What Is a JavaServer Faces Application?

For the most part, JavaServer Faces applications are just like any other Java Web application. They run in a servlet container, and they typically contain the following:

  • JavaBeans components containing application-specific functionality and data

  • Event listeners

  • Pages, such as JSP pages

  • Server-side helper classes, such as database access beans

In addition to these items, a JavaServer Faces application also has

  • A custom tag library for rendering UI components on a page

  • A custom tag library for representing event handlers, validators, and other actions

  • UI components represented as stateful objects on the server

  • Backing beans, which define properties and functions for UI components

  • Validators, converters, event listeners, ...

Get The J2EE™ Tutorial Second Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial