Thank you, everyone who replied. Just one clarification: Boris, did you mean EJBs when you said "Java Beans"? I would rather not use EJBs. I'm only using a Web container, not an application server. Also, if what you're referring to are just regular beans, would they be in a package? I know that is probably a stupid question, but I have never used beans before, and two developers I've spoken to in the past have warned me away from EJBs, so when I was planning this particular project, I was not even considering EJBs.
Jim's suggestion that I package classes and access the methods from the JSPs sounded like a nice, simple, clean way to do things. His caveat was that it should be used with caution, and for simple applications. If an application were not so simple (and right now, the one I'm working on is), would Java Beans then be the better alternative, if I were able to acquire the knowledge I needed to use them? By the way, I read that Taglibs are the next evolution from Java Beans and that it is better to use them, in a posting on a user list. I belong to a number of them, and I can't say which one it was. But perhaps my paraphrasing of what was said there is inaccurate. I did, however, get an impression from reading it that Tag libraries make using beans obsolete, though that might not have been the author's intent. I guess that's how rumours get started. ;-) I do really appreciate all the knowledge that is being shared on these lists. I'd be lost without them, and it sure helps to have such misconceptions cleared up. Val ----- Original Message ----- From: "Borislav Iordanov" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 12:20 PM Subject: Re: Database Access Using Tags Val, > > I seem to recall reading on one of the user lists (maybe this one) that > using taglibs for connecting to the database was not a good idea, for > security reasons. The consensus was that it was at least better than > embedding Java scrptlets in your JSP. > The main reason accessing a database through tags is better than Java scriptlets is that the code is simpler and cleaner. From an architecture/design point of view, both approaches can be considered equivalent. The main reason NOT to access a database in the JSPs is separating business logic from presentation, given that you consider JSPs as presentation only technology (strange as it may seem, not everybody does!). And Model 2 is one approach to that, the most popular one, but not necessarily the best. > My question/plea for input here is regarding what I should be using to > write > the actual connection in. If tags are not recommended, then should I be > using a class, a bean, or a servlet to do that work? I read recently > (I've > been doing a LOT of reading) that tags are a replacement for beans--though > that sort of conflicts with the point that I read before that tags are > only > one step up from using scriptlets. I'm starting to conclude that I should > be using a servlet, but I would really appreciate some confirmation from > people who are experienced with all this. > First, tags are not a replacement for beans, I wonder where you read that ;) Tags are means for providing abstractions/encapsulating functionality, be it business logic or presentation related, that is accessible through an XML-based syntax in a JSP page. That's pretty much all tags are. If you want to separate presentation from the business logic, the first thing you should do is encapsulate the business logic in Java beans. Those Java beans will work with the database to access/store/update/delete data. And the JSPs will use those Java beans to get the information to display. When it comes to getting input from the end-user and storing it in the database, you will need to somehow set the bean properties from a submitted HTML form and tell the bean to write its information to the database (e.g. something like mybean.insert() or mybean.update). Again, the Java bean deals with database access and your presentation layer deals only with the Java bean. Most JSP/Servlets frameworks map submitted form fields to bean properties automatically. Struts (the most popular Model 2 framework) does that, even though it limits the types of your bean properties to primitive Java types. Our product TICL does it also. All this is pretty much standard practice... > > Also, is it possible/necessary to try to make the structure of the Web > application object oriented? If I'm using JSP, does that negate the need > for creating an object oriented design--does it make that kind of a > design, > even though I'm using Java, impossible to really do? > It is possible and good practice to have your web application be object-oriented. However, JSPs make that very difficult, because they can't be sub-classed. By encapsulating the business logic of your application in Java beans, you have at least that be object-oriented. The presentation logic can be made object-oriented, or close to, by ᚠsng one of the available UI frameworks. Cheers, Boris =========================================================================== To unsubscribe: mailto [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body: "signoff JSP-INTEREST". For digest: mailto [EMAIL PROTECTED] with body: "set JSP-INTEREST DIGEST". Some relevant FAQs on JSP/Servlets can be found at: http://archives.java.sun.com/jsp-interest.html http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/faq.html http://www.esperanto.org.nz/jsp/jspfaq.jsp http://www.jguru.com/faq/index.jsp http://www.jspinsider.com
