Recommendations for a web application framework?

We're starting a new project to put an interactive data entry and
publishing system on the web. Users will enter inputs of many
types and will get back responses from a database depending on
their inputs. The system will be developed using Linux, Java,
JSP, and MySQL.

There are a number of Java based web application frameworks that
look like they might reduce the total effort involved in the
task. Some that I've briefly looked at include:

Struts "classic" (currently version 1.2.8)
Struts Shale (currently 1.2.9)
Webwork (currently 2.2.2 and eventually to become Struts 2.0)
Spring (currently 1.2.8 but 2.0 in release candidate form)

There are others too, including one called Tapestry, that I have
not looked at.

My impressions so far are:

Struts "classic" is far and away the most used of the
frameworks, but also the oldest technology and development
appears to be slowing down or ending.

Webwork is thought by the Struts team to be better than
Struts, which is why they are switching to it.

Spring is second in popularity. It appears to included
component parts that are sometimes selected out and used with
other frameworks.

Shale is the most "different" of the group.

The whole Struts heritage - classic, Shale, and Webwork - is
in a state of some confusion. It is not clear where the
majority of Struts users will go and which of the projects
will have long term continued support.

My criteria for selection are:

1. Robustness. We don't want to fight a lot of bugs in the code.

2. Community support. We would like an active user and developer
community and hope that the framework doesn't become obsolete
and abandoned.

3. Power. We want something that saves us development time.

4. Flexibility. We want a framework that allows us to do
whatever needs to be done, even if it turns out that the
original framework designers didn't contemplate doing this
thing.

5. AJAX support. We're very interested in this new technology
and would like the package we select to both integrate well
with it and make it easy to use.

Does anyone have recommendations for us - either for or against
any particular package?

Thanks.

Alan


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Relevant Pages

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