Mentawai is a different full-stack Java web framework. Although it has plenty of conventions, its configuration is done in plain old Java code. Instead of XML-programming or Annotations-programming, Mentawai uses programmatic configuration, that can be done in Java, BeanShell, Groovy, etc. It has been so since 2005. In this major release, Mentawai has improved its support for POJO actions, with filters specific for them like CookiesFilter, SessionFilter, etc. You also don't have to use the VOFilter anymore to generate new POJOs based on the request parameters. They will be created on the fly. But this is not the focus of Mentawai. The focus of Mentawai, like the focus of Java, is just to get the work done with easy and joy. It is a full-stack framework with solutions for all the repetitive tasks of any web project, such as connection pooling, ioc, di, authentication, authorization, sending email, etc. It is not just another MVC controller. It is the complete solution to get the work done as fast as possible. Also we are making available the first part of the online book Mentawai in Action and the Mentawai Recipes web site. You can also click here to find out what people are saying about Mentawai.

I'm no expert and this is just out of curiosity, but don't you think that Manning owns the right to the 'In Action' series of computer books?

That's a good point. Maybe I should change it for something else. But I don't plan to publish the book. And If I publish the book I can always change the title. If anybody at Manning is not happy with this, I am changing right away.

I have to admit that based on the title I too thought this was an online/wiki-fied version of a book you had in the works with Manning. Probably best to change the title, but congrats on getting this much documentation together!

[...] congrats on getting this much documentation together!

Yeah, was pretty interesting to read. But why using a BBS for this ? I must admit I found it not very friendly, compared to some regular HTML pages you find here and there... Otherwise, there are good ideas in that stuff. One question : I could not find anything about databinding... is it implemented in any way ? Oh, another one... How is authorization handled in Mentawai ? The relevant chapter isn't yet written, and maybe it's a question I should post on the mentawai forums... but maybe someone can give a quick answer to satisfy my curiosity ? Anyway, congrats for the release ! Cheers Remi

Yeah, was pretty interesting to read.

But why using a BBS for this ? I must admit I found it not very friendly, compared to some regular HTML pages you find here and there...

We are using a OS Java forum engine named JForum. Sergio likes JForum :) When we finish and review the book, we will compile it to PDF.

One question : I could not find anything about databinding... is it implemented in any way ?

You mean .NET-like data binding?

Oh, another one... How is authorization handled in Mentawai ?
The relevant chapter isn't yet written, and maybe it's a question I should post on the mentawai forums... but maybe someone can give a quick answer to satisfy my curiosity ?

http://www.mentaframework.org/authorization.jsp

The same way RoR has ActiveRecord, Mentawai has MentaBeans. It does NOT substitute Hibernate (that would be impossible), but it gives a little hand for people working with pure JDBC. It performs CRUD and LIST operations with beans mapped to a database through programmatic configuration. Take a look: http://recipes.mentaframework.org/posts/list/21.page