Struts 2 Maven Archetypes

Struts 2 provides several Maven archetypes that create a starting point for our own applications.

Contents

1 Quickstart
2 Available Archetypes
3 Creating an Application Using a Maven Archetype
- 3.1 Staging repository
- 3.2 Archetype Parameters
4 Command Quick Reference

Quickstart

A recommended way to start with Struts2 archetypes is to work with the archetype catalog.

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeCatalog=http://struts.apache.org/

Available Archetypes

The Blank Convention Archetype (struts2-archetype-convention)

Features

Convention-based validation
Example actions
Package-level resource bundle
Unit-testing
Google AppEgine aware

mvn archetype:generate -B -DgroupId=com.mycompany.mysystem \
							-DartifactId=myWebApp \
							-DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
							-DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-convention \
							-DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> \
							-DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

The Blank Archetype (struts2-archetype-blank)

The Struts 2 Blank Archetype ("blank-archetype") provides a minimal, but complete, Struts 2 application. It demonstrates some of the most basic Struts 2 concepts.

Features

XML-based configuration, demonstrates including additional config file
Example actions
Package-level resource bundle
XML-based validation
Unit-testing

See the Struts 2 Blank Archetype page for more information, including some basic Maven information, how to build and run the app, and basic application information.

mvn archetype:generate -B -DgroupId=com.mycompany.mysystem \
							-DartifactId=myWebApp \
							-DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
							-DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-blank \
							-DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> \
							-DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

The Starter Archetype (struts2-archetype-starter)

The Starter archetype creates a more featured application using several common technologies used in production applications.

Features

Sitemesh integration
Action example (instantiated both through Spring and Struts)
Spring integration
Validation example (action and action-alias level)
Conversion example (global and action level)
Resource bundle (both global, action and package level)

mvn archetype:generate -B -DgroupId=com.mycompany.mysystem \
							-DartifactId=myWebApp \
							-DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
							-DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-starter \
							-DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> \
							-DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

The AngularJS Archetype (struts2-archetype-angularjs)

Features

Convention-based Action Configuration
Example actions with JSON Result
Example for AngularJS and Struts2 Integration

mvn archetype:generate -B -DgroupId=com.mycompany.mysystem \
							-DartifactId=myWebApp \
							-DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
							-DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-angularjs \
							-DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> \
							-DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

The Portlet Blank Archetype (struts2-archetype-portlet)

The Portlet blank archetype creates a minimally populated JSR 168 portlet.

Features

View, Edit, and Help mode examples
Simple form for preferences in Edit mode
Can be deployed as a servlet or portlet application
Can use Maven Jetty plugin to deploy with the pluto-embedded profile (usage 'mvn jetty:run -Ppluto-embedded', then access http://localhost:8080/<artifactId>/pluto/index.jsp)

mvn archetype:generate -B -DgroupId=com.mycompany.mysystem \
							-DartifactId=myWebApp \
							-DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
							-DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-portlet \
							-DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> \
							-DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

The Portlet Database Archetype (struts2-archetype-dbportlet)

The Portlet database archetype creates a simple JSR 168 portlet that displays the contents of a database table.

Features

Uses Spring and Hsql to show a real database query
Builtin caching of query results
View, Edit, and Help mode examples
Simple form for preferences in Edit mode
Can be deployed as a servlet or portlet application
Can use Maven Jetty plugin to deploy as a servlet webapp

mvn archetype:generate -B -DgroupId=com.mycompany.mysystem \
							-DartifactId=myWebApp \
							-DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
							-DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-dbportlet \
							-DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> \
							-DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

The Plugin Archetype (struts2-archetype-plugin)

Features

Example new result type
Example XML-based configuration

mvn archetype:generate -B -DgroupId=com.mycompany.mysystem \
							-DartifactId=myPlugin \
							-DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
							-DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-plugin \
							-DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> \
							-DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

Creating an Application Using a Maven Archetype

Run the following command from your new project's parent directory. The project will be created in a sub-directory named after the artifactId parameter.

The first two parameters, groupId and artifactId, should be set according to your needs:

groupId
This should be the root package of your application, e.g., com.mycompany.myapp.
artifactId
Names the project directory that will be created in the current directory.

mvn archetype:generate -B \
                       -DgroupId=tutorial \
                       -DartifactId=tutorial \
                       -DarchetypeGroupId=org.apache.struts \
                       -DarchetypeArtifactId=struts2-archetype-blank \
                       -DarchetypeVersion=<CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION>
		       -DremoteRepositories=http://struts.apache.org

where <CURRENT_STRUTS_VERSION> is archetype's version you want to use, eg. 2.3.15.1

Staging repository

If the above command will fail because of missing archetypes in central repository, you can try to use staging repository like below

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeCatalog=https://repository.apache.org/content/repositories/snapshots/

or this

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeCatalog=http://struts.apache.org/

Archetype Parameters

The -B option runs archetype:generate in batch mode; it avoids a prompt to confirm our settings.

Parameter	Description
`groupId`	The id for the group the application belongs to. Usually is the root package for applications in your company, e.g. com.mycompany
`artifactId`	The id for the project. The project will be created a sub-directory named after this parameter.
`archetypeGroupId`	The group id of the archetype. Will always be `org.apache.struts` for Struts archetypes
`archetypeArtifactId`	The id of the archetype
`archetypeVersion`	The version of the archetype
`package`	(Optional) The base Java package to use for generated source code. Defaults to `archetypeGroupId` if not specified.
`remoteRepositories`	(Optional) A list of remote repositories that contain the archetype.

Command Quick Reference

These commands are used from the directory created by the archetype plugin (the project's sub-directory that was created in the previous step).

To build

   mvn install

To create IntelliJ IDEA project files

   mvn idea:idea

To create Eclipse project files

   mvn eclipse:eclipse -Dwtpversion=1.5

To run test cases

   mvn test

To clean up (removes generated artifacts)

   mvn clean

To package (creates a WAR file)

   mvn package

To grab necessary JAR files etc.

   mvn initialize

To run it with Jetty

   mvn jetty:run