RIFE is a full-stack web application framework with tools and APIs to implement most common web features. Each of its toolkits is usable by itself and together they offer powerful integrated features that boost your productivity. RIFE ensures that every declaration and definition is handled in one place in the code. This simplifies the developer's task by reducing code replication, enforcing consistency, and easing maintenance.

RIFE's differentiators are:

• you get 90% of the features with 10% of the usual effort, thanks to its full stack
• logic-less HTML templates that can be previewed in any browser and edited with standard tools
• uniform component model, designed from the ground up for reusability: applications, sub-sites, pages, porlets, widgets, ... can be easily packaged and placed in any other context
• integrated native Java web continuations and flow continuations
• metaprogramming, driven by your domain model, but without polluting it
• flexible declaration and configuration with support for plain Java as well as XML
• core support for web data flow as well as page logic flow
• integrates with existing solutions such as Spring and standard JDBC datasources
• multi-dimensional conversational state management with scoping
• language-independent template engine with support for XHTML, HTML, XML, Text, SQL, Java
• persistence layer with content management integration and versioning
• designed for the creation of consistent maintainable applications as well as on quick delivery
• embraces standard protocols and specifications, providing larger building blocks by wrapping lower layers with high-level functionalities
• out-of-container testing with full introspection capabilities of the executed flow and components
• lightweight execution model that has been proven in production
• built for Java 5 with intelligent downgraded support for Java 4
• designed for developer comfort: minimal application restarts thanks to automatic detection of file modifications

What's inside the full stack?

RIFE's full stack provides you with most of the features you need to build a dynamic database-backed website. Each layer has been designed for tight integration with the others, but is still fully functional when used independently. You're not forced to use all the features and are free to still use other libraries like Spring, Hibernate, iBatis, Velocity, ...