Difference Between Struts and Spring MVC

When developing Java-based web applications, choosing between Struts and Spring MVC is crucial for ensuring scalability and maintainability. Both frameworks follow the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, but they differ in their approach and flexibility. Struts, an older and once-dominant framework, was widely used for enterprise applications. In contrast, Spring MVC, part of the broader Spring Framework, offers a more modern, modular, and powerful solution. This article explores Struts vs Spring MVC, focusing on their performance, configuration, and integration capabilities.

What is Struts?

Struts is an open-source framework developed by the Apache Software Foundation for building Java-based web applications. It follows the MVC design pattern, separating application logic (model), user interface (view), and control flow (controller). First introduced in the early 2000s, Struts gained popularity due to its structured approach to creating scalable and maintainable web applications.

Key Features of Struts:

• Action Classes: Struts uses Action classes to handle user requests. Each user action, like form submissions or button clicks, is processed by an Action class.
• Form Beans (ActionForms): Struts uses Form Beans to collect user input data (e.g., from HTML forms) and map it to Java objects.
• Configuration (struts-config.xml): Struts relies on a central XML configuration file to manage routing and control flow between user requests, action classes, and views.
• Tag Libraries: Struts offers custom tag libraries to simplify JSP page creation.

What is Spring MVC?

Spring MVC is a part of the larger Spring Framework and is designed to build Java web applications using the MVC architecture. Known for its flexibility and modular design, Spring MVC seamlessly integrates with other components of the Spring ecosystem like Spring Boot, Spring Security, and Spring Data. Unlike Struts, Spring MVC uses annotations for configuration, simplifying development.

Key Features of Spring MVC:

• DispatcherServlet: The core component that acts as the front controller, routing requests to appropriate controller classes.
• Annotation-Based Configuration: Spring MVC uses annotations like @Controller for defining controllers, @RequestMapping for URL mapping, and @Autowired for injecting dependencies, reducing the need for XML configuration.
• Form Handling and Data Binding: Spring MVC automatically binds form data to Java objects using @ModelAttribute and provides built-in validation with annotations like @Valid.
• Flexible View Resolution: Supports various view technologies like JSP, Thymeleaf, and FreeMarker and integrates easily with modern frontend frameworks.
• Spring Ecosystem Integration: Effortlessly integrates with Spring Boot, Spring Security, and other Spring modules for rapid development.

Performance Comparison: Struts vs Spring MVC

Struts:

• Struts uses a centralized controller (ActionServlet) to process every request. While effective for small applications, this can become a bottleneck in larger systems.
• Struts 1.x relies on ActionForm beans, adding complexity and reducing performance due to form validation and data binding overhead.
• The framework's heavy reliance on XML configuration increases overhead and reduces flexibility as application size grows.
• Struts can be challenging to scale efficiently in complex applications.

Spring MVC:

• Spring MVC benefits from a modular design, with the DispatcherServlet acting as a flexible front controller, improving request handling and reducing coupling compared to Struts.
• Annotation-driven configuration and automatic data binding in Spring MVC eliminate the need for verbose XML configurations, improving performance.
• Spring MVC is faster, more efficient, and better suited for scaling large applications.
• It integrates well with Spring Boot and other Spring projects, making it ideal for microservices and distributed systems.

Programming Model Comparison: Struts vs Spring MVC

Struts Programming Model:

• Struts relies heavily on XML configuration files like struts-config.xml to map URLs to Action classes, define ActionForms, and configure view resolution.
• Developers need to extend or implement specific Struts classes such as Action and ActionForm, adding boilerplate code.
• Form handling in Struts 1.x is managed through ActionForms, which introduces complexity and tightly couples the view and controller.
• Struts provides custom tag libraries to simplify JSP development but is limited in flexibility compared to Spring MVC.

Spring MVC Programming Model:

• Spring MVC leverages Java annotations to simplify configuration, eliminating the need for large XML files. Annotations like @Controller, @RequestMapping, and @RequestParam handle routing, request processing, and parameter extraction.
• Developers can use plain POJOs with @Controller to handle user requests, creating a more flexible and modular design.
• Spring MVC supports binding form data to model objects with annotations like @ModelAttribute, simplifying form handling without requiring separate form beans.
• Spring MVC supports multiple view technologies, making it easy to switch between JSP, Thymeleaf, FreeMarker, and others with minimal code changes.

Difference Between Struts and Spring MVC

Use Cases, Best Fits, and Testing Support for Struts and Spring MVC:

Conclusion:

In conclusion, both Struts and Spring MVC are robust Java-based MVC frameworks, but their use cases differ significantly. Struts, while suitable for maintaining legacy applications and large monolithic systems, lacks the flexibility, scalability, and ease of testing offered by Spring MVC. On the other hand, Spring MVC is a modern, annotation-based framework that integrates seamlessly with the broader Spring ecosystem. It provides better performance, flexibility, and testing support, making it the preferred choice for new projects, especially those requiring scalability, RESTful services, or microservices.