StrutsTestCase for JUnit in Java

Encoding QR-Code in Java StrutsTestCase for JUnit

If you already use JUnit, StrutsTestCase for JUnit will be of immediate interest to you If you don t currently use JUnit or have never heard of it, a little expla nation is needed JUnit is a popular testing framework for developing unit tests for Java code It was developed by Erich Gamma and Kent Beck and is available as open-source software JUnit is closely associated with the pro gramming methodology called eXtreme Programming (XP) The underlying philosophy eXtremely simplified! is that you should write the tests for a class before you write the class itself You can find more about JUnit and XP at

StrutsTestCase for JUnit is an extension of the standard JUnit TestCase class, which provides facilities for testing code based on the Struts framework StrutsTestCase provides two approaches to running ActionServlet: a mock approach and an in-container approach The mock approach runs the Struts ActionServlet without requiring a Web container With the in-container approach, tests are run while running the Web container Because StrutsTest Case uses the ActionServlet controller to test your code, you can test not only the implementation of your Action objects, but also your mappings, formbeans, and forwards declarations And because StrutsTestCase already provides validation methods, it s quick and easy to write unit test cases For further information on StrutsTestCase for JUnit, visit their Web site at

The problem with Web applications is the ability of the user to do unusual actions that tend to screw up the natural flow of things For example, suppose

a user has just pressed the Reload button after he or she has submitted a form, which results in the form being submitted again Another example might be performing actions out of sequence through the creative use of the Back button These are real problems that Web application developers have to face The Struts Workflow Extension deals these problems The Struts Workflow Extension addresses these issues by doing the following: Disallows the user to accidentally do double submits, such as by press ing the browser s reload button Makes the user follow a prescribed sequence of steps when required Supports the implementation of reusable action sequences For exam ple, you can display a confirmation dialog box when the user is about to delete something Cleans up session attributes such as by removing session scope forms, when the user finishes or breaks out of a sequence of actions Prevents the user from deviating from a sequence of actions For exam ple, you may want the user to answer a dialog box with only yes or no, not allowing any other option The Struts Workflow Extension does not require the modification of any appli cation classes, just the action definitions in the struts-configxml file The Extension provides the workflow services by extending the Struts ActionMapping and RequestProcessor classes The providers of this open-source solution did a great job providing thorough documentation to go with their product To find out more, visit LivingLogic s Web site at

Easy Struts is a plug-in for your development environment that promises to aid in the development process by providing a specialized editor for modify ing the struts-configxml file and various wizards to help you construct entries for the config file Easy Struts is available as a plug-in for the Eclipse and JBuilder IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) The editor for the struts-configxml is extensive, as shown in Figure 15-2 To download the plug-in, visit the Easy Struts Web site at

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The Struts Web site The Struts mailing lists Articles Tutorials Consultants Classes Training resources Sample applications The documentation Friends and colleagues

hen you re informed, you have a better chance of success in any pro ject that you undertake In this chapter, we provide some pointers to help you achieve success Most of these resources are available on the Web, although some may be hard to find The key to finding good information is in sifting the wheat from the chaff, so to speak Luckily, we did the hard work for you