Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Comparing MVC Frameworks?

I saw a question on one of LinkedIn groups asking for a comparison of MVC frameworks. Obvious reaction is to point to Matt Raible's presentation from 2007 on this topic. Thinking further brings up an "It Depends" moment. Now days it is not enough to just use "best" MVC framework.
  • Is this a green field project, i.e. do you have any legacy code to integrate?
  • What type of application is this going to be?
  • Is there need for wizards with suspend/restart functionality?
  • What are you using for persistence?
  • Do you have need for DI container?
  • Is there a need for "flashy" desktop feel to the application?
  • What is experience level of developers who will develop this application?
Those and other questions must be considered before making a decision on presentation framework. UI is only one, albeit very important, part of the system architecture. Care must be taken to pick a UI technology that compliments and plays nice with other pieces of overall system.

Before jumping in bed with a framework make sure that development staff is comfortable and understands underlying technology, i.e. does not have to be retrained. Make sure that picked technology fits with a business direction/objectives/strategy few years in a future. Don't get caught up in a short term trends or you will suffer pains of complete rewrite when business focus changes.

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