The Chain API models a computation as a series of "commands" that can be
combined into a "chain". The API for a command consists of a single method
(execute()), which is passed a "context" parameter containing the dynamic state
of the computation, and whose return value is a boolean that determines whether
or not processing for the current chain has been completed (true), or whether
processing should be delegated to the next command in the chain (false).
Given that command implementations are designed to conform with these
recommendations, it should be feasible to utilize the Chain of Responsibility
APIs in the "front controller" of a web application framework (such as Struts),
but also be able to use it in the business logic and persistence tiers to model
complex computational requirements via composition. In addition, separation of a
computation into discrete commands that operate on a general purpose context
allows easier creation of commands that are unit testable, because the impact of
executing a command can be directly measured by observing the corresponding
state changes in the context that is supplied.
WWW: http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/chain/
PR: 86800
Submitted by: Adam VanderHook <acidos@bandwidth-junkies.net>
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