This chapter provided an introduction to the key concepts of the JavaServer Faces framework, and demonstrated how a number of common web development tasks can be implemented using JSF.
We introduced the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture that provides the conceptual framework of a JSF application. We also discussed the role of managed beans in JSF as event handlers that implement application logic and perform model updates in response to user gestures. We introduced the JSF Expression Language (EL) and JSF converters and validators.
Next, we looked at how to implement common web development tasks using JSF components. We examined a number of standard JSF components, and looked at several use cases such as gathering input from users using text fields and submitting HTML forms with buttons and links.
We also looked at how to display localized text and validation messages, and how to render field labels. We saw examples of how to make selections with menus, radio buttons, and checkboxes, and we discussed laying out components with panel grids. Finally, we studied an example of how to render tabular data using the JSF data table component.
Now that we have introduced JSF and covered standard JSF components, we can move on to more advanced topics such as Facelets and third-party JSF component libraries.