Is Struts a container?
Officially, Struts is considered a framework.
Frameworks are collections of interfaces and classes that are designed to work together to handle a particular type of problem. In the case of Struts, the problem space is web applications. The goal of a framework is to “aid programmers in the development and maintenance of complex applications”.
So, Struts isn’t a container, but in some ways it acts like one.
Top five ways Struts is like a servlets container
1 Declarative: They both use an XML file to configure the application declaratively.
2 Lifecycle: They both provide lifecycles for predetermined types of objects.
3 Callbacks: They both perform automatic callbacks of key lifecycle methods.
4 APIs: They both provide APIs for key types of objects that are supported.
5 Application Control: They both provide a controlled environment in which your application runs. They are your application’s window to the outside world.
Relax
There is nothing about Struts on the exam!
You ARE expected to know the purpose and function of a Front Controller (and Struts is just a tricked-out Front Controller), but you will not have any questions about the Struts framework. So, you can relax and follow along without having to memorize every picky detail.
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