Struts 1 & Eclipse - First Steps
MyStrutsHelloWorld
(Note: Struts 2 Tutorial is Available!)

(Free Web Tutorial)

by Michael Thomas

Struts Home Page

NOTE: A Struts 2 tutorial is available!  I'm keeping this version of the Tutorial for those still working with Struts 1.

 This web page will help you get started with Struts 1.2.8 framework running on Tomcat 5.5 Web Application Server using the Eclipse 3.1.1 IDE.  This tutorial needs to be updated to the current versions but it should work as is.

The next section is "Reference Info".  Refer to it as needed.  Now skip to the section "First Steps - Struts & Eclipse (IDE)"

Reference info - Refer to this section as needed.  Now skip to the next section.

• You can download the final solution for reference
  • mystruts-helloworld-final.zip - Extract the zip file and then place the .war file in the webapps directory of your Tomcat install.
• Stop/Start the "Apache Tomcat" service - (Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services).  You can stop and/or start the service "Apache Tomcat" here.
• Reload a Web App (using Tomcat Manager)
  • Goto: http://localhost:8080/
  • Click on "Tomcat Manager"
  • User: admin
    Pswd:  <enter your password>
  • Click "Reload"  (Or you can click Stop, then Start)
  • Note:  You will need to do a "Reload" when ever you do the following:
    • Change a property file.
    • Change a Java source/class file.
    • Change an XML file used for configuration: web.xml, struts-config.xml, etc...
  • Note:  You DO NOT need to "Reload" when you do the following:
    • Change a JSP file.
    • Change a HTML file.
• Tomcat install directory location:
  C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5
• Tomcat common library directory
  • C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\common\lib
• Location of the Web App we will create:
  Directory: C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\webapps\mystruts-helloworld
  URL: http://localhost:8080/mystruts-helloworld
• Additional Notes
  • Caching problems - Tomcat does keep a working directory copy of the webapps.  If you reuse directory names, copy files with older dates into a directory, or are having weird cache issues delete the working directory for the web app.  Make sure you stop the "Apache Tomcat" service first.  You may want to try Stop/Starting the web app first.
    C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\work\Catalina\localhost\

First Steps - Struts & Eclipse (IDE)

Setup Eclipse & the Struts Webapp

• Pre-requests:  Java SDK, Eclipse, Tomcat & Struts.  If you need help with the pre-requests click on this link Free Java Training & Resources  
• struts-blank Web App - Test the web app.
  • After completing the Struts installation you should have the file "struts-blank.war" in your Tomcat webapps directory.
  • Launch the application with the following  URL: http://localhost:8080/struts-blank
  • You should see a welcome page.
• Create a blank Struts Web Application called: mystruts-helloworld
  Choose one of the following options
  • Option A - copying a directory
    • Stop the "Apache Tomcat" service (see Reference Info).
    • In Win Explorer go to the Tomcat install directory and locate the "webapps" folder (see Reference info above).
    • Make a copy of the directory "struts-blank" to a directory called "mystruts-helloworld".
    • Start the "Apache Tomcat" service.
  • Option B - using a .war file.
    • In Win Explorer go to the Tomcat install directory and locate the "webapps" folder (see Reference info above).
    • Make a copy of the file "struts-blank.war" to a temporary directory (ie: c:\temp etc...) and rename the file to: "mystruts-helloworld.war".
      You can find the .war file in the Tomcat install directory (see Reference info above).
    • Copy the file back to the Tomcat install directory.
      Note: Tomcat will automatically create the web application (directories & files) from the .war file.
    • At your convenience you can remove the .war file by following the following steps:
      • Stop the "Apache Tomcat" service (see Reference Info).
      • Delete the .war file
      • Start the "Apache Tomcat" service.
      • Note:  If you don't stop the service first I've noticed that Tomcat may remove the directory also (weird in my opinion).
• mystruts-helloworld Web App - Test the web app.
  • Make sure the web app works. Goto:  http://localhost:8080/mystruts-helloworld
  • You should see a Welcome page that was identical to the web app "struts-blank".
• Eclipse - Create a Java Project
  • Launch Eclipse
  • File, New, Project, Java Project, Next
  • Project Name: mystruts-helloworld
  • Contents: "Create project from existing source".
  • Click "Next"
  • Click "Browse" and locate the directory in the Tomcat WebApp directory.  Click "OK"
  • On the "Java Settings" screen change the "Default output folder" to: mystruts-helloworld/WEB-INF/classes
  • If you see the prompt "The output folder has changed ...." click "Yes"
  • Click "Finish"
• Eclipse - Build Path - Tomcat lib jars - add these files to the build path.
  • Right click on the project.
  • Click "Build Path", "Configure Build Path", then click the tab "Libraries"
  • Click "Add External JARs"
  • Browse to the Tomcat common library directory (see Reference info above)
  • Select all of the JAR files and click "Open".
  • Click "OK" to leave the "Java Build Path" screen.
  • Now you can compile java programs that access Struts classes.
• Eclipse - Struts Library Files - FYI

  • FYI (For Your Information) - If you find you need access to any additional struts library files other than the ones that were copied over when you copied the web app "struts-blank", you can follow the steps below:

    • Here is the concept.  Copy the jar files from the Struts library that has the classes that you need to compile your .java program to the lib directory of your web app.
    • Example:
      Copy all (or the ones you need) of the Struts library files from the Struts install we did earlier in the Struts - First Steps.
      Copy from: C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\struts-1.2.8-bin\lib
      Copy to: C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\webapps\mystruts-helloworld\WEB-INF\lib
• Eclipse - Source Folder 
  • We need to create a source folder where we can place our Java Source code.  Currently we have a folder but we need to let Eclipse know it is a source folder.
  • In Eclipse, Right click on the mystruts-helloworld project and choose "New", "Source Folder".
    Folder name = WEB-INF\src
• MessageResources.properties - currently this file is sitting in a package called "java".  If we were to make changes to this file in Eclipse, Eclipse will automatically copy the updated file to our output folder: mystruts-helloworld/WEB-INF/classes/java
  • With Win Explorer notice that the file doesn't exist in the /classes/java directory.  It did originally exist in the /classes when we first installed the web app from "struts-blank".
  • Using Eclipse, open the file: WEB-INF\src\java\MessageResources.properties
  • Add a blank line to the end and then delete the blank line.  Now press CTRL-S to save the file.
  • Using Win Explorer, notice that the updated file was also copied to the: /classes/java directory
  • In the next step we will tell our web app where to find the new file and then delete the one in the /classes directory.
• struts-config.xml - MessageResources.properties
  • We need to tell Struts to get the property file from the new location where Eclipse automatically copies changes to the source file.
  • Edit the following file: WEB-INF\struts-config.xml
  • Make the following change:
    Was:  <message-resources parameter="MessageResources" />
    Now: <message-resources parameter="/java/MessageResources" />
  • Save the file.
  • Now delete the old resource file, unless Eclipse deleted it earlier for you, at: WEB-INF\classes\MessageResources.properties
• mystruts-helloworld Web App - Test the web app.
  • Reload the web app (see Reference Info above) because you change a property file.
  • Make sure the web app works. Goto:  http://localhost:8080/mystruts-helloworld
• Eclipse - Create a Package: com.michaelthomas.mystrutshelloworld
  • We need to create a Package where we can place our Java Source code.
  • In Eclipse, Right click on the "WEB-INF/src" source folder and choose "New", "Package".
    Name = com.michaelthomas.mystrutshelloworld

