[myabigail]

First of all, I apologize for posting in a developer forum, but I don't know where else to turn. I haven't been able to find anyone where I live who can speak intelligently about this.

I currently run my brick & mortar retail store on a java-based Point of Sale (POS) system with a MySQL relational database. Now we're ready for ecommerce.

My POS vendors have developed a web store interface using Java Servelets. However, I feel like in its current form, there is very little room for design and flexibility in user interface.

My store is high end furniture/interior design, so design is really important to me. Also, since we have so many different categories of goods - from bedding, to furniture, to china - we need to have flexibility to organize each category slightly differently.

For instance, the final product page for a piece of furniture should have only one specific piece, whereas the final product page for a china pattern should probably show all of the pieces within a certain pattern.

It seems to me that the most efficient way to achieve the look and user interface flexibility I want is through JSP rather than Java Servelets.

Can anyone help me with this? I would really appreciate it!

-Abigail

[vitamines]

I use Struts(a MVC pattern) to do this,servlets just deal with the control layer.all the view should be display with JSP or JSF.

[sszettella]

There is nothing that prevents one from creating beautifully styled, highly flexible UI designs using either JSP or Servlet technologies. That said, there's nothing preventing someone from developing a lousy UI with either approach, either. Under the covers, every JSP page is converted to a Servlet before being executed by the J2EE application server. This is by design. JSP is merely a convienience mechanism for creating servlets.

If you have an existing servlet based system, it is not too much of a stretch to implement a layer in front of the servlet(s) to deal more effectively with the UI details. This could take the form of new servlet(s) which dispatch to the existing ones. Another approach is to use a servlet filter. There are several other, equally valid approaches.

In the end, a qualified analyst should look at the existing system and graft your needs on to it. This should identify the gaps, and from those gaps, the appropriate technical solution could be designed.

J2EE (servlet, JSP, and a number of other technologies) is one of the most flexible, powerful environments available today. Some of the world's largest web applications are written on this platform, and by no means do servlets restrict the flexibility of the UI. The biggest challenge you are likely to face is finding qualified personnel to help you integrate your business with the existing system to realize your vision.

Best of Luck
Steve Szettella
4word systems
http://www.4wordsystems.com

[jon001]

JSP has been designer for HTML output while servlets for binary output , like images, or PDF files. At runtime JSP are comiled to servlets