JViews JSF applications versus JViews JavaScript applications

You have seen in Getting started with JViews JSF applications section that you can create a JViews JSF application rapidly. Rapid Application Development (RAD) is the main benefit of JViews JSF components. You can consider JSF components to be a high level JViews Web application development approach.

JViews JSF components are based on low level JViews JavaScript libraries. These JavaScript libraries were designed for building JViews Web applications without JSF. These JViews JavaScript libraries were implemented years before JSF had been published.

The JViews JavaScript libraries consist of a set of JavaScript classes that are able to communicate with JViews servlets and display JViews graphic views, such as charts, diagrams, and Gantt charts in Web browsers. To distinguish them from JViews JSF applications, JViews Web applications developed directly based on JViews JavaScript libraries are called JViews JavaScript applications.

As mentioned above, JSF is a high level RAD approach to develop JViews Web applications, because, JViews JSF renderers generate the correct JavaScript code for developers. On the other hand, JViews JavaScript application developers must manually code large amounts of JavaScript before obtaining a JViews graphic view displayed in a Web browser.

JViews JSF applications and JViews JavaScript applications have different usage scopes:

JViews JSF technology is a RAD approach. It is quicker to develop a JSF application than to develop a JavaScript one. If you are familiar with JSF technologies and JSF is the main technology used in your Web applications, you can continue to use JSF.

JViews JSF applications and JViews JavaScript applications have roughly the same performance as JSF ones. JSF applications might start a bit slower. It is also true that well-coded JavaScript code allows you to obtain better performance. But this should not be a decision factor.

JViews JavaScript technology has wider usage scope than JSF, because a JViews JSF application is also a JViews JavaScript application. JViews JavaScript technology can be used where JSF is not recommended for technical or political reasons.

As JViews JavaScript applications do not need JSF related jars, they are more flexible to deploy. JViews JavaScript libraries interoperate better with third party JavaScript libraries such as Dojo.