency Injection is

achieved generally? achieved generally by
performing Setter Injection.

8
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Command Pattern is basis of what framework?

Command Pattern is the basic building of Struts

Framework

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Mr. Thinker

What is the ancestor Webwork

framework of Struts2?

10
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Web Work is based on what Framework?

X Work

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Mr. Thinker

X Work implements Command Pattern

which design pattern?

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Mr. Thinker
FilterDispatcher. It
What is the first
is a Filter class
component in Struts 2
that receives the
request from the client.

13
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
What is the name of the file that contains all the
configuration details related to the framework?

struts.xml

14
Mr. Thinker

Can action class be a Yes, the action class can

normal Java class? be a normal java class
without extending or
implementing anything
else

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Mr. Thinker

What is the return type The return type is String

of the execute method
in Action class?

16
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
With what is the return of action class checked?

The return of action class is checked

with the action element’s result
element in the struts.xml file

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Mr. Thinker

Interceptors are similar Interceptors are similar to

to what? Filters

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Mr. Thinker

Where are interceptors Interceptors are

configured? configured in struts.xml

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Mr. Thinker

Where is the default

The default interceptor to
setting of interceptor
be used is set in a file
set?
called “struts-
default.xml”

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Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
What is the difference between an Interceptor and
an Interceptor Stack?

An interceptor stack is a stack of

interceptors. What a great answer!!

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Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
What is the order in which the interceptors get
executed in an interceptor stack?

The interceptors in the interceptor

stack are executed in the order in
which they are defined in the
Interceptor stack

22
Mr. Thinker

What is OGNL?
Object Graph Notation
Language

23
Mr. Thinker

What is value stack?

Value stack is a stack of
objects

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Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
I have an object called PurchaseOrder inside which I
have Asset inside which I have Invoice. Inside
Invoice I have invoiceNo. How can I access
invoiceNo using OGNL?

purchaseOrder.asset.invoice.invoiceNo

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Mr. Thinker

What is the order of

objects in value Stack? Temporary Objects, Model
Object, Action Object,
Named Object
(Application, session,
request etc)

26
Mr. Thinker

What is the name of the ParamsInterceptor

interceptor that sets the
variables of action class
from the screen fields?

27
Mr. Thinker

What is the kind of Setter Injection

dependency Injection when the
params interceptor sets the
value of action variables from
screen fields?

28
Ms. Natasha

Oh My God! That was a very

thorough recap!! Good Job guys.
Now go back to your work. You
can always come back when
required
Now let us give some time to the
trainer to start what he has to say
today !
Action, Action , More Action!

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Primary responsibilities of
Action

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Primary responsibilities of Action
 Actions encapsulate the unit of work

 Actions provide locus for data transfer

 Actions return control string for result routing

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Encapsulating the unit of work
 Struts 2 is an action based framework

 The primary purpose of the action then is to fulfill the business logic. (i.e.
serve as the starting point of model layer)
 The primary purpose of the execute method is exactly this. Executing
business logic

32
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Just one quick question. I know that execute method should
purely only contain the business logic. But before executing the
business logic there might be a need for other things. One of
them is populating the business objects which I know is handled
by the params interceptor. But how about any other
validations that need to happen before executing the business
logic methods?

That’s not a bad question considering your stature. Yes,

validations are definitely a likely requirement before executing
the business logic. Struts 2 is not so dumb to not address this
issue. This is addressed. This will be addressed later on today.
But for now, listen to what he has to say. The execute method
should only contain business logic

33
Locus for data transfer
 Being the model component, action is responsible for taking around the
model data all around
 As we have already seen, action class has model variables which are class
level variables
 Hence it is so easy to access these model data from within the action class

 We have also already seen that throughout the framework it is easy to access
these data because of the magic called “Value Stack”

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Returning control string for result routing
 After executing the business logic it is the action’s responsibility to inform
which page should be displayed
 For this, the action method uses the return string

 The return string is checked against the struts.xml’s action element’s result
element and the corresponding page is displayed to the user

35
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
That was good explanation about action. Tell me something.
You had mentioned that Struts 2 is an action based framework.
Hence Action class is the hero even though there are other
character artists like value stack, OGNL, interceptors etc.
Being the Hero, I was expecting more help from the framework
in this area. But I do not see any help being rendered by the
framework in the action class. Action class is a java class
entirely written by the developer. So, what is the fun!!!

