Thursday, October 9, 2008

-- How to Create an ICEfaces Application --

Follow the steps bellow

Step 1:
Download suitable version of ICEfaces framework from ICEfaces home page. Hear I’m using Java EE - Eclipse Platform 3.4 to develop an application of JSF/ICEfaces. Therefore download the ICEfaces 1.7 Eclipse 3.4 plug-ins archive form hear

Step 2:
Run the Java EE - Eclipse Platform 3.4 and select Help in main navigation pannal -> Software Updates… -> Available Software tab ->Add site -> Local -> set the path to the extracted archive folder of ICEfaces plug-in.

Then select all ICEfaces plug-in updates -> Install -> accept the COMMUNITY LICENSE AGREEMENT and finish. Finally restart the IDE.

Step 3:
Create a new Dynamic web project. Set the JEE application server -> select the configuration as ICEface project (Follow the figure).

Use server supplied JSF implementation (ICEfaces run on JSF) -> change the mapping URL pattern as *.iface -> finish

Select the project and add JSP page to the project by right clicking on the created project.
Add an “index.jspx” page to the webContent folder. Use the ICEfaces JSPX page template. -> Finish.


And run the project… Make sure you have added the runtime libraries to the WEB-INF folder.

-- Histry of my experiance in ICEfaces --

Since I am a Java/JEE developer, I have a 1 year work experience in JSF technology. But, it is a bit pain to develop interactive web application using only standard tags in JSF, because, JavaScript add huge extra work on me as well as on the client. So I search a good solution for that. One day (before nearly 1 year) I got a URL from friend of mine; he told me this brings the real solution for my problem. This is that URL….
http://www.icefaces.org/


As he told, it brought the solution, and also with lot of happiness to my life. Finally, I have introduced this technology for my company and they also realize ICEfaces can make big deference to the industry applications. Now I am a good software engineer, who is having a great future…

If you want to be a productive enterprise application developer... this the path.

-- What is ICEfaces --

ICEfaces is a framework, which can be used to create high user interactive web pages. In another words this technology enables to develop and deploy thin-client, REA - Rich Enterprise Application in pure Java.

Pure Java means.... NO JavaScript. Therefore do not need any kind of knowledge about JavaScript. So JEE application development skills can directly apply to these technology.

The other thing is thin-client….. Thin client means, there are no Applets or proprietary browser plug-ins required to run ICEfaces.
And Rich web application environment enables to…. smooth, Incremental page updates…… that do not require a full page refresh (i.e. need only partial refresh) to view the changes in the application. Only elements, which are changed, need to updated during the render phase.

And also using ICEfaces, we can develop rapid applications, even within 2/3 months; single developer can develop a fully featured web application. Because these applications are easy to maintains, ustomize and extends…. at a very low cost… actually at NO cost….