Expresso Framework 5.6

Expresso Framework provides an architectural framework.
Expresso Framework is an open standards-based J2EE architectural framework that allows the developer to concentrate on application logic.
It is a library of extensible Java Server application framework components for creating database-driven Web applications based on open standards. Expresso integrates with Apache Jakarta Struts, which emphasizes presentation and application configuration, and bringing a powerful tag library to Expresso.
Expresso adds capabilities for security, robust object-relational mapping, background job handling and scheduling, self-tests, logging integration, automated table manipulation, database connection pooling, email connectivity, event notification, error handling, caching, internationalization, XML automation, testing, registration objects, configuration management, workflow, automatic database maintenance, and a JSP tag library.
Enhancements:
- Move password hash to UserInfo interface and its implementers: password hash no longer in User.java facade, but rather in UserInfo.java interface and its implementers. This allows more flexibility in handling external authentication.
Contributed By: Larry Hamel
- Velocity support for view rendering: Velocity can now be used to render the view. See EDG for details.
Contributed By: David Lloyd
- RunSQL Can Display Table Definitions: Enter the table name in the query section of RunSQL and it will now display the current definition of the underlying database table. Experimental
Contributed By: Michael Rimov
- RunSQL Executes Updates: RunSQL can now execute updates methods as well as select. This allows you to issue ALTER TABLE statements straight through the (secured) web interface. Experimental
Contributed By: Michael Rimov
- Initial Maven integration: Currently has been tested with the site:generate target and the corresponding compile, unittest, etc reports. Not yet used for building distributions. Experimental
Contributed By: Michael Rimov
- RequestRegistry automatically sets data context and security parameters: All calls to setDataContext() will no longer be necessary in client code. This info is propagated using ThreadLocal variables and the "Registry" pattern as described by Martin Fowler. Security parameters (i.e., requesting UID) are also propagated to RowSecuredDBObject, but for the sake of backwards compatibility, they are not propagated to SecuredDBObject. CheckLogin does this work. However, this functionality is also available in a servlet filter, RequestRegistryFilter. If you choose to use RequestRegistryFilter, you could do away with CheckLogin calls from the controller. We would use RequestRegistryFilter everywhere, but legacy installations have various URL paths, each of which requires filtering.
Contributed By: Michael Rimov
- Customizable per-instance UserInfo: Theres a new constructor in User that takes a UserInfo parameter. It allows special behavior for certain users.
Contributed By: Michael Rimov
- New Method: DataObject.setFieldsWithDefaults(): Populates all null fields in the object with default values as specified by the data objects metadata. The behavior mirrors that of DefaultAutoElement.
Contributed By: Michael Rimov.
- revise login bean CurrentLogin to be overridable: revise login bean CurrentLogin to be overridable, as a class handler in expresso-config.xml
Contributed By: Larry Hamel
- Added delimiter attribute to IfMemeberOfGroup tag: If a the delimiter is specified, the groupname will be split on the delimiter. The user will be search for any of the named groups (a logical OR is performed).
Contributed By: Mike Traum
- DataField.isChanged() works after update() and add(): Add method so that DBObject.update() and DBObject.add() can indicate when to cache the current field value as the original value for purposes of isChanged() comparison. Previously, isChanged() was working for DBObject.retrieve() only.
Contributed By: Larry Hamel
- AllowedHtmlPlusURLFilter: AllowedHtmlPlusURLFilter offers the recognition of a limited subset of HTML to be used within an input field. the subset has been chosen to offer some basic formatting without risking Cross site scripting (XSS) dangers.
Contributed By: Larry Hamel
- Struts Validator Integration: Expresso can now use Struts Validator for validating input forms. Rules are defined in validation.xml and validator-rules.xml. See Validating user input in EDG for more details
Contributed By: Raul Davidovich
- new class - com.jcorporate.expresso.core.controller.TilesController: Expresso aware implementation of the org.apache.struts.tiles.Controller interface. This allows for manipulation of theControllerResponse for a particular tile before it is displayed, independantly of the State currently being processed. Developers should extend this class and code the execute() method.
Contributed By: Malcolm Wise
- Various JoinedDataObject enhancements/fixes: You can now specify which fields to retrieve from each dataobject in the join. This list can also include expressions such as SUM(). Added custom WHERE clause facility. Aliases can be used in the custom WHERE clause and these will be translated when the WHERE clause is built. Fixed generation of ON clause when joining tables with a compound key. Provided setConnection() method to facilitate transactioning.
Contributed By: Malcolm Wise
- Stored Procedure support: Now DBObjectos have built in support for database stored procedures
Contributed By: Yves Henri Amaizo