Have you seen Spring lately? I'm not sure it's much of an improvement. Stripes is nice as far as Java web frameworks go, but it's fairly simple and this is wher

Have you seen Spring lately? I'm not sure it's much of an improvement. Stripes is nice as far as Java web frameworks go, but it's fairly simple and this is where the problem lies. Someone comes up with a tool that's great for a specific job. Later, someone else comes along with a slightly different problem and the tool changes a little to accomodate them. Then a few others. Before you know it every feature under the sun is added to handle every possible scenario. Now you're stuck with crappy middleware. It does a decent enough job after you configure it properly and strip it down to only the modules that apply to your specific problem. It's not so bad because you've been using it for a while and you know it inside and out. Plus, it can be used to solve everything. It can probably even cure cancer with the right module and proper configuration. But sooner or later someone else comes along, decides this nifty universal tool is a steaming pile of shit and sets out to invent something simpler and less bloated. And it will only be better because it doesn't have everything, including the kitchen sink, bolted onto it. It's focused and lean. But then someone comes along with a slightly different problem than what it was intended to solve and the hot new framework with all the buzz starts going bad just like the last one. Look at Stripes. It's just a better version of Struts2 which was based on Webwork which was intended to be a better Struts 1. Eventually, more and more cruft will be added to Stripes so it becomes as bad as what it was designed to replace and someone will come along and invent a better Stripes. In my opinion, this is the biggest problem with frameworks. Many developers prefer to have a universal tool instead of having several that are good for different jobs so we end up with this cycle of cruft.