| Since JavaServer Faces first arrived on the Internet technology stage as the new standard
for building Java-based Web applications, it has gained significant attention from the Java EE
Web development community.Many developers are excited that they can use the standard
JavaServer Faces HTML Basic RenderKit to create HTML-based Web applications, much as
they did in the past with other technologies, such as Apache Struts. However, this is only the
tip of the iceberg—the true power of JavaServer Faces lies in its extensible component model,
which allows you to go far beyond those humble HTML beginnings.
Based on the recent surge in demand for improved usability in Web applications, it is
understandable that the hottest topic at the moment is Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) and
how they offer distributed, server-based Web applications with a rich interface and the interaction
capabilities of desktop applications. Although RIAs hold significant promise, they still
have issues with compatibility, portability, usability, and reusability. Many Web application
developers are struggling to keep up with new RIA frameworks, both open source and vendor
specific, as they appear on the market. What is needed is a standard way of defining an RIA
regardless of what RIA framework is being used.
The debate over the best way to develop and deploy RIAs will not end with this book, but
looking at the software industry today more and more developers are using the Web to deploy
their applications.
User interfaces for these Web applications are often built with technologies such as HTML,
CSS, JavaScript, and the DOM. These technologies were not developed with enterprise applications
in mind, and with an increasing pressure from consumers to provide applications with
features not fully described or supported by these technologies, developers are looking for
alternative solutions or to extend the standards.
So, here we are, hoping that you will enjoy reading this book as much as we enjoyed
writing it. |