I know you are always pessimistic and sarcastic. But there is

an answer from Struts 2. Do not worry. Struts 2 provides a
lot of help in the action layer. Stay tuned to know more

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The Action Interface
 The Action Interface is the first answer to Dumbo’s question

 Action Interface is provided by the framework

 The interface contains one method called execute

 The package is “com.opensymphony.xwork2.Action”

 Your actions can implement this Action Interface in order to tap the
benefits provided by this interface

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Constituents of Action Interface
 The Action Interface provides just one method as follows
– String execute( ) throws Exception

 The Action Interface provides various constants:

– public static final String ERROR "error"
– public static final String INPUT "input"
– public static final String LOGIN "login"
– public static final String NONE "none"
– public static final String SUCCESS "success"

 That is all what the Action Interface provides

38
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Well!! Are you fooling me? What is so great about this
interface? It just provides one method which anyway I am
using and few string constants. First tell me what are these
string constants and then tell me something better than this
action interface.

Answer to your question: These string constants can be used by

the developer as return strings in the execute method. So,
instead of saying return “success”, you can say return
SUCCESS. Just a convenient method. Similarly the
framework uses these as well. Answers to your second
question are the next few slides

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The ActionSupport class
 Dumbo is very true in stating that Action interface is not so great.
Fortunately we have an answer
 ActionSupport is the best example of how flexible and easy the framework
is
 ActionSupport provides implementations of various important interfaces
including Action
 If your actions extend this class, you automatically gain access to these
important default behaviors of various interfaces
 Interceptors combine with ActionSupport class to provide us with a great
channel to solve complex problems

40
The ActionSupport class (Contd.)

Interceptor
+ Action Support Great Combination to solve complex problems

• The following provides the relationship between the components that we saw
now.
«interface»
Action

ActionSupport

YourAction

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Exercise
• Change the Address Capture project such that it uses ActionSupport
class

42
The ActionSupport class
 The following are the interfaces that the ActionSupport class implements:
– Action
– Validateable
– ValidationAware
– TextProvider
– LocaleProvider

43
Exercise
 We already have a Person class

 In the Person class add one more attribute called age

 In the screen where you captured the address, capture the age of the
person also
 Now run this program and display the age in the result screen apart
from the addresses that you already displaying

44
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
We have seen the details of Action Support class. But how do
we use it in practice? What are the advantages of using this
class?

There are lots of advantages. Yes that would be the next topic
for the day

45
Validation
 The action support class implements an interface called Validateable which
has a method called validate( )
 If your action extends ActionSupport you can override this validate method
to include any validations

46
Exercise
 In the Address Capture Application, include the following
in the action class:
public void validate()
{
if (this.getPerson().getAge() < 18)
{
this.addActionError("The Age should be greater
than 18. Sorry!!");
}
}
 Now run the Address Capture application. Enter the age
as a value less than 18
 Observe the behavior 47
Exercise
 Now add the following element to the struts action
element for the address capture action
<result name="input">/AddressCapture.jsp</result>
 Now run the address capture application. Enter the age
as a value less than 18
 Observe the behavior

 Now add the following to AddressCapture.jsp inside the

form tag
<s:actionerror />
 Now run the address capture application. Enter the age
as a value less than 18
48
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Lot of magic has happened over the past few minutes.
Naturally I would like to know what happens internally

That’s why the trainer is here

49
The Internals of the Validation flow
 Let us take a close look at struts-default.xml

...
<interceptor name="workflow“
class="com.opensymphony.xwork2.interceptor.DefaultWorkflowInterceptor"/><
interceptor-stack name="defaultStack">
...
<interceptor-ref name="params"/>
...
<interceptor-ref name="workflow">
<param name="excludeMethods">input,back,cancel,browse</param>
</interceptor-ref>
...
<interceptor-stack name="defaultStack">

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The Internals of the Validation flow (Contd.)

