The Future of Struts

[Alec Lee]

What is your opinion in the future of Struts? I heard people saying it is going to be obsoleted. Why? Are there any popular alternatives that are likely to replace Struts?

[Anubhav Anand]

Well, Struts was the first framework and gained lot of popularity. Even now it is one of the most popular frameworks.
With time several new frameworks evolved and gained popularity e.g. Spring, JSF, Stripes etc. But, that doesn't mean that Struts will be obsoleted. Also, to gain the momentum Struts2 is now there which slowly is catching up as well.
[ February 27, 2008: Message edited by: Anubhav Anand ]

[Joe Ess]

I heard people saying it is going to be obsoleted.

I've heard the same statement about every conceivable technology (C++, java, mainframes, the internet, vi, bsd, etc.). Usually from someone who has just read an article about the "next big thing" (java, ruby, server virtualization, the internet 2.0, emacs, linux, etc).
The truth is that Struts 1 has a massive installed base. I was at a conference last year and they had a show-of-hands of what frameworks were in use. Struts 1 had 10x more users than any other framework. Those programs aren't going to fade away. Those programmers will probably reach for Struts 1 first for their next project just because it is a known quantity.
That said, even if Struts 1 disappeared tomorrow, would it really be that great a loss? It takes a couple of days of playing around to learn a new framework.
I recently picked up Struts 2 and it is MUCH easier to work with than Struts 1. I have a feeling the same is true for other "second generation" frameworks (JSF, Spring, Stripes, Tapestry, Wicket. . .). Pick one up and give it a try. You may learn something.

[Anubhav Anand]

Struts 1 had 10x more users than any other framework. Those programs aren't going to fade away. Those programmers will probably reach for Struts 1 first for their next project just because it is a known quantity.

Very true Joe.

Well, I personally feel Struts rocks.

[A.S. HariLal]

Struts will be here for a long time. Since Struts MVC architecture helps us to create large business application in a flexible way, the importance of such a frame work is more demanding.

[Ulf Dittmer]

Since Struts MVC architecture helps us to create large business application in a flexible way, the importance of such a frame work is more demanding.

That just points to the helpfulness of such a framework, not of Struts in particular. The large installed base is a more important factor.

Does someone have pointers to articles concerning the migration from Struts 1 to Struts 2? I've seen the migration guide, but it doesn't give me a feel for how much work might actually be involved. Any opinions from the trenches?

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by Ulf Dittmer:
Does someone have pointers to articles concerning the migration from Struts 1 to Struts 2?

From what I've see in this forum, there's a lot of people asking about migration, but few actually doing it.
I maintain a large (100+ actions) Struts 1 app and find Struts 2 much easier to work with, but so much of that first app is tied to the Struts 1 framework (form beans!) it just doesn't make sense to try to migrate. It works and that's good enough. Struts 2 really doesn't bring anything new to the table to justify the effort.
Going forward, I'll use something else, but that Struts 1 app is going to stay that way.