e enjte shkurt 02, 2006

Next Step: Generate Simple JSF Application

My last blog entry shows a wizard that generates Java Persistence API entity classes from database tables. What was your first question after you tried that wizard? I guess you asked: "OK, what do I do with these classes now? Can I run the application and see them?" I will show you how you can - after you run one more wizard.

The wizard generates a very simple JSF application the follows the CRUD pattern. It lets the user Create, Retrieve (view), Update and Delete data. The generated code includes a JSF managed bean, three JSF pages and some navigation rules in faces-config.xml. The managed bean takes care of access to EntityManager, retrieves and persists entities and also directs navigation between pages. The three JSF pages are: List.jsp, New.jsp and Edit.jsp.

The wizard is launched from File | New File.., select category Persistence and there is JSF Pages from Entity Class. Click next and just select the entity class:

When you finish the wizard you can run the application. Point the browser to a URL of the List page (e.g. http://localhost:8080/GenerateJsf/faces/discountCode/List.jsp) and you will see something like this:

And when you click "New DiscountCode" you will get:

The Edit page is similar...

You can use this for quick testing of your entity classes or as a starting point for your own development. You can also treat it as a simple sample application that shows the whole path from DB to browser. The generated code is very brief and very readable.

To set your expectations correctly, I am writing this only a couple days after I implemented the first version . The current version does not support relationships between entity classes, so if your entity classes have relationships you will have to hand code that. I plan to fix this later. I can imagine dozens of ways how this could be improved. But some of them would make it complex, which I want to avoid. Add a comment and tell me what is your opinion and what would be your favorite improvement. Thanks!