 When the user submits the request from the browser, struts-default.xml is referred

 The default stack is mentioned as defaultStack

 So each and every interceptor in this stack is invoked one by one

 When the params interceptor is reached, the screen values are copied to Action
class variables
 After params interceptor, somewhere down the line, there is an interceptor called
DefaultWorkflowInterceptor with a reference called “workflow”
 So, the doIntercept method of DefaultWorkflowInterceptor is called

 This method in turn invokes the validate method of OUR ACTION

 Please note that the validate method does not return any value

 The validate method just puts an error message using addActionError method

51
The Internals of the Validation flow (Contd.)

 The doIntercept method after invoking validate method checks if there any errors
raised, by using hasErrors method
 If there are errors then the workflow is cut short. The action method is not
executed. Instead the workflow is returned back to the page by passing the return
string as “input”
 If there are no errors, then the next interceptor is invoked

52
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Things are beginning to fall in place but I have so many
questions. What is the importance of the two interfaces
Validateable and ValidationAware? Are these used anywhere
apart from the ActionSupport class

Yes of course. The trainer will show you the source code of
DefaultWorkflowInterceptor where you can see that the
interfaces Validateable and ValidationAware are used to typecast
the Action class to these interface types and then invoke the
validate and hasErrors methods respectively. Now you know the
power of interfaces and type casting!!

53
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Yes. Cool man. My next question. You remember when we
did our exercise, there were a few errors which gradually got
corrected by themselves. As soon as I just added the validate
method and ran the application I got some exception that there
is no result definition blah blah blah. What was that?

A Small correction. The errors did not vanish by themselves. To

answer your question, whenever a validation error is raised (like in
our case), the interceptor returns a string called “input”. You can
then catch this string in the struts.xml and provide a
corresponding page. When we first ran the application, there was
no result with name as input. As a result it threw an exception.
After we added a new result row with name as input, that issue
was resolved

54
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
But then we faced the next problem. The system just displayed
the input page but did not show any error message or nothing.
It just showed whatever I entered. Is not a bug in struts?

No, definitely not. Since we have mentioned this jsp in our result
element the control is passed back to this page. However we did
not specify to the struts framework that the error should be
displayed. We then added the code <s:actionerror /> which tells
the framework that the error should be displayed on the page. So,
the error was promptly displayed after we included this code in the
action

55
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Wow man. That was great explanation. One last question. I
was surprised to see that whatever I entered originally was
still there even after the error was raised. How are the values
maintained over requests.

That is the power of value stack. We saw that the params

interceptor is responsible for passing the values from screen to
action. This gets executed before validation. Hence the values
will be available in the action class. When the error is thrown,
the JSP page retrieves the value from the value stack which in
turn gets it back from the action class. So, the values are still
there. So, it is automatic. You do not have to do anything extra
to achieve this functionality.

56
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
Technology has improved so much aaa!! Now what next!!
BTW, the error message is hard coded in the action class. It’s a
bad practice you know. Is there a better way?

Yes, that’s our next topic

57
Resource Bundles and Internationalization
 As already seen, the ActionSupport class implements TextProvider and
LocaleProvider interfaces
 These are the interfaces used for internationalization and resource bundling

 Let us now see how we can take advantage of this provision from Struts

58
Exercise
 Create a properties file called struts.properties under default package

 Add the following:

– struts.custom.i18n.resources=guest

 Create a properties file called guest.properties under default package

 Add the following:

– address.age.error = Age should be greater than 18!!

 In the Action class instead of hardcoding the error use the following:
– this.addActionError(this.getText("address.age.error");

 Run and observe the behavior

 Any error messages can be added in future by just adding a set of key
value pairs in the guest.properties and correspondingly referring them
from the action class

59
Dumbo Vs. Jumbo
All is well. But is it
mandatory that the resource
bundle should be named as
guest. Can I name it as
whatever I want?
Good Man. One more question. I
see that the error message is
displayed at the top of the page.
Is there a way I can have error
messages displayed above each
field instead of at the top

Yes it is possible. Let us do this exercise to

understand:

Yes of course. That’s why we have

struts.properties. you can name it as whatever
in struts.properties instead of guest

60
Exercise
 Note down the name of the age field in the Address Capture JSP

 Now in the action class instead of the addActionError do the

following:
– this.addFieldError(“<full_name_of_age_field>”,this.getText("add
ress.age.error"));
 Run and observe the behavior

 You will find that the error message is displayed above the Age field
instead of at the top

61
Exercise
 Add a new field called salary

 Add a validation for this field as follows:

– If Age > 25 then Salary is mandatory

 This should be displayed at the field level

 If there are no validation errors, the next page should display all
details including Salary

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Session 5

We are coming to the end of an

interesting session on Struts. 2..
Stay tuned to learn more interesting
concepts in Struts 2 next week.
Have a great weekend.

63
Session 5

Thank You !

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