In this comprehensive course, you will get an overview of the techniques and tools you need to build and test modern web applications. You'll learn how the versatility of Spring MVC, as well as the elegance of its annotation-based configuration, make it an excellent server-side framework choice for tasks as diverse as serving AJAX toolkits and even building lightweight, web service interactions. On the client side, Spring JavaScript adds a lightweight abstraction over popular AJAX toolkits and provides you with a clean programming model. On the server side, Spring Faces provides a similar streamlined programming model with server-side Java Server Face (JSF)-based components.
You will learn how Spring Web Flow (SWF) can put the fun back into Web Development and allow you to manage the state and navigational needs of your application. SWF provides you with such modern features as partial page rendering and AJAX pop-ups. SWF also makes it possible for you to tap into the best part of JSF – its component model – within a Spring MVC application. This makes JSF much easier for and more accessible to developers with Spring MVC, Struts, or other request-driven framework backgrounds.

Java and Spring in the Web Layer

• Overview of standard Java Web technologies and popular frameworks
• Best practices and recommended design for web application development
• Tour of Spring in the web layer – Spring MVC, Spring Web Flow, Spring Faces, Spring JavaScript
• How Spring fits into the Web layer and a Spring MVC overview
• Effective Web application testing - strategies, techniques, and tools

Spring MVC for Scalable, Stateless Web Applications

• Annotation-driven Web configuration, request processing and lifecycle
• Secure Web requests with Spring Security
• Building form pages, processing user input, data binding and validation
• Changing the language and the theme (look and feel) of a website
• Creating layouts with global navigation using Tiles 2.0
• Adding the ability to produce Excel, PDF, XML, and other output formats with Spring MVC
• AJAX toolkits and Spring MVC as server-side framework
• Using AJAX widget controls to improve the user experience
• Learning how to use Spring JavaScript as an abstraction over popular AJAX toolkits

Spring MVC, Spring Web Flow, and JSF for Advanced Stateful Web Applications

• Introduction to Web conversations, Spring Web Flow, and the continuations approach
• Turning multi-page form processing scenarios into flow definitions
• Overview of traditional JSF architecture, strengths, and limitations
• Introduction of Spring Faces and the Spring Web facilities for using JSF in Spring MVC applications
• Creating flows with Web Flow managed JSF components and Spring Faces components
• AJAX features in Spring Web Flow for use with Spring MVC or with JSF views
• AJAX-rich form processing, AJAX, pop-ups, gracefully degradable JavaScript interfaces

Testing, Persistence, and Security with Rich Web Applications

• Testing strategies for a rich web application
• How to optimize object persistence and concurrency in a high-volume web application environment
• Spring Security with Web Applications
• An overview of building modular web applications with OSGi and the SpringSource Application Platform