What's the most minimal Java web MVC framework

Question

I'm looking for a Java web framework that requires the most minimal amount of configuration for a very small app. Spring & Struts are definitely overkill here. This is an app that could be written without any framework at all but I would prefer to use a minimal MVC framework if I can find one.

Answer 1

grails requires a minimal amount of config since most of it has sane defaults.

Answer 2

Stripes and ZTemplates are supposed to be pretty light.

Answer 3

I'd say that spring webmvc is pretty minimalistic and IMHO it's far from overkill. You don't have to include the whole spring Framework to do your things. To start a webmvc webapp you need ~3-4 jars IIRC. Don't underestimate the advantages of DI in regard of internal structure and testability.

I'd go for Spring WebMVC + JSP maybe combined with sitemesh. Later when you realize that you have more complicated stuff to do you could add Spring-Webflow and so on.

Answer 4

The lightest Java framework would be servlet + JSP. Try to use the latest released standards - Servlet 2.5 and JSP 2.1. Tomcat provides all you need:

1. servlet container;
2. JSPs (optional);
3. Java runtime;
4. web server to serve HTMLs.

Answer 5

Take a look on Apache Wicket.

Answer 6

try appfuce.com. this gives you full functional mvc webapplication based on your preference(struts2, spring or JSF). and it has sample login system implemented so that you will learn the core features of technologies involved