Package org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc

Standard controller implementations for the servlet MVC framework that comes with Spring.

See:
          Description

Interface Summary
Controller Base Controller interface, representing a component that receives HttpServletRequest and HttpServletResponse instances just like a HttpServlet but is able to participate in an MVC workflow.
LastModified Supports last-modified HTTP requests to facilitate content caching.
 

Class Summary
AbstractCommandController Deprecated. as of Spring 3.0, in favor of annotated controllers
AbstractController Convenient superclass for controller implementations, using the Template Method design pattern.
AbstractFormController Deprecated. as of Spring 3.0, in favor of annotated controllers
AbstractUrlViewController Abstract base class for Controllers that return a view name based on the request URL.
AbstractWizardFormController Deprecated. as of Spring 3.0, in favor of annotated controllers
BaseCommandController Deprecated. as of Spring 3.0, in favor of annotated controllers
CancellableFormController Deprecated. as of Spring 3.0, in favor of annotated controllers
HttpRequestHandlerAdapter Adapter to use the plain HttpRequestHandler interface with the generic DispatcherServlet.
ParameterizableViewController Trivial controller that always returns a named view.
ServletForwardingController Spring Controller implementation that forwards to a named servlet, i.e.
ServletWrappingController Spring Controller implementation that wraps a servlet instance which it manages internally.
SimpleControllerHandlerAdapter Adapter to use the plain Controller workflow interface with the generic DispatcherServlet.
SimpleFormController Deprecated. as of Spring 3.0, in favor of annotated controllers
UrlFilenameViewController Simple Controller implementation that transforms the virtual path of a URL into a view name and returns that view.
WebContentInterceptor Interceptor that checks and prepares request and response.
 

Package org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc Description

Standard controller implementations for the servlet MVC framework that comes with Spring. Provides both abstract base classes and concrete implementations for often seen use cases.

A Controller - as defined in this package - is analogous to a Struts Action. Usually Controllers are JavaBeans to allow easy configuration using the org.springframework.beans package. Controllers define the C from so-called MVC paradigm and can be used in conjunction with the ModelAndView to achieve interactive applications. The view might be represented by a HTML interface, but, because of model and the controller being completely independent of the view, PDF views are possible, as well as for instance Excel views.

How to actually set up a (web)application using the MVC framework Spring provides is explained in more detail in the MVC-Step-by-Step tutorial, also provided in this package (or have a look here for an online version). The classes contained by this package explain in more detail the actual workflow of some of the abstract and concrete controller and how to extend and fully use their functionality.

Especially useful to read, while getting into the Spring MVC framework are the following: