Does it make sense to use a framework for a simple java web app?

Question

I've done lots of java web development using jsps and servlets, and I have found this approach to be straightforward and flexible. Some of the groundwork involved though - such as managing database connections - is rather tedious, and it takes a fair amount of work just to get a new web app off the ground.

I'm therefore considering using a framework for the first time, but my impression of frameworks is that they're mostly used for large J2EE applications and involve a lot of complex configuration. What I'm looking for is something simple that (after the initial learning curve) will enable me to get up and running with a new web app as quickly as possible.

So my question is - does it make sense to use a framework for a simple java web app?

Note that I'm not asking which framework to use (if indeed a framework is recommended), as it has already been asked here.

Answer 1

If you don't use a web framework you'll usually end up writing one - poorly.

Answer 2

It makes a lot of sense. My team has spent the better part of five years with our open source stack and no matter and we have a "seed" project (works like appfuse) that we use to create all new web apps. Even the simple two pagers from the pov of maintaining the app, it looks like every other app, just smaller.

The short is you won't get any return on the investment right now, but you will as the project evolves and you maintain it.