Frequently Asked Questions

What is this course about? This course provides the knowledge and skills to build enterprise Web applications using server-side Java within the Struts 2 framework. You learn to streamline the application development process by integrating, applying and extending Struts 2 components. What is Struts 2 and how is it used in the course? Struts 2 is the next generation Java Web application framework that has been built using best practices and lessons learned from a wide variety of Java frameworks. Struts 2 provides developers with a flexible set of building blocks to create an infrastructure that implements low-level services such as form processing, data validation and application navigation. Leveraging the Struts 2 framework, developers can take advantage of the rich set of out-of-the-box default behaviors provided to rapidly build scalable enterprise Java Web applications. Who will benefit from this course? This course is useful for programmers, software engineers, analysts and managers involved in developing Java Web applications with Struts 2. What background do I need? Knowledge of Java at the level of Course 471, Java Programming: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, is assumed. You should have 3-6 months experience with Java and the ability to: Understand Java classes and the inheritance model; and Use the standard Java APIs. In addition, familiarity with Web development technologies such as servlets & JSP is helpful. For an introduction to Java Web development, we recommend Course 570, Developing Java Web Applications: Hands-On. How does this course differ from Course 521: Struts 1 for Enterprise Java Web Development: Hands-On? Struts 1 and Struts 2 are completely different products and the content of the two courses is totally different. Course 521 is suitable for those who are currently using Struts 1 and will continue to do so. Struts 2 is the next generation product and is suitable for new projects that want to take advantage of the new lightweight framework, which requires a distinctively new skillset. What version of Java does this course use? This course uses Java Enterprise Edition 5. Does this course use IDEs? This course does not cover Java IDEs. The emphasis is on the Java server-side technology, not the tools. However, the Eclipse Java IDE is used in hands-on exercises. The concepts you learn in the course also apply to Borland JBuilder, IBM WebSphere Studio and other Java IDE tools. How much time is devoted to each topic? Content Hours Setting the landscape 2.0 Configuring Struts 2 2.0 Implementing Struts 2 actions 2.0 Gathering and validating user input 4.0 Adding functionality with interceptors 4.0 Object Graph Navigation Language (OGNL) 2.5 Generating dynamic views 3.0 Enhancing the user experience 3.5 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. How much time is spent on hands-on exercises? Approximately 40% of class time is devoted to hands on exercises. These include: Implementing ModelDriven actions Adding common functionality with interceptors Generating dynamic views with the built-in features of the Struts 2 Tag Library Detecting input errors with the validation framework Building lightweight outputs using Freemarker Accessing model data with standards-based OGNL Providing a rich client experience with Ajax What systems and software are used? This course uses PCs running Windows, a Web browser and a Java application server. The course also uses Windows running on MySQL as a database server. However, everything you learn during this course applies to UNIX, Macintosh and other systems. If I have taken Course 521, should I take this course? Yes, if you are looking to evaluate Struts 2. Course 521 and this course are completely different and there is no overlap in content between them. Which application server is used in this course? You use the Apache Tomcat application server for the classroom exercises. However, the course notes and exercises adhere to Sun's servlet and JSP standards. The applications developed in the course are portable to all J2EE application servers, including WebLogic, WebSphere, Oracle Java Application Server, JBoss, etc. I need to learn Struts. Which couse should I take? Course 521 is suitable for organizations that are currently using Struts 1 and will continue to do so. This course covers Struts 2, the next generation product, and is suitable for new projects and those who want to take advantage of the new lightweight framework, which requires a different skillset. Does this course cover migration from Struts 1 to Struts 2? No, the two technologies are so different that it requires a rewrite of most of the code in order to switch from Struts 1 to Struts 2. Converting a working Struts 1 project to Struts 2 is not recommended. How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? Learning Tree offers a number of courses that will help you expand upon the knowledge gained in this course and further your skills in several key areas. Those courses include: 936, Java Enterprise Edition 5: Integrating JSF, EJB 3 and JPA  517, Developing Enterprise Java Applications with Spring and Hibernate®: Hands-On  577, Building XML Web Services with Java: Hands-On  318, Building Java Enterprise Applications with Design Patterns: Hands-On  986, Developing Ajax Web 2.0 Applications: Hands-On  931, Agile Programming: Principles and Practices for Software Success  346, Project Leadership: Building High-Performance Teams

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