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| ''2d. Scaffolding in Web application frameworks''
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| ''Rails provides scaffolding for the rapid creation of prototype Web applications. So do many other languages. Write about scaffolds per se, covering the topic in general. For example, what are the main features of scaffolds today? How did scaffolds originate and evolve? Last year we did a very similar topic (you can search our wiki for "scaffold"). But last year's writers just described the various scaffolding frameworks consecutively. They didn't look at all of them and come up with a comprehensive description. You should write about the topic of scaffolding in general, referring to specific scaffolds as examples of certain concepts.''
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| =='''Scaffolding in Web Application frameworks'''==
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| == Introduction ==
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| In most of the web applications , irrespective of their complexity, major functionality boils down to accessing the underlying data and presenting them via the User Interface. The four basic functions involved with this data are Create, Read (or Retrieve), Update and Delete(or Destroy), collectively known as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Create,_read,_update_and_delete CRUD] functionality. Can this 'data', around which the application is centred, be used to build a rapid prototype of our application itself? The answer is ''''Yes!'''' and we can do is through a technique called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaffold_(programming)#Dynamic_scaffolding 'Scaffolding']. Such scaffolded applications can either be used ‘as-is’ or used as prototypes, which are further improvised by the developer. This technique is used by the web developers for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_application_development rapid development].
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| ‘Scaffolds’ are one of the Wow! factors of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_on_Rails ‘Ruby on rails’ shortened as 'Rails'] framework. Ever since, the technique has been absorbed by a multitude of web application frameworks and each of them rendering its own flavor of it. Some of the well known frameworks are [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grails_(framework) Grails],[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MonoRail_(software) Monorail (.Net)],[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CakePHP CakePHP], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASP.NET_Dynamic_Data ASP.NET Dynamic Data], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_(web_framework) Django].
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| == Origin of Scaffolds ==
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| Scaffolding was a feature in Rails right from its initial versions. It was either through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaffold_(programming)#Dynamic_scaffolding 'Dynamic scaffolding']
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| in the 1.x versions or through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaffold_(programming)#Scaffold_generation 'Scaffold generation'] in the later versions.Though we could not accurately point the 'Origin' of Scaffolds in the web application frameworks, it is
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| worth noting that such a concept of 'rapid development' existed even before Rails and its counterparts existed.Oracle HTML DB renamed as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_Application_Express Oracle Application Express] is a quintessential example.This helps in reducing the development time of web based applications.However, such applications can be hosted only in an Oracle database as they were created using Oracle's tools.
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| == Types of Scaffolds ==
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| Scaffolds could be classified under the following categories based on their functionality.
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| === Scaffolds for generation of Web pages/UI screens ===
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| We have scaffolds that are well suited for the presentation logic, requiring only minimal inputs from the users.They also take care of the input validations of elemental components like textboxes, textareas , option buttons and so on.They help in the separation of the presentation logic from the entire application. One such powerful component-based web presentation framework,written in Java is Tapestry.[http://tapestry.apache.org/tapestry3/quotes.html 1],[http://www.manning.com/lewisship/ 2]
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| [http://static.raibledesigns.com/repository/presentations/ComparingJavaWebFrameworks-ApacheConEU2007.pdf 3]
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| === Scaffolds for CRUD functions ===
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| 'CRUD' functionality is the most elemental part of a scaffold based application. We need to describe the Database (tables and fields) and the pages for the CRUD functions are generated automatically. There are many CRUD scaffolding utilities available.
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| Examples of such CRUD generators are PHP MySQL [http://www.phpscaffold.com/ 1],MVC Scaffold Generator [http://www.twinforms.com/products/mvcscaffold/index.php 2]
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| === Scaffolds for Generating Model-View-Controller ===
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| Most of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model%E2%80%93View%E2%80%93Controller MVC] based web application frameworks like Rails, Grails, have this feature.Just as we do for a CRUD generator, we need to provide the minimal information about the Data
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| and generates the Model,Views and controllers for the same, and we have a running piece of code. In this way developer has a protype to work with instead of writing the code from the scratch. This which makes web application development, a breeze.[http://www.aptana.com/products/radrails 1]
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| === SEO Scaffolds ===
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| We also have scaffolds that can be used for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization Search Engine optimization].
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| Gaia framework is a pragmatic, agile framework which provides SEO scaffolding facility.Through SEO scaffolding search engines and other non-flash users can access our site easily.
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| == Features of Scaffolds ==
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| === Simplified web development ===
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| === Convention Over Configuration ===
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| === Separation of concerns ===
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| === DRY principle ===
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| === Design Approach ===
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| === Ease of refactoring ===
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| === Support for testing ===
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| === Detailed logs of statistics of tests performed ===
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| === Ease of expansion ===
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| == Conclusion ==
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| External Links
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| [http://osflash.org/open_source_flash_projects]
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