Code Changes via Eclipse (IDE) & Code Walk-through

• For the purpose of learning we will strip down the source code of the web app to the bare bones.
• Edit WEB-INF\web.xml
  • Change the "display-name" tag to read:
    <display-name>My Struts Hello World Example</display-name>
  • Notice the following entries:
    • The servlet's "config" property = /WEB-INF/struts-config.xml
    • The servlet's "debug" property = 2
    • The servlet's "detail" property = 2
    • The servlet's "load-on-startup" property = 2
    • All action servlets start with: *.do
    • The <welcome-file> = index.jsp
    • Then there is a list of standard Struts Tag Libraries (<taglib>)
      FYI - notice the taglib: /tags/struts-logic.  This will be referenced in index.jsp.
• Edit WEB-INF\index.jsp
  • When the web app is launched with http://localhost:8080/mystruts-helloworld this is the web page that displayed.
    Notice the following code:
    <%@ taglib uri="/tags/struts-logic" prefix="logic" %>
    <logic:redirect forward="welcome"/>
  • FYI (optional) - for the techy guy, looking at struts-logic.tld the shortname tag = "logic".  Also, the tag "redirect" uses the class "org.apache.struts.taglib.logic.RedirectTag".
  • The logic:redirect tag uses the Struts servlet container to locate the forward called "welcome" in the <global-forwards> section of struts-config.xml.
• Edit WEB-INF\struts-config.xml
  • Find the the <global-forwards> tag.  Locate the forward property named "welcome".  Notice that is will forward to path="/Welcome.do".  All references to *.do according to web.xml will call an Action. 
  • Look for the <action-mappings> tag section and find the action with path="/Welcome".  This logic then forwards us to: forward="/pages/Welcome.jsp".
  • The next file we will look at is the "Welcome.jsp".  Remember that the "index.jsp" does a redirect to this page.
• mystruts-helloworld Web App - Test the web app.
  • Reload the web app (see Reference Info above) because you change a property file.
  • Make sure the web app works. Goto:  http://localhost:8080/mystruts-helloworld
• Edit WEB-INF\pages\Welcome.jsp
  • The servlet container sees the tag "bean:message" and replaces the key mentioned with the matching value found in the file resource property file: WEB-INF\classes\MessageResources.properties
    Ex: <p><bean:message key="welcome.message"/></p>
  • Add the following code at the bottom of the file before the tag </body>
    <p><html:link action="/Logon"><bean:message key="welcome.logonlink"/></html:link><bean:message key="welcome.logonmessage"/></p>
    <p><html:link action="/Help"><bean:message key="welcome.helplink"/></html:link><bean:message key="welcome.helpmessage"/></p>
  • Save the file.
  • NOTE:  You will need to make a change to the resources file for this change to work.
    Launch the web app and see the error (HTTP Status 500):
    javax.servlet.ServletException: Missing message for key "welcome.logonlink"
    The next section will correct this error.
• Edit WEB-INF\src\java\MessageResources.properties
  • We need to add the following keys:  welcome.logonlink & welcome.logonmessage.  Add the following code to the bottom of this file:
    welcome.logonlink=Logon
    welcome.logonmessage= - logon page for the webapp "mystruts-helloworld" (jsp).
    welcome.helplink=Help
    welcome.helpmessage= - help instructions (html).
  • Save the file and Eclipse will copy it to: WEB-INF\classes\java
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Notice the addition of the logon link on the welcome screen.
  • Change the following: (leave the other code as is)
    welcome.title=My Struts Hello World
    welcome.heading=Welcome to "My Struts Hello World"
    welcome.message=This web app is an example of a "Hello World" type Struts application.
  • Save the file.
  • Test the web app without doing a "Reload".  Notice that the changes did not take effect.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Notice that the changes are now visible.
• The Welcome Screen should look like this.

Welcome to "My Struts Hello World"

This web app is an example of a "Hello World" type Struts application.

Logon- logon page for the webapp "mystruts-helloworld" (jsp).

Help- help instructions (html).

