This test application should let you see if simple Struts servlets can still work and be used in a 'normal' (non-Struts) portlet.

Explanation

Many people want to know how to use Struts to write their portlets, or how to adapt an existing Struts application. This is difficult, because the way a request for a web page is dealt with is fundamentally different between Struts and portlets, which means that you have to do some adapting to convert an existing Struts app. The problem I ran into was that the way some Portals have added support for Struts Portlets can sometimes lead to problems in using Struts with servlets, even if you are not trying to use Struts with your portlets.

A generic Struts bridge for adapting old struts apps as portlets has been developed as part of the Jetspeed 