Is Struts (or browser based applications in general) useable to build maintenance-applications?

[Martin Kuhn <ma...@gmx.at>]

We are in a decision-process about the front-end for
a maintenance-application in insurance-domain.

The communication with the backend (mainframe) 
happens via XML.

This front-end infrastructure should be the base structure
for new applications (not only for the maintenance-application).

So my preference is to build a browser-based front end 
with Struts :-)

But I'm unsure about the useability of a browser based
front-end in maintenance context ( -> keyboard-navigation, 
etc.). I know, several things can resolved with Javascript.

Is it a risky way to develop a browser-based front-end for 
a maintenance app.

Can someone share experience to build maintenance-apps
with struts (or a browser based front-end in general)?

TIA

Martin Kuhn

RE: Is Struts (or browser based applications in general) useable to build maintenance-applications?

[Andrew Hill <an...@gridnode.com>]

Well I dont know what the issues with maintenance apps in particular are,
but for any web app (which is an application rather than just some trivial
website or portal with dynamic bits) you will have a lot of issues with
users doing things like using back buttons, bookmarks, etc... which can
really upset your server side sense of application state. Managing this can
be a real pain.

As soon as you go beyond trivial UI needs (ie: anything more complex than a
very basic example app) you also have to deal with a myriad of issues
related to browser compatibilities, container portability issues, etc...
Some ppl will tell you to develop code that meets the 'standards' and runs
on all broswers without using javascript. Unless your users are happy with a
very minimalist UI (Ive yet to meet one who is) thats something of an
impossibility so you have a lot of decisions to make in terms of what and
what not to support.
A lot of things that might take only a few lines of code to achieve in a
Swing based client can be fiendishly complex in html (keeping your state
maintained correctly in relation to what the user is seeing on their screen,
fancy widgets, modal stuff...)

On the positive side, your users wont need to install a client application
onto their machines which makes rolling out changes a lot easier (and for a
big organisation a LOT cheaper).
In addition a lot of things that require tons of code in Swing can be
achieved relatively easily from a browser UI. (For example printing a fancy
report just means forwarding to a page that presents the info nicely and
telling the user to click 'print' ;->)

-----Original Message-----
From: Martin Kuhn [mailto:martin.kuhn@gmx.at]
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 15:46
To: struts-user@jakarta.apache.org
Subject: Is Struts (or browser based applications in general) useable to
build maintenance-applications?


We are in a decision-process about the front-end for
a maintenance-application in insurance-domain.

The communication with the backend (mainframe)
happens via XML.

This front-end infrastructure should be the base structure
for new applications (not only for the maintenance-application).

So my preference is to build a browser-based front end
with Struts :-)

But I'm unsure about the useability of a browser based
front-end in maintenance context ( -> keyboard-navigation,
etc.). I know, several things can resolved with Javascript.

Is it a risky way to develop a browser-based front-end for
a maintenance app.

Can someone share experience to build maintenance-apps
with struts (or a browser based front-end in general)?

TIA

Martin Kuhn




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