How to learn JSF and Seam fast

Question

hi there,

For a team of JSP/Struts developers who have about 5+ years on java, what would be a good way to ramp up really fast on JSF. Since JSF is conceptually different compared to Struts, what tutorials, books and other resources have you come across for a quick learn. We're considering using "Seam In Action" book BUT that book is thin on JSF but excellent for Seam. So, this question is mostly on how to ramp up on JSF.

Just so you know, we're using JBoss 4.2.3 GA and Seam 2.0.2 OR 2.1.

Thank you,

BR,
~A

Answer 1

I would still recommend Seam In Action, because JSF is only part of the story. Moreover, Seam simplifies some aspects of JSF and provides easier alternatives to others. This also means that it is problematic to learn from a JSF-only book or tutorial, and then apply that to Seam.

One part of JSF that you do need to understand is the JSF phase lifecycle, so you can understand how validation works. This is discussed in http://stackoverflow.com/questions/33476/jsf-lifecycle-and-custom-components

Meanwhile, I recommend deploying the examples that come with Seam, and going through the code so you can see what is going on.

Answer 2

This presentation is pretty good to get started.