• Help Link - Error
  • Click on the "Help" link and see the error.
    Message: Invalid path was requested
  • The Address bar (URL) of IE will give you a hit as to where the problem lies.
    http://localhost:8080/mystruts-helloworld/Help.do - (Note: Help.do is an invalid path.)
  • Also the "catalina.yyyy.mm.dd" log in the directory "Tomcat 5.5\logs" has the details to the error.
    ex: SEVERE: Invalid path was requested /Help
• Help Link fix - help.html
  • In Eclipse right click on the "pages" directory then choose New, File.
    File name = help.html
    Click "Finish"
    (Now close the file in Eclipse.  It tried to load the empty .html file.)
  • Right click on "help.html", "Open with", "Text Editor".
  • Enter the following code and save:
    <html>
    <title>Help Screen</title>
    <body>
    <h1 align="center">Help Screen</h1>
    <p>Help info goes here.</p>
    </body>
    </html>
• Help Link Fix - WEB-INF\struts-config.xml
  • Add the following code to the <action-mappings> section: (before the closing tag: </action-mappings>)
    <!-- Display the "Help" documentation -->
    <action
        path="/Help"
        forward="/pages/help.html">
    </action>
  • Save the file.
  • Delete the Commented Sample Code - you may delete the sample actions that are commented out (between the tags: <!--  --> ).  There are 3 sample action entries:  Input, InputSubmit, /edit*
• mystruts-helloworld Web App - Test the web app.
  • Reload the web app (see Reference Info above) because you change a property file.
  • Goto:  http://localhost:8080/mystruts-helloworld
  • Click on the "Help" link.  You should now see the "Help.html" web screen.
• Logon Link Fix - WEB-INF\struts-config.xml
  • Add the following code to the <action-mappings> section:
    <!-- Display the "Logon" page -->
    <action
         path="/Logon"
        forward="/pages/logon.jsp">
    </action>
• Logon Link Fix - WEB-INF\pages\logon.jsp
  • In Eclipse right click on the "pages" directory then choose New, File.
    File name = logon.jsp
    Click "Finish"
  • Enter the following code and save:
    Logon.jsp (A) - cut-n-paste (if you type it you will learn more!) the contents of this file into your file.
  • Save the file.
• Logon Link Fix - WEB-INF\src\java\MessageResources.properties
  • Add the following keys to the properties file.
    logon.title=Logon Screen
    logon.heading=Logon Screen
    logon.message=Enter your user name and password then click "Submit"<br>(Note: test/password)
  • Save the file and Eclipse will copy it to the /classes/java directory.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Launch the web app and click on the link "Logon".  You should see the following:

    Logon Screen

    Enter your user name and password then click "Submit"
    (Note: test/password)

• Logon - Add Form - logon.jsp
  • Now we need to add an HTML form to the JSP page to get the User name & Password.
  • We will use the following Struts tags so that the servlet container will server out the necessary HTML code.
    html:form
    html:text
    html:password
    html:submit
    html:reset
  • Add the following code before the </body> tag:
    <html:form action="/LogonSubmit"
               focus="username">
    
    <table>
      <tr>
        <td><bean:message key="logon.username"/></td>
        <td><html:text property="username" size="16" maxlength="18"/></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td><bean:message key="logon.password"/></td>
        <td><html:password property="password" size="16" maxlength="18"
                           redisplay="false"/></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
        <td><html:submit property="Submit" value="Submit"/>&nbsp;<html:reset/></td>
      </tr>
    </table>
    </html:form>
• Logon - Add Form - logon.jsp - WEB-INF\src\java\MessageResources.properties
  • Add the following keys to the properties file.
    logon.username=User Name
    logon.password=Password
  • Save the file and Eclipse will copy it to the /classes/java directory.
• Logon - Add Form - WEB-INF\struts-config.xml
  • Add the following code to the <action-mappings> section.
    <!-- Process a user logon -->
    <action path="/LogonSubmit"
        type="com.michaelthomas.mystrutshelloworld.LogonAction"
        name="logonForm"
        scope="request"
        input="/Logon.do">
      <forward name="success" path="/MainMenu.do"/>
        <forward name="failure" path="/Logon.do"/>
    </action>
    • My Comment:  The login.jsp page will post the "logonForm" to the servlet "LogonAction.class" via the request object.  If LogonAction returns a "success" then Struts will resolve the  action /MainMenu.do.  If LogonAction returns "failure" then Struts will resolve the action /Logon.do.
  • Add the following code to the <form-beans> section.
    <!-- Logon form bean -->
    <form-bean
      name="logonForm"
      type="org.apache.struts.validator.DynaValidatorForm">
      <form-property name="username" type="java.lang.String"/>
      <form-property name="password" type="java.lang.String"/>
    </form-bean>
    • Commented Sample Entries - You may delete the sample XML entries in this section if you want.  There is 2 sample sections that are currently commented out between the tags: <!--  --> .  The sample form beans are: inputForm & logonForm
    • My Comment: Here we describe the "logonForm" Form Bean that we made reference to in the <action> tag above. We also state that we will use Struts Validator "DynaValidation" to validate the Form.  This way we can do basic validation from an XML file without having to creating a java "ActionForm" object to validate the form.
• Logon - Test Screen.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Test the web app.  You should see the addition of a form with 2 text fields, a submit button and reset button.
• Test - Logon Validation
  • Don't enter any values in the 2 fields.
  • Click "Submit"
  • The Validator comes back with:
    • User Name is required.
    • Password is required.
  • We want to add some additional instruction when there is an error.
• Logon Validation - WEB-INF\src\java\MessageResources.properties
  • The DynaValidator gets is message values from the properties file.
  • Edit the properties file.
  • Notice the following key:  errors.invalid={0} is invalid.
  • FYI:  This is where the Validation message for the User Name and Password comes from.  Words "User Name" and "Password" comes from entries in the tag "<arg key>" (ie: <arg key="logon.username"/>) in the file "validation.xml".
  • The header & footer (also prefix & suffix) for the error message comes from the key values: errors.header & errors.footer.  Lets change this to give a more user friendly message.  Make the following change to the properties file.
    errors.header=<h3><font color="red">Validation Error</font></h3><p>You must correct the following error(s) before proceeding:</p><UL>
• Logon - Test Screen.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Go to the logon page and click the "Submit" button (don't enter any values).
  • Notice the additional instruction:

    Validation Error

    You must correct the following error(s) before proceeding:

  • Now enter values in 1 (but not both) of the fields.  Click "Submit".
  • Notice how the validation error changes.
• Validation - validation.xml
  • Note:  There is 2 other files involved in the Validation:  validation.xml & validator-rules.xml.  These files came from the "struts-blank" webapp.  Review the following file: WEB-INF\validation.xml.  Look for the first tag in the <formset> section called <form name="logonForm">.  The example form happens to be exactly what we want for the form "logonForm".  The default form tag is in English (no language specified).  There is another tag <formset language="fr"> which has the code for then language "French".
  • struts-config.xml - look for the tag "plug-in" and locate the property for the Validator Plugin.
  • validation.xml - change the XML comment:
    From: <!-- An example form -->
    To: <!-- Logon Form used by logon.jsp -->
  • While you are in this file to the <formset> section.  This section happen to be already created for you when you made a copy of the web app "struts-blank".  Anytime you create a new form you will need to make an entry in the .xml file for your custom form.
  • Study the tag: <form name="logonForm">.
  • <arg key="logon.username"/> - this tag tells the Validator to look in the properties file for the key "logon.username" and pass the value (text message) as an argument ( {0} ) to build the validation message you see (Note: errors.invalid={0} is invalid. ).  This is a little techy so I suggest that you make some changes to these properties and see the effects.  If you change the <arg key> value to a key that is not in the properties file you will see the words "null is invalid".  I'm sure you will make these types of coding errors in the future so I suggest that you play with this code now!
• Logon - Test Screen.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Go to the logon page.
  • Now enter values in both the "User Name" and "Password".  Click "Submit" and notice the next error.
  • Error: No action instance for path /LogonSubmit could be created
• Error - LogonSubmit.do
  • Look at the html code created by the servlet container for Logon.do.  To do this launch the web app and go to the Logon Screen.  Now right click and "View Source".
  • Notice the following HTML code:
    <form name="logonForm" method="post" action="/mystruts-helloworld/LogonSubmit.do">
  • Notice that when the "Submit" button is pressed the action "LogonSubmit.do" is called, however, the Struts Framework will first perform a validation check.  If the validation check passes then action "LogonSubmit.do" is resolved.
  • Look in the struts-config.xml file in the <action-mappings> section.  Notice that the following Java class is called:  com.michaelthomas.mystrutshelloworld.LogonAction.
    <action path="/LogonSubmit"
    type="com.michaelthomas.mystrutshelloworld.LogonAction"
  • Next, we will need to create this file.
• Logon Submit - LogonAction.java
  • In Eclipse, Right click on the "WEB-INF/src" source folder and choose "New", "Class".
    Name = LogonAction
  • Enter the following code and save:
    LogonAction.java (A) - cut-n-paste (if you type it you will learn more!) the contents of this file into your file.
  • Save the file and Struts will compile it and place the class file in the directory:
    WEB-INF/classes/com/michaelthomas/mystrutshelloworld
  • My Comments:
    • In the source code notice how the elements from the posted form is accessed:
      String username = (String) PropertyUtils.getSimpleProperty(form, "username");
    • Notice how I created a string value that is passed to the next action and/or JSP page:
      request.setAttribute("fullName", "John Doe");
    • Notice how I can communicate back to the web page that posted to this Action with an error message.  The key "errors.logon.invalid" must exist in the properties file.
      errors.add(
      ActionMessages.GLOBAL_MESSAGE,
      new ActionMessage("errors.logon.invalid"));
    • Notice how I return back to the Struts framework what the next action is.  The struts controller will determine the next action.
      return (mapping.findForward("success"));
      return (mapping.findForward("failure"));
• Logon Submit - Test Screen.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Go to the logon page.
  • Now enter the following values in "User Name" and "Password". 
    User Name:  test
    Password: test  (Note: Do not use "password".  I want a validation error created.)
  • Click "Submit" and notice the next problem. 
    (Problem:  There is no text that describes the Validation error.)
  • My Comments:  Our action "LogonAction" (called by the controller via LogonSubmit.do and passed the logonForm) has done additional validation (in addition to the DynaValidator) and has determined that this user is not a valid user.  Normally this validation would be done against a database.  In our program, for quick training purposes, we only have 1 valid user/password. Also the struts controller (via struts-config.xml) will send a "failure" to path="/Logon.do". Then the logon.jsp page can display the Validation errors.  The reason why we have no text describing the Validation error is because the properties message key doesn't exist in the property file.  Next we will correct that.
• Logon Submit - Additional Validation - WEB-INF\src\java\MessageResources.properties
  • Make the following changes to the properties file.  Add this entry at the end of the error keys.
    # -- validator (Custom) --
    errors.logon.invalid=Invalid password. Try username='test' and password='password'
• Logon Submit - Test Screen.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Go to the logon page.
  • Now enter the following values in "User Name" and "Password". 
    User Name:  test
    Password: test  (Note: Do not use "password".  I want a validation error created.)
  • Click "Submit" and notice the problem is now corrected.
• Logon Submit - Error - mainMenu.jsp is missing.
  • Now enter a valid user/password:
    User Name:  test
    Password: password
  • Notice the error:
    Invalid path was requested
  • My Comments:  In the struts controller ( struts-config.xml ) a forward of "success" goes launches "/MainMenu.do".  Currently we don't have an action entry in the struts-config.xml file for this request therefore we have an invalid path.
  • We will correct this in the next steps.
• Logon Submit - WEB-INF\struts-config.xml
  • Add the following code to the <action-mappings> section
    <!-- Display MainMenu page -->
    <action path="/MainMenu"
            forward="/pages/mainMenu.jsp"/>
• Logon Submit - mainMenu.jsp
  • Now we need to create the JSP page.
  • In Eclipse right click on the "pages" directory then choose New, File.
    File name = mainMenu.jsp
    Click "Finish"
  • Enter the following code and save:
    mainMenu.jsp (A) - cut-n-paste (if you type it you will learn more!) the contents of this file into your file.
    Save the file.
  • My Comments: Notice how I access the request object passed from LogonAction and display the info:
    <bean:write name="fullName" /> ( <bean:write name="logonID" />
• Logon Submit - mainMenu.jsp - WEB-INF\src\java\MessageResources.properties
  • Add the following keys to the properties file.
    mainmenu.title=Main Menu Screen
    mainmenu.heading=Main Menu Screen
    mainmenu.message=The main menu goes here.
    mainmenu.welcome=Welcome
  • When you save the file, Eclipse will copy it to the classes\java directory.
• Logon Submit - Test Screen.
  • "Reload" the web app via Tomcat Manager.
  • Go to the logon page.
  • Now enter the following values in "User Name" and "Password". 
    User Name:  test
    Password: test  (Note: Do not use "password".  I want a validation error created.)
  • Click "Submit" and notice the problem is now corrected.

Congratulations, You have completed your Struts First Steps

Later possibly add the following:

• Ant build
• Log a message to a log file.
• Java Script Validation
  • Logon Submit - logon.jsp - Add JavaScript Validation
    • <html:javascript
         formName="logonForm"
         dynamicJavascript="true"
         staticJavascript="false"/>
    • onsubmit="return validateLogonForm(this);"
  • 
     

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• Logon Validation - logon.jsp
  • Currently there is no form validation so lets add it and fix one of the "Submit" errors in the  JavaScript: "object is not found".
  • Note:  We are making use of the DynaActionForm classes instead of creating ActionForm classes.
  • Add the following code:
    <html:javascript formName="logonForm"
    dynamicJavascript="true"
    staticJavascript="false"/>