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.