Client side validation using Spring MVC

[Sonny Gill]

Hi, and welcome Rob Harrop and Jan Machacek.

There is already a topic on Spring Vs. Struts that touches on validation, but my question is a bit more specific.

What is the support for generating javascript for client side validation in Spring?

Basically, what I'd like to avoid is the code duplication for implementing the same or similar validations on the client side and then on the server side.
When using Spring MVC, Is it possible to specify validation rules in a configuration file, and have the framework generate JavaScript to enforce those, and apply those rules again before/after populating the domain object with the user supplied values?

Sonny

[Karthik Guru]

I think you can use Commons validator with Spring MVC as well. So you get client side validation there.

[Sonny Gill]

Yes, I think Matt Riable uses Commons Validator with Spring MVC for Equinox/Appfuse, I am yet to have a good look at the code though.

What I want to know is how easy it would be to set it up with Spring MVC, compared to say Struts. And whether Spring MVC has support for doing basic validation on the server using the same rules (as specified for generating client side validatino code).

Most of the people who say that they have used Spring seem to use it with another MVC framework, which makes me wonder what limitations Spring MVC has compared to the other popular products.

[Matt Raible]

Commons Validator with Spring MVC works the same way it does with Struts - you can use it for server-side validation or server+client-side validation.

[Sonny Gill]

Thanks Matt.

For anybody looking for information on this topic, here are a couple of helpful links -

http://jroller.com/page/raible/20040712#using_commons_validator_with_spring
https://sourceforge.net/forum/message.php?msg_id=2658797

[Sonny Gill]

This brings me to the other part of my question.
Why do most people prefer to use another MVC framework in front of Spring, what are the major drawbacks in Spring MVC at this stage?

[Matt Raible]

My guess is folks would rather use a web framework they're familiar with - rather than learning a new one.