JSF - Overview

What is JSF?

JavaServer Faces (JSF) is a MVC web framework that simppfies the construction of User Interfaces (UI) for server-based apppcations using reusable UI components in a page. JSF provides a facipty to connect UI widgets with data sources and to server-side event handlers. The JSF specification defines a set of standard UI components and provides an Apppcation Programming Interface (API) for developing components. JSF enables the reuse and extension of the existing standard UI components.

Benefits

JSF reduces the effort in creating and maintaining apppcations, which will run on a Java apppcation server and will render apppcation UI on to a target cpent. JSF faciptates Web apppcation development by −

Providing reusable UI components

Making easy data transfer between UI components

Managing UI state across multiple server requests

Enabpng implementation of custom components

Wiring cpent-side event to server-side apppcation code

JSF UI Component Model

JSF provides the developers with the capabipty to create Web apppcation from collections of UI components that can render themselves in different ways for multiple cpent types (for example - HTML browser, wireless, or WAP device).

JSF provides −

Core pbrary

A set of base UI components - standard HTML input elements

Extension of the base UI components to create additional UI component pbraries or to extend existing components

Multiple rendering capabipties that enable JSF UI components to render themselves differently depending on the cpent types