Developing Java web applications got easier

I've been developing Java based web applications since the technology became available in late 90's. First with Servlets generating and sending html content to the browser, then with JSP's doing the actual content and servlets only handling the interactions, then with frameworks like Struts and SpringMVC, then with JSF.

This was a logical progression from core Java technologies which require plenty of coding to frameworks which provide a more robust environment for developing web applications. Finally I tried Portals and Portlets, specifically those implementing JSR-168 Portlet Specification. It's all Java and it provides out-of-the-box aggregation, personalization, presentation and security functionality which would otherwise be coded manually using the technologies I used before. How many times did a client (if you're a consultant) or your boss (if you're employee) have told you that they wish their system looked like Yahoo or another clean looking website with ability to change the layout and look-and-feel in seconds? Probably more than once. Well, this is where portals and portlets come in.

You still have to know and code JSP or JSF with Portlets though, but you no longer have to worry about generating menus and menu options, positioning content on a page, restricting or allowing users to access certain sections of the site, providing single sign-on.

There is a variety of open source and commercial portals on the market. Some of the more popular open source portals are JBoss Portal and Liferay. Weblogic Portal and WebSphere Portal are the leading commercial portals. I personally use JBoss Portal.