Once you download the extensive Struts distribution ( http://struts.apache.org ) - you will find yourself wondering - what next? There is very extensive documentation and also functionality.

You will be presented with an immediate decision - Struts 1.x.y or Struts 2.x.y? Struts 1 is the traditional Struts and Struts 2 is a new Struts merged with WebWork 2.0. I have never used this in practice, so I cannot comment on how it would work in practice. I have used Struts 1.x.y - 1.3.8 is the mature and stable version with excellent effect - it eased out the entire front end development for a large site.

It doesn't embarass me to continue working with existing slightly dated frameworks that I understand well and which serve my purpose (and so I save two weeks of my life for something else and equally valuable). The real and deeper reason is that I find Struts 1.3.8 simpler and more effective than Struts 2.0.x - software packages have a lifecycle - and I want to continue using what I know well and find more effective and simpler to use for my mostly simple purposes.

On this site I will discuss Struts 1.3.8. This is the mature and stable 1.x.y version.

If you do not have Struts you should download it for your use.

Hello World Struts

There is lots of theory on Struts, but hard to find a straightforward Hello World application. I have modified a file distributed with Struts called struts-blank-1.3.8.war, called it hellostruts.war, and made it available for your use.

The center of Struts (version 1.3.8) - is a file called struts-config.xml. It maintains a list of names for all the destinations in your system and lets you ask for them by name. That's all there is to it. You will understand when you try it. There are Java templates you have to modify in certain ways, but this is the most central concept.

Download the following file : hellostruts.war - and put it in your TOMCAT_HOME\webapps directory.

Start Tomcat.

Open the URL : http://localhost:8080/hellostruts/Welcome.do

You should see a Welcome screen from your running and functioning Struts instance.

Now, if you look at the TOMCAT_HOME\webapps directory, you will see an entire directory called hellostruts. Go into this directory and look at the WEB-INF\struts-config.xml file and also the files in WEB-INF\classes, and also the JSP page in the jsp directory. This should set you well on the road to understanding Struts and what it is and what you can do with it. The program files have detailed comments.