>> I get that you were going for 'how to integrate your existing servelet/JSP app with Spring 3.0', but shouldn't that have been the title of the article?
So, the article was titled "Servlet API Based" which was meant to imply that is stayed strictly with the Servlet API, which is what it does. Many people using the Spring Core get frustrated with the fact that they often feel forced to use Spring MVC, which of course, they don't. This example demonstrates that very concisely.
>>Spring 3.0 Web Application" implies the use of SpringMVC
It's Spring 3.0 as it uses the 3.0 version of the core framework. If this was intended as a SpringMVC example, Spring MVC would have been referenced somewhere and it would have been promoted as such.
>>Why on earth would you want to promote Java scriptlets?
The goal is to create a simple application that can be written quickly and demonstrate exactly how to get things working and interact between the web layer and the Spring layer. Scriptlets are certainly not being promoted as a panacea for enterprise architecture, and it would be expected that anyone reading the article would know that the purpose of the scriptlet is to get a simple application working, not to demonstrate modern web development techniques.
A big problem with learning new technologies is the fact that many tutorials try to boil the ocean. I certainly could have included a service layer, created some DAOs, demonstrated how to connect to a database, include transactional attributes, write several servlets and even map the Spring MVC Dispatcher Servlet. Would that make the example easier to understand, or more difficult? I think the answer is clear.
By using a JSP, there is no need to do a servlet config in the web.xml file, or perform a servlet mapping. That simplifies the example greatly.
Besides, if I included a Servlet, everyone would complain that nobody uses Servlets and JSPs, and that I was again promoting antiquated web development techniques.
The goal was to create a simple application that anyone could code up in ten minutes and see how the pieces work together. I think the simple scriptlet in the JSP is very much in line with that goal.
>>Integrating with Spring MVC doens't require anyone to 're-write' their app. I
Surely it requires configuring the DispatcherServlet, mapping that servlet in the web.xml file, and then making sure that every incoming request follows the URL mapping pattern specified. Again, I'm not sure if doing that makes it easier for someone to learn the basics.