Getting Started: Web Applications

The Problem with 'Old-Style' Web Applications

Many web application developers are constantly faced with the problem of successfully making changes to a web site. These developers use web application technology that doesn't allow an easy separation of the user interface and the logic to interpret user input. Their web applications use CFM, ASP, or JSP pages in which HTML code, JavaScript, and server-side code are all embedded in the same page. Because the server-side logic needed to process a web page is stored directly in the page, similar logic is often reduplicated throughout the various web pages instead of being coded once in a central location. As a result, if you need to change the way data is interpreted, you need to make these changes in all the web pages that implement that logic.

This problem is compounded by the fact that this 'old-style' web application technology does not come with an easy way to get a visual overview of how the various web pages relate to each other. A web developer either needs to rely on his/her own memory to remember the flow through a web site or needs to use a mapping tool to take a snapshot of the relations between the pages in a web application. Because a snapshot is a static reflection, it is outdated as soon as changes to the web application have been made.

The Page Flow Solution

WebLogic Workshop uses Page Flows that make it easy to separate the user interface from the navigation and business logic. A page flow consists of JSP pages that contain the user interface elements and a controller (JPF) file that contains instructions on how data provided by a user is processed and what page will be returned to the user next. A page flow provides a visual overview of the web application that enables you to see how the various JSP pages relate to each other and allows you quickly build the overall architecture of the web application.

What this Tutorial Teaches

In this tutorial you will learn the basic concepts behind building web applications with WebLogic Workshop. You will create a page flow that allows a user to enter his/her name and receive a greeting. Specifically, you will learn how to (1) build a JSP page on which a user can enter input, (2) build a controller file that receives this data, processes it, and forwards a results to another JSP page, and (3) build a second JSP page that displays data.

Related Topics

Developing Web Applications

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