[Springframework-developer] FW: Spring with Eclipse

[Keith D. <kd...@cs...>]

This is in regard to our eclipse plugin... Greg is having trouble =
getting it
to run under Websphere's Studio (WSAD) Enterprise edition (which is =
based on
Eclipse.)

On a related note if you guys have any recommendations for sound Eclipse
plugins that support J2EE development, let me know and I can pass it on =
to
him.

Thanks!
Keith


-----Original Message-----
From: Groves, Greg [mailto:gre...@FL...]=20
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 11:08 AM
To: 'Keith Donald'
Subject: RE: Spring with Eclipse


Thanks for the prompt reply, Keith. =20

Let Torsten know I'll be happy to help him if he needs a test subject =
for
getting SpringUI to work under WSAD.  I'm actually using the Enterprise
version, which has more options for connecting to mainframes... but =
probably
more opportunities for conflicts too. I'm getting "An error has occurred
activating decorator Spring Project Decorator" at start-up.

Thanks again, and I'll be trying out Spring.

Greg

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Donald [mailto:kd...@cs...]
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 10:55 AM
To: 'Groves, Greg'
Subject: RE: Spring with Eclipse


Greg,

Glad you enjoyed the presentation!=20

As far as xml products, I've seen good things mentioned about "XmlBuddy"
(http://xmlbuddy.com/) and "XmlMind" (http://www.xmlmind.com/xmleditor/) =
on
the lists, but I've never used them personally.

We use "straight Eclipse" here, too.  We aren't too heavy on any custom =
J2EE
plugins, we generally just work with the JDT and live by the awesome
refactoring support (and of course we use the Ant, CVS, and JUnit =
plugins.)

I'll pass the info along to Torsten that you're unable to get the Spring
eclipse plugin to work in WSAD.  It may be because the Spring UI plugin =
only
supports the later 3.0 release path, but I am only speculating at this
point.

I would highly recommend Spring's MVC framework over Struts.  In general
it's more flexible and is easier to write cohesive, reusable classes =
that
aren't dependent on the framework or any servlet API.  I just picked up =
this
insightful post from an existing user on the advantages of Spring MVC
compared to Struts so I thought I'd attach it:


-----Original Message-----
From: spr...@li...
[mailto:spr...@li...] On Behalf Of
Daniel Miller
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 9:17 AM
To: spr...@li...
Subject: RE: [Springframework-user] Controller flow and controller =
hierarchy
issues - Bayesian Filter detected spam


Tomasz,

I have used Spring MVC and can testify that it is much cleaner than =
Struts
MVC. Instead of having a monolithic "execute" method, Spring controllers
have an embedded event model that encourages you to place your logic =
into
logical (no pun intended) places, which has an end result of producing =
more
predicable, extensible, and understandable control flow. Many pieces of
logic that would be placed in separate Struts controllers are delegated =
to
reusable classes or extensible methods (e.g. command creation, data =
binding,
and validation). I have never found a case of needing more than a single
controller to handle a request with Spring MVC, while with Struts I was
often cascading controllers in order to separate code into logical =
tasks.
The most useful part of Spring's MVC layer is the automatic data =
binding. It
allows controllers to be controllers, instead of data binders. I found =
that
most of my Struts controllers ended up being complicated data binders =
with a
sprinkling of control logic instead of flow controllers like they should =
be.
If custom binding logic is needed, a custom binder class can always be
plugged into the createBinder method.

Initially I struggled with the lavish use of final methods in the base
controller classes provided with Spring (most of which are necessary by =
the
way). I too thought I would have to rewrite a few of those classes. =
However,
I have found after detailed inspection of the method invocation order, =
that
there is much more flexibility than first meets the eye.

** Better documentation is certainly a must for the Spring MVC =
framework.
The most important part (in my opinion) is a detailed list of all =
methods
that can be overridden and the order in which they are called (for each
separate controller, not just for). I have found myself building flow =
charts
first by inspecting the JavaDoc and then by tracing the actual flow of =
the
code when the JavaDoc is not detailed enough. **

In closing, I would encourage you to avoid hierarchical controllers. If =
you
find yourself needing them your workflow is probably not clearly defined =
or
needs to be refactored.

Daniel Miller


-----Original Message-----
From: Groves, Greg [mailto:gre...@FL...]=20
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 9:41 AM
To: 'kd...@cs...'
Subject: Spring with Eclipse


Hi Keith,

I very much enjoyed your presentation of Spring at OJUG last month. I =
was
one of those who stayed until the not-so-bitter end.

It was very timely because we are in the midst of re-evaluating all =
things
Java, and one thing I have been pushing for is that we need to =
standardize
on a framework.  Struts is obviously a contender, as are Turbine and =
JSF.
But I was very impressed with Spring, and am looking to try it on a test
project.

One other thing we are looking at is tools. We currently use IBM's =
WebSphere
Studio Application Developer (which is Eclipse-based). But it is very
expensive, and as our pool of Java developers grows it becomes
cost-prohibitive. So I'm trying out 'straight' Eclipse. (Also, SpringUI
doesn't work with WSAD for some reason.)

So I was wondering if you had any recommendations for Eclipse plug-ins =
that
work well with Spring and SpringUI.  I'm finding lots of J2EE plug-ins =
and
wonder if you've tried them.  Another thing we need is helpers for XML +
XSLT; most of our data lives on the IBM mainframe and is delivered to =
our
Web apps as XML.

If you've got ideas for plug-ins that work well together with Spring I'd
really appreciate it. Thanks!

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