Comparing Web Frameworks Presentation
Since Kris let the cat out of the bag, I might as well give you the link to my comparing web frameworks presentation (PDF, 280KB). I also created a page on the Equinox site for this presentation and related materials. In addition to the presentation, this page also has links to the various framework implementation demos. Here they are for your convenience:
Kris notes that I would still choose Struts. I think it should be noted that I would only choose it in combination with AppFuse (which generates ActionForms). Same goes for Spring and WebWork. I've added interceptors and convenience methods that simply make developing with these frameworks faster and easier. I would've chosen WebWork for my current project, but I'd like to see better client-side validation. Spring needs better tag libraries.
I think the choice of what framework to use is a very personal thing. I think the "best" framework for one person might be very different for someone else. For me, I typically do short-term projects with clients - get them up and running with an application, and then head off to the next project. It makes sense for me to create applications that use a popular framework like Struts that they can easily find developers to maintain it. However, the one thing I'm starting to find is that as long as I use AppFuse - there's good documentation on how to do things. So I've already written the "how to develop and extend this app" for future developers of a client's application. This will (hopefully) open the door for me to use any web framework that AppFuse supports.
I think WebWork rocks, but it's similar to JSF in that it doesn't come with everything your need. The good news is it's easy to write interceptors, but IMO there's a few that should be part of the framework. After working with Tapestry and JSF, I can see how component-based frameworks will be the wave of the future. I think as you develop more and more components, the code you write becomes less and less. It's funny that this is one of the goals of AppFuse - incorporate a bunch of tips and tricks for various frameworks to make development easier. By adding support for Tapestry and JSF, hopefully AppFuse will someday become a repository of useful components. Documentation is good - code is better.
I'd probably be more enthusiastic about Tapestry and JSF if I knew more about them. I still have a lot to learn. I've bought the books (Tapestry in Action and Core JSF), I just haven't had time to read them. I think after incorporating these frameworks in AppFuse (hopefully this year), I'll get a better feel for them and how they make development faster and more efficient. My major problem with JSF is that it's being written for the tools vendors and not for the developers. Make it easy for everyone, not just folks that want to use their hammer-like IDE to develop webapps. The major problem I have with the JSF Tools is 1) none of them are free and 2) most of them are tied to a proprietary app server.