Introduction to JSF

JSF stands for Java Server Faces, it is a new technology for developing web based applications on Java technologies.

About JSF?

The JavaServer is a framework which standard Java API for making user interface components in the web based applications. We first see the reasons that initiated the Java Server Faces (JSF) project. There are different reasons for developing to new framework and install to many already existing technologies like Servlets, JSP, Struts , and many more. If you have developed complex web based applications in JSP application then you must be knowledgeable the problem looked with those technologies. There are some problems looked with the previous technologies like JSP and Servlets.

Slow and repetitious coding: The Old technologies like JSP make programmer to do ,very slow and repetitive coding for developing any web based application.

Direct working of HTTP request and response: Here, using these technologies, the programmers directly work with HTTP request and response objects between client and servers. It controls all the data of applications which are used.

Non accessibility of IDE: Not accessibility of IDE is another important part to move back in the programmers productivity and growth cost of the projects increments.

Advantage of Java

JSF provides reusable components for creating user interfaces web applications.
JSF provides many tag libraries for accessing the components.
It automatically saves the data and reply the form when it is displayed at client side.

Overview of JSF Technology

Java Server Faces technology (JSF) changes the development of Java Based web applications. The Java Server Faces technology (JSF) was developed by Java community Process (JCP). This is a community of web application experts. These experts are from different groups like Oracle, Sun, IBM etc. These all company worked together to take the best from existing technologies and removed problems. The Java Server Faces ( JSF) for short, is the standard framework to simplify the process of developing web application in java.

The main features of Java Server Faces ( JSF) are:

1. Page writers: Web page designers have experience with graphic design and many more. The web page designers design the application for look and feel application in html/jsp using tag libraries of Java Server Faces ( JSF).

2. Application developers: Application developers can incorporate this designing with UI components. They program objects are:

Event handles
Converters
Validator

3. Component writers: Component developer can make custom UI components because of JSF’s extensible and customizable nature. They can create their own components directly from UI component classes of JSF.

4. Application architects: Application designers are responsible for designing web applications.

5. Tool vendors: The JSF provide the befitted for tool vendors, and for example Sun Java Studio Creator application development tool, which is provide tools that take advantages of JSF to create UI easier.

Releases of JSF

JSF 1.2 (11 may 2006) - Latest release of JSF specification.
JSF 1.1 (27 may 2004) - Bug fix release. No specification changes. No HTML rename changes.
JSF 1.0 (11 mar 2004) - Initial release of JSF specification.

There are many releases of 1.1 and 1.2 and these are listed below showing released date also:

1.2_04 P01 (20 Mar 2007)
1.2_04 (5 Mar 2007)
1.2_02 (25 Aug 2006)
1.2_01 (14 July 2006)
1.1_02 (24 Apr 2006)
1.1_01 (07 Sep 2004)

New Features of JSF

Unified formula Language (EL)
Ajax Support
New Tree Creation and message Interweaving Model for Faces applications that use JSP
Integration with JSTL
Back Button issues and Multi Frame or Multi Window Faces Apps
Associating a message with a particular component in the page
Expose an application wide resourcefully to the EL
Use of multiple rendition
Provide XML scheme for the conformation files, rather of using DTD
Security enhancements for client side state saving
Solve the "duplication" problem
The portion related bug-fixes