Migrating JSF 1.1 with Ajax4jsf 1.x to JSF 2

Question

We are migrating JSF 1.1 (MyFaces) project to JSF 2. The idea is to migrate periodically by keeping both JSP and XHTML together for some time. We use many ajax4jsf-1.1.1 tag

Answer 1

Get rid of Ajax4jsf 1.x altogether. It's indeed not compatible with JSF2. Instead, JSF2 offers a new main ajax tag <f:ajax> which covers all the core functionality as previously offered by Ajax4jsf 1.x.

If upgrading to RichFaces 4 is not an option (because, as you said yourself, you aren't using RichFaces components anywhere), then just remove Ajax4jsf 1.x and replace all <a4j:xxx> tags by standard JSF2 equivalents.

• <a4j:ajaxListener>: use <f:ajax listener>.
• <a4j:keepAlive>: just put managed bean in the view scope by @ViewScoped.
• <a4j:log>: use jsf.ajax.addOnEvent() or jsf.ajax.addOnError() in JS context.
• <a4j:commandLink>: just nest <f:ajax> inside <h:commandLink>.
• <a4j:outputPanel>: use <h:panelGroup> and remember to include its ID in <f:ajax render> or PrimeFaces <p:outputPanel>.
• <a4j:repeat>: just use standard <ui:repeat>.
• <a4j:form>: just use <h:form>, it will autorecognize <f:ajax>.
• <a4j:htmlCommandLink>: just nest <f:ajax> inside <h:commandLink>.
• <a4j:jsFunction>: no replacement. Consider OmniFaces <o:commandScript> or PrimeFaces <p:remoteCommand>.
• <a4j:region>: just use <f:ajax execute>, you can even wrap <f:ajax> around a group of components.
• <a4j:loadBundle>: just use standard <f:loadBundle>.
• <a4j:status>: use jsf.ajax.addOnEvent() or jsf.ajax.addOnError() in JS context.
• <a4j:actionparam>: just use standard <f:param>.
• <a4j:loadScript>: just use standard <h:outputScript>.
• <a4j:mediaOutput>: no replacement. Consider PrimeFaces <p:media>.
• <a4j:poll>: no replacement. Consider OmniFaces <o:commandScript> or PrimeFaces <p:poll>.
• <a4j:commandButton>: just nest <f:ajax> inside <h:commandButton>.
• <a4j:include>: just use standard <ui:include>.
• <a4j:loadStyle>: just use standard <h:outputStylesheet>.
• <a4j:support>: just use standard <f:ajax>.

You also need to rename/rewrite JSP files to Facelets files. In simple cases, this is usually just a matter of changing root declarations and file extensions. Facelets makes it easier to replace all duplicated code by a single template. The following answer applies:

• Migrating from JSF 1.2 to JSF 2.0