Re: [Echo-list] Echo vs JavaServer Faces

[Terry L. <tj...@la...>]

JSF is basically Struts recast into a JCP standard (I think the JSR was =20=

created by one of the original author's of Struts).  As such, it is a =20=

good framework for creating page based dynamic web sites.  There are =20
extensive tools for handling forms, databases, etc.

Echo on the other hand is really trying to solve different problems.  =20=

Echo is completely separated from the page based model for web =20
applications and more resembles Swing or a native GUI API than it does =20=

existing web frameworks.

If you want to create a  dynamic "web site", JSF (or Struts) would be a =20=

good choice.  If you want to create a dynamic "web application", then =20=

Echo is one of the few frameworks that will let you do that and achieve =20=

rich interactions without resorting to hand coding mounds of JavaScript =20=

and low-level form/frame/window handling code.  Since Echo renders =20
everything with straight HTML and JavaScript, it is certainly possible =20=

to duplicate the rich interaction support present in Echo by hand =20
coding an application with any dynamic server side technology.  =20
However, in all honesty, most developers simple do not have the =20
time/skill  to do this and often produce very simple web applications =20=

due to limitations in the tools.

Anyway, Echo is not the tool for everything.  It seeks to replace =20
traditional tools only for the case of true "web applications".  And =20
for this class of problems, I think it does very well (emphasis on "I =20=

think"... you need to evaluate it against your needs).  By not trying =20=

to be all things to all people, Echo really fills a niche that has been =20=

virtually unoccupied by other tools.

Brad Baker has a couple of articles on the EchoPoint web site =20
(EchoPoint is a component library for Echo) that address your question:
	=
http://echopoint.sourceforge.net/OlderArticles/WhyDoItAllInJava.html
	http://echopoint.sourceforge.net/OlderArticles/=20
WhenNotToUseEchoAndEchoPo.html

Terry


On Mar 9, 2004, at 8:49 AM, Assini, Pasqualino wrote:

> Has anyone worked with JavaServer Faces and could provide a comparison =
=20
> with Echo?
> =A0
> Thanks
> =A0
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 titto
> =A0
> =A0