Struts 2 - First Steps

(Web Tutorial)

by Michael Thomas

In this tutorial you will install Struts, test the install, view the Struts docs and view some example Struts webapps.
Note: On the "Struts Home Page", you can download the whole site (all content, tutorials & examples) !!!

This tutorial covers: Struts 2 - 2.2.1.1 running on Apache Tomcat 6.0.32 (as of 03/20/2011)

Prerequisites

Struts 2 - Web App container that supports:
Servlet API 2.4 - (ie: Tomcat 5.x or higher)
JSP API 2.0 - (ie: Tomcat 5.x or higher)
Java 5 - (ie: Java 5 or higher)
If you need help with the pre-requests go to the home page of "Free Web Tutorials on Java & Web Technologies".
This tutorials has been tested in the following environment:
Date: 08/12/2010,
OS: Win 7,
JDK: jdk1.6.0_21
Web Server: Apache Tomcat 6.0.29
Framework: Struts .2.2.1.1

(Older Tutorial - Date: 05/25/08, OS: Win XPro, JDK: jdk1.6.0_03; Web Server: Tomcat 5.5; Framework: Struts .1.2.8)

Objectives

Install Struts
Test your install
View some example Struts webapps.
View Struts's docs.

Download & Install Struts into Tomcat

Goto: http://apache.org/
Click on "Download" in the Blue Menu bar located towards the top of the page.
Click on "Struts" in the "Projects" column.
Go to: http://struts.apache.org/ (checked 03/20/11)
On the first page under "Recent Releases". Look for the "General Availability (GA) Release" (or "Ready for Primetime").
- 20 Dec 2010 - Struts 2.2.1.1 General Availability Release
  struts-2.2.1.1-all.zip - (110mb)
- Other releases since this tutorial:
  As of 03/21/2011 - none
Click on the link "Struts 2.2.1.1".
Note: In the next section when you download the files just right click on the link the choose "Save Target As".
Under the section titled "Struts 2.2.1.1" download the following:
- Full distribution: struts-2.2.1.1-all.zip (110mb) - this has all of the above but you would have to split the data up.
- FYI Only - Do Not download these files. These files are in the "Full Distribution".
  - Example Applications: struts-2.2.1.1-apps.zip (34mb) - several example web apps
  - Essential Dependencies Only: struts-2.2.1.1-lib.zip (11mb) - this is the library files needed for struts to work.
  - Documentation: struts-2.2.1.1-docs.zip (60mb) - Struts documentation.
  - Blank Application only: struts2-blank-2.2.1.1.war - this war is in the examples & full distribution.
- FYI Only - download the source code is optional. It can help when the documentation is lacking and you want to view the course code.
  - Source: struts-2.2.1.1-src.zip (20mb) - Struts source.
Unzip the "Full Distribution" zip file
- For this tutorial, I suggest copying this file to the location below and unzipping it (maintaining it's directory structure).
  Copy this file: struts-2.2.1.1-all.zip
  To: C:\java\apache\struts2
  Now, unzip it!
  It should extract to: C:\java\apache\struts2\struts-2.2.1.1
  (Note: However, you can place them anywhere you want for your reference.)
Struts Docs (installed from the "Full Distribution" zip file)
- C:\java\apache\stuts2\struts-2.2.1.1\docs\index.html - to view your local docs.
- See the section called "Resources" at the bottom for more info on docs.
Install the 5 Example Webapps into Tomcat
- Locate the Tomcat Webapps directory: (Depending on how you installed it.)
  Example Location 1: C:\Tomcat\Tomcat6.0\webapps
  Example Location 2: C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 6.0\webapps
- Copy the 5 WAR files from the extracted directory to the Tomcat Webapps directory:
  Ex From: C:\java\apache\struts\struts-2.2.1.1\apps
  Ex To: C:\Tomcat\Tomcat6.0\webapps
  - struts2-blank-2.2.1.1.war
  - struts2-mailreader-2.2.1.1.war
  - struts2-portlet-2.2.1.1.war
  - struts2-rest-showcase-2.2.1.1.war
  - struts2-showcase-2.0.11.1.war
- Make sure Tomcat is running. http://localhost:8080 - if not, the start the Tomcat service.
  Start Tomcat: Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. Right click on "Apache Tomcat", click "Start"
To use Struts in your webapp just copy the jar files you need from the Struts lib directory (C:\java\apache\stuts2\struts-2.2.1.1\lib) into your webapps "WEB-INF\lib" directory.

Test your Install

Example web apps: (war = web application archive)
- http://localhost:8080/struts2-blank-2.2.1.1 - good webapp to copy from if you are creating a new Struts Webapp. Example of using English & Spanish language.
- http://localhost:8080/struts2-showcase-2.2.1.1 - see many examples in isolation (not a best practices guide).
- http://localhost:8080/struts2-rest-showcase-2.2.1.1 -
- http://localhost:8080/struts2-mailreader-2.2.1.1 - a best practices Struts webapp example.
- http://localhost:8080/struts2-portlet-2.2.1.1 - An application demonstrating portlet support.

Resources

View Documentaion
- Local Struts Documentation - C:\java\apache\stuts2\struts-2.2.1.1\docs\index.html
- Apache Struts2 Tag Developers Guide - https://cwiki.apache.org/WW/tag-developers-guide.html
- Apache Struts 2 Documentation home page - http://struts.apache.org/2.x/index.html
Tutorials - Struts
- C:\java\apache\stuts2\struts-2.2.1.1\docs\docs\tutorials.html - Local tutorials after the Struts 2 install (if you followed the steps in this web sites tutorial).
  - Bootstrap - this tutorial describes the very fundamentals for a Hello World web app.
- http://www.vaannila.com/struts-2/struts-2-tutorial/struts-2-tutorial.html - Tutorial for Struts 2.
- http://struts.apache.org/primer.html - Info on key technologies used in Struts 2.

Finished.

Finished - have a cup of java.

Other Notes

Errors
- HTTP Status 503 - This application is not currently available.
  Solution: Go to the Tomcat Manager and see if the web app is running.

Miscellaneous Notes
Struts Classic
Struts Shale Framework - leverages JavaServer Faces (JSF).
Struts Action Framework - original struts taglib leveraging JavaServer Pages (JSP).

JSTL - JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library
JSFL - JavaServer Faces Tag Library
EL - Expression Language

Struts Subprojects (note: Classic Struts – I think has all of the subprojects).

Applications
BSF Scripting
Core
EL
Flow
JSF Integration