JSTL's purpose is similar to that of JSP, Velocity and FreeMarker, with the key difference that JSTL uses Javascript for the computational aspects of template expansion. This enables template authors to employ the full power of Javascript, including functions, closures, objects and delegation, in creating templates.
Note, of course, that while the templating language is Javascript, the use of this engine in a Java-based web application implies that the template expansion still occurs on the server side. This is unlike Javascript-based templating mechanisms such as trimpath, which rely on the browser to perform template expansion.
The idea of using Javascript for template expansion is not new. It was available, for example, in Netscape Enterprise Server several years ago. However, the present JSTL project seems to be the first library that makes Javascript templating available for Java applications.
Here are some key features of "Javascript Templating Language":
· It has a low learning curve. Templating languages like FreeMarker and Velocity require you to learn a new syntax for their programming constructs. JSTL uses Javascript for this purpose, and virtually everyone who works with web pages is familiar with Javascript. The syntax for scriptlets and expressions is very similar to JSP, except that where JSP uses Java for scriptlets, JSTL uses Javascript.
· It is easy to embed in your Java applications.
· It avoids the compilation cycle overhead that JSP imposes. If you make a change in your template code, you will see its effect immediately on reloading the page, without having to compile to a Java class.
· It is compact and fast. Its implementation is just a handful of classes.
· It can be used not just in web applications but in any context where template expansion is needed. For example, you could use it for sending template-based mass emails from your application. It does not require servlets or other JSDK components.
What is special about JSTL?
· JSTL implements the idea of “doing just one thing and doing it well.” To that end, JSTL offers only template expansion with no frills. It does not, for example, provide any framework for web programming.
· JSTL tries to reuse prior work, but at the same time minimize dependencies on other components. It uses the excellent Rhino Javascript engine for executing Javascript code, but does not require any other third-party libraries.
· The code uses Java generics for type safety, so you will require Java 1.5 or better to compile it. But you can use the jar files with older versions of Java.
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