creating first struts application
To create your first Struts application in Java, you can follow these steps:
Set up the development environment: Before you start creating the Struts application, make sure that you have set up the development environment as per the instructions provided earlier.
Create a new Struts 2 project: Open your IDE and create a new Struts 2 project. You can use a project template or create a new project from scratch. Ensure that the project has all the necessary Struts 2 libraries, configuration files, and dependencies.
Create a new action class: In Struts 2, the controller is implemented as an Action class. Create a new Java class that extends the ActionSupport class, which provides several helper methods for processing user input. In this class, you can define a method that handles a user request and returns a result.
For example, you can create a class named HelloAction that has a method named execute() that returns a result named "success".
package com.example;
import com.opensymphony.xwork2.ActionSupport;
public class HelloAction extends ActionSupport {
public String execute() {
return "success";
}
}
- Define the view: The view is the user interface that the user interacts with. In Struts 2, you can use JSP pages or FreeMarker templates to define the view. Create a JSP page that displays a welcome message to the user.
<%@ page contentType="text/html; charset=UTF-8" language="java" %>
<html>
<head>
<title>Hello World!</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello, Struts!</h1>
</body>
</html>
- Configure the application: Struts 2 requires several configuration files to work correctly. You need to configure the struts.xml file to specify the application's settings and dependencies. In this file, you can define a mapping between the user request and the action class, and specify the result to be returned.
<!DOCTYPE struts PUBLIC
"-//Apache Software Foundation//DTD Struts Configuration 2.5//EN"
"http://struts.apache.org/dtds/struts-2.5.dtd">
<struts>
<package name="default" namespace="/" extends="struts-default">
<action name="hello" class="com.example.HelloAction">
<result name="success">/hello.jsp</result>
</action>
</package>
</struts>
- Test the application: Once you have created the action class, defined the view, and configured the application, you can test it by running it on a web server such as Apache Tomcat. You can access the application in a web browser and enter the URL of the action.
For example, if you have named the action "hello", you can access it by entering the following URL in the browser:
http://localhost:8080/yourapp/hello
This should display the welcome message on the web page.
Overall, creating a Struts 2 application involves creating a new project, defining the action class, creating the view, configuring the application, and testing it. Struts 2 provides a powerful and flexible framework for building robust web applications in Java.
