Do I need (Spring) MVC if I have Javascript/CXF?

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+1 Q:

Do I need (Spring) MVC if I have Javascript/CXF?

I am developing a Java web services application that is (mostly) to be used by other SOA clients. Currently I am planning on using CXF to publish my various web services & methods using SOAP/XML.

I am now being asked to investigate a thin client web-application for this tool. I have been looking into Javascript libraries such as ExtJS and Dojo -- and they seem really straightforward. Given that this is a web application and not a web site, I really don't think I'll be creating very many static HTML pages -- maybe even just one. Mostly I plan on using an XMLHttpRequest object to hit the web services I already have and take the results and modify the DOM.

However, I have never created a browser-based UI before and in the context of a nearly 100% Javascript application I am trying to figure what role, if any, a server side MVC framwork such as Spring MVC will buy me. Is it needed for this? Whats it good for?

+2 A:

If you use the CXF JavaScript client generator and go for a single page JS application, I don't see what a Java MVC framework will give you (apart from extra complexity).

Pascal Thivent 2010-07-10 21:04:04

Would you say that a server-side MVC framework is really intended for web "sites" more than web "apps"?

HDave 2010-07-14 04:45:29

@HDave: *I* wouldn't say that. For me the "site" is the "visible" part, the "app" is the "internal" part (whether it's a JS app, a Java app, a .Net app) that runs the logic of the site. I would maybe say that a MVC framework is intended for dynamic server-side apps, not for JS apps (to put it "simple").

Pascal Thivent 2010-07-14 13:00:27

+1 A:

Spring MVC is a web-based module based on servlets and JSPs. If you're writing a JavaScript UI that calls on services directly, I'd say that you don't need Spring MVC.

duffymo 2010-07-10 21:05:26

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Do I need (Spring) MVC if I have Javascript/CXF?

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