What would you ask the Web Framework Experts?

Here's a summary of some interesting questions to which we have tried to answer:

• What is the overall performance of SmartWeb framework as it compares to others?

  A:I think our framework performs pretty well and comparing it to other frameworks it has a reliable scalability which can always be achieved even with other framework, but we already have the code which makes our framework scalable... Obviuosly, as our framework is based on Hibernate and Struts, its performances are comparable to those frameworks performances.

  B:In my opinion good if application built with Smartweb are properly designed implemented and configured. SmartWeb based applications is able to take advantage of Hibernate caching and its performance is limited by the underlying JDBC driver / relational database combination. Morover Struts is no slower or faster than any other analogous web-tier framework.

• How does your framework position itself in relation to Web Beans?

  B:Actually no support for Web Beans and Component Types was provided by SmartWeb but in my opinion, there's not limits to extending the framework in this direction or to developing application with SmartWeb and Web Beans.

• How easy is it to create a re-useable component in your framework? Is it as easy as sub-classing an existing component?

  A:It could be even easier than you depicted as our modules growing collection can make developing a component very simple: you could be able to find the code you need alredy developed and tested, so the process will simply became the component usage. Anyway, if you can't find what you need alredy in the modules repository, developing a component can be obtained just by inheritance

  B:Re-using pre-existing component is easier (at configuration time). Create re-usable web component is more complex than sub-classing an existing component, more easier then Struts but a bit more complex then JSF frameworks.

• What is the key differentiating characteristic of your framework that makes it better than the rest?

  A:In short form: it gives you guidelines on the business level, leveraging what proven frameworks alredy give you.

  B:Devoloping standard, profiled access, web-application is very fast. A designer and coding support ide ( eclipse ) plugin made it still faster.

• What do you think about the various scopes introduced by Seam, e.g. conversation vs request or session? If you support these additional scopes, do you also provide some sort of concurrency control?

  A:We didn't added other scopes: we stay on the classic level as we think it would be easier for new developers to understand how things works

  B:The approch is very interesting : EJB 3.0, AJAX workflow and pageflow integration gives a lot of no cost functionality support but i think that for the application with i work around every day it's like to "shot a fly with an antiaircraft gun" :-)

• What are you doing to help with developer productivity?

  A:We give away the code needed to have a clean architecture developing a web application: three tiers, clean code, scalable components.

  B:Refer to my 4th question answer... ;-)

• 2008 is a huge year for the mobile web. How do you help developers build great mobile web applications?

  A:Making the process easier and cleaner

  B:At this time mobile web developer couldn't give thanks to me... but i hope we could add soon web mobile application support.

• If you couldn't use your framework, what would you use and why?

  A:I think I'll stay on Struts and Hibernate: they are great, well developed and supported and easy to understand.

  B:Hibernate, MyFaces / Struts and AJAX: Hibernate gives fast persistence implementation, MyFaces / Struts gives the enough tier separation and web-component re-usability level. AJAX makes WEB GUI more friendly.

• How do you enable rich Ajax applications?

  A:We try to reuse what already available on the open source market, avoiding to rewrite already existing code. As a framework we do not want to put any constraint so many AJAX frameworks can be combined with SmartWeb, I already have tested DWR, scriptaculous and mootools. I think many others could be adopted without problems

  B:Very little support at this moment , but one of the next features...i hope...

• Can a developer make a change to source, and hit RELOAD in the browser to see the change? If not, why not?

  A:If the developer choose to deploy an exploded war and the change doesn't impact on the persistence layer the answer is yes, but this happens rarely on early developement phases, often only during last test and maintenance phases.

  B:Yes he was able...if he configure properly his developing work area...

• What do you think about the whole Flex revolution, and do you think you are competitors to this technology?

  A:I think flex could bring more interactivity to the user interface, but we are not competing with that project.

  B:I could think easier to a Flex application as a SmartWeb (server application) client then a competitor

• How easy is it to create a module and plug it into a bigger application, complete with configuration, code, and view?

  A:As easy as it be with struts, with the addition of the simplified business tier.

  B:Not as complex as it seems...try it to take as true...