Commons Validator with WebWork?
I'm in the midst of integrating WebWork into AppFuse. I started wiring validation last night. This morning, I realized that I could probably use Commons Validator to make validation a lot easier. Here's why:
- WebWork validation rules are defined per-action, rather than per-object. This makes it difficult to define the validation rules with XDoclet. I can't just put tags in the model object to generate the validation rules. This works with Struts and Spring quite nicely.
- Using a custom LabelTag, I've been able to hook into Commons Validator and mark fields as required. With WebWork's validation, it seems that this can only be accomplished by adding a required="true" attribute to my <ww:textfield>. I prefer the transparency of the custom tag.
- I've never been able to get WebWork's client-side validation working. Commons Validator has excellent client-side validation support.
- Spring has support classes for Commons Validator - leading me to believe that I can configure validation in Spring and re-use its JavascriptValidatorTag.
Now I just need to figure out 1) how to hook WebWork custom tags (or my own custom tag) into the validator to mark fields required and 2) how to write a validation interceptor that uses Commons Validator. Whaddya think? Are there advantages to using WW's validation over Commons Validator? Any tips for writing an interceptor or modifying the custom tags?