This issue was discussed in two different threads last week: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/msg81101.html
and also in a post called "action form design question" which i am having trouble bringing up b/c of the very generic subject line ;) Matt ----- Original Message ----- From: "John C Cartwright" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Struts Users Mailing List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 22, 2003 2:12 PM Subject: Re: What's an ActionForm? - best practice? > Hello All, > > I just want to confirm what seems to be alluded to in some of the > documentation regarding ActionForms. > > Is it appropriate or recommended to have properties in an ActionForm > that are not to be taken from the request? > > For instance, I'm using my ActionForm to "carry" data from the Action > back to the JSP. These data originated in the business object, not the > request, and are held in beans themselves. > > I'm assuming that this is a better strategy than simply putting the > business object-supplied beans into the request or session scopes. > > Thanks for the advice! > > -- john > > > Ted Husted wrote: > > When discussing patterns, like "View Helper" and "Context", it's > > important to remember that these are *patterns* not architectural > > elements. In an implementation, a class will often use several patterns. > > > > An ActionForm is both a Context and a View Helper. It's a Context when > > the Request Processor passes it to the Action, and a View Helper when > > the ActionServlet passes it back to the Server Page. > > > > From a Core J2EE Patterns Catalog perspective, Struts is most like a > > Service to Worker. It combines several simpler patterns, like Front > > Controller, Application Controller, and View Helper. But in each case, > > more than one class is used to fulfill each of these roles. The > > ActionServlet and Request Processor serve as the Front Controller, the > > ActionMappings and Actions comprise an Application Controller, and the > > ActionForm and Server Page (with any associated taglibs or tools) act as > > the View Helper. > > > > An ActionForm may represent *input* that a business object requires, but > > an ActionForm is not itself a business object. As it stands, Actions and > > ActionForms are coupled to Struts and the web layer and should not > > thought of as proper business classes. > > > > For more about ActionForms generally, see > > > > http://jakarta.apache.org/struts/faqs/newbie.html#actionForms > > > > and > > > > http://jakarta.apache.org/struts/userGuide/building_controller.html#action_form_classes > > > > > > -Ted. > > > > Yansheng Lin wrote: > > > >> In J2EE pattern catalog, where does an ActionForm Bean fit in? I > >> thought it was > >> a Business Object, but then what is a view helper and a context > >> object? A > >> decorator? > >> > >> Thanks! > > > > > > > > > -- > ===================================================== > John Cartwright > Associate Scientist > Geospatial Data Services Group > CIRES, National Geophysical Data Center/NOAA > (303) 497-6284 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ===================================================== > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
