Quarkus Faces: Using JSF with Quarkus
— Quarkus, JSF, Faces — 3 min read
I have been utilizing Faces (formerly JSF) since 2011, and I have always been impressed by its capabilities, particularly its ability to facilitate the development of intricate applications with AJAX without requiring extensive JavaScript coding. Then, in 2019, while working on micro-services, I stumbled upon Quarkus and instantly became enamored with its seamless integration and user-friendly framework, especially given my background with Faces and Java Enterprise Edition (EE). What stood out to me was the consistency in annotations, unlike other micro-service frameworks that often introduce unfamiliar custom annotations. This led me to contemplate the possibility of merging these two technologies - leveraging the power and simplicity of Quarkus alongside the familiarity of the Faces UI framework.
Luckily, the Apache MyFaces team beat me to it...
Apache MyFaces
Apache MyFaces is an implementation of the JavaServer Faces (JSF) and Jakarta Faces specification, the other major implementation being Eclispe Mojarra. Neither of these implementations will function seamlessly with Quarkus right from the start because Quarkus is not designed to be a fully compatible Enterprise Edition (EE) server, nor is it meant to be. The MyFaces team developed a Quarkus Extension to bridge the compatibility divide, enabling Faces to operate smoothly on Quarkus. In recent years, my efforts have been dedicated to refining this extension, ensuring its compatibility with GraalVM native packaging.
The MyFaces Extension is the ONLY extension required to create a Faces application on Quarkus!
1<dependency>2 <groupId>org.apache.myfaces.core.extensions.quarkus</groupId>3 <artifactId>myfaces-quarkus</artifactId>4 <version>${myfaces.version}</version>5</dependency>PrimeFaces
What purpose does a UI technology serve without an exceptional collection of UI components? That is where PrimeFaces comes into the picture. You can absolutely develop a Faces application without PrimeFaces...but why would you? PrimeFaces provides an extensive selection of 100+ components that are pre-built with responsiveness, accessibility, and theming capabilities.
Given my involvement with both PrimeFaces and PrimeFaces Extensions projects since 2014, ensuring compatibility with Quarkus has been a top priority for me. You can readily utilize the PrimeFaces Jakarta JAR with Quarkus, but it won't compile into a GraalVM native image by default. This is where the Quarkus PrimeFaces Extension proves its value, as it equips your PrimeFaces application with everything needed to compile into a GraalVM image.
1<dependency>2 <groupId>io.quarkiverse.primefaces</groupId>3 <artifactId>quarkus-primefaces</artifactId>4 <version>${primefaces-quarkus.version}</version>5</dependency>6<dependency>7 <groupId>io.quarkiverse.primefaces</groupId>8 <artifactId>quarkus-primefaces-extensions</artifactId>9 <version>${primefaces-quarkus.version}</version>10</dependency>OmniFaces
OmniFaces is a utility library for Faces that focuses on utilities that ease everyday tasks with the standard Faces API. OmniFaces is a response to frequently recurring problems encountered during ages of professional Faces development. OmniFaces is more geared toward "utilities" that solve everyday practical problems and workarounds for (small) shortcomings in the Faces API.
Initially, the AdminFaces team developed the Quarkus extension to enable OmniFaces to function with Quarkus and compile to native GraalVM. In 2021, I assumed responsibility for the extension and relocated it to Quarkiverse OmniFaces, where it is currently housed. If you utilize OmniFaces in any capacity, this extension is indispensable for proper integration with Quarkus.
1<dependency>2 <groupId>io.quarkiverse.omnifaces</groupId>3 <artifactId>quarkus-omnifaces</artifactId>4 <version>${omnifaces.version}</version>5</dependency>Putting it all together
In order to demonstrate all the libraries and functionalities discussed in this post, I required an application to thoroughly test them. I chose to develop the QuarkusFaces application to serve as a comprehensive showcase of the combined features of MyFaces, OmniFaces, and PrimeFaces, while also ensuring that all functionalities operate seamlessly in GraalVM mode.
QuarkusFaces adopts the PrimeFaces Showcase application and executes it within the Quarkus environment. This approach facilitated the debugging of numerous GraalVM issues and enabled me to address reported bugs from users effectively. Additionally, it serves as an example for users seeking to commence their journey with Quarkus and Faces but are uncertain where to start. Users can utilize this application as a template, removing unnecessary pages and swiftly develop their own Faces application. QuarkusFaces also incorporates numerous best practices and performance recommendations tailored for a Faces application.
Known issues
Some known issues primarily arise during local development and when utilizing Quarkus hot reload. We've been monitoring and documenting these known issues on the Known Issues WIKI. Please feel free to report any additional issues you encounter to that page!