Struts 1.3: Validations and Commands

["Benedict, Paul C" <pa...@merck.com>]

Is it the intention of Struts 1.3 to run ExecuteCommand regardless of
validation failure? Looking at the commands listed in chain-config.xml,
neither AbstractValidateActionForm or AbstractSelectInput return true if
validation failed.

I am curious about this design decision. If validation fails, what use is
executing the command?

Thanks,
Paul



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Re: Struts 1.3: Validations and Commands

[Joe Germuska <Jo...@Germuska.com>]

At 4:10 PM -0500 1/26/05, Benedict, Paul C wrote:
>Is it the intention of Struts 1.3 to run ExecuteCommand regardless of
>validation failure? Looking at the commands listed in chain-config.xml,
>neither AbstractValidateActionForm or AbstractSelectInput return true if
>validation failed.
>
>I am curious about this design decision. If validation fails, what use is
>executing the command?

ExecuteCommand does not execute the command if the validation failed, 
but this is because it checks the context to see the state of the 
validation; this is how everything after validation works in the 
current default chain.  (There's actually a protected 
"shouldProcess(Context)" method which could be overridden in a 
subclass to use different rules about whether or not to call the 
command.)

The validation steps don't return true, because if it did, the 
"PerformForward" which returns to the input view for the form which 
failed validation would never execute.  AbstractValidateActionForm 
can never return "true" (in the current design), because it doesn't 
deal with putting an ActionForward into the context -- that happens 
in AbstractSelectInput.

I kind of prefer a model which has two chains, an "Action" (request) 
chain and a "View" (response) chain.  In this case, the "goal" of the 
"Action" chain would be to put an ActionForward into the context, and 
any command which did that could return "true" after doing that. 
Then later commands wouldn't have to repeatedly test the context to 
see whether the validation worked.

This is the line I was working along in the ActionContext stuff I was 
posting a lot about a couple of weeks ago.  Unfortunately, I haven't 
had much time to progress past that, but that's how I've been 
thinking about it.  It's another example of something I'd rather hear 
some more ideas on before I commit it (although the delay has been 
more just about my available time.)

Joe

-- 
Joe Germuska            
Joe@Germuska.com  
http://blog.germuska.com    
"Narrow minds are weapons made for mass destruction"  -The Ex

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