In search of the perfect framework

[Doug Hall]

Choice is great. There seems to be a lot of very good frameworks out there to suit the needs of Java developers. I'm fairly new to Java, and looking for a good foundation for developing projects for - well for the rest of my life. I've done my homework to some degree. I've read through the entire text and examples of "Head First Java", and many other introductory texts. I've created some simple, non-GUI programs. I'm sold on Java - especially for server-side projects.

Now it's time to dive headfirst into a Web-based project. I'd like to use a solid foundation like Spring, but before I make the first step, let me give some requirements.

� It has to be capable of making me fairly productive BY MYSELF. I don't have a team of developers behind me. I might in the future, but not now. I know this is probably up to the individual, and some programmers are ten times better than others. But to some degree, the framework must play a role in productivity. If it's too complicated, the payback may not be worth the effort. (Here's where having very good examples helps.)

� It has to be well supported. I have no doubts that Spring is one of the best in this regard.

� It doesn't have to be open source - provided it's not too expensive. Open Source is prefered, though.

I've been favoring WebObjects, just because it's been around for a while. It's still well-regarded from those in the know. Also, it has GUI helpers, like WebObjects Builder, which helps with productivity. It also has an enviable EOModel (ORM) framework built in. It doesn't seem as well supported by Apple over the past few years, however, so I'm a little skeptical to invest too much time on it.

Can someone give me a good comparison of WebObjects and Spring/Tapestry/Hibernate? Will this combination make me fairly prodcutive in a short amount of time, or should I get my feet wet with something a bit simpler, first.

Thanks,
Doug Hall

[Lasse Koskela]

Regardless of which framework you end up using, I'd really recommend doing at least some work with raw Servlets and JSP -- just to get that basic knowledge of what goes on under the hood when you're "drag'n'dropping" with a fancy IDE or tweaking the XML file of the latest koolaid framework.

[Rob Harrop]

I agree with Lasse. Before getting into drag and drop, try out a code-based solution first. You can be very productive with Spring/Hibernate/JDO/Tapestry/JSF etc. You might want to look at Matt's AppFuse software as a way to get you started on Spring.

Rob

[Vic Newman]

I would definately go with the Spring\Hibernate solution over WebObjects. I have just started with Spring\Hibernate and find it better to work with. Also, the future with Spring\Hibernate\etc appears to be much brighter than WebObjects. IMHO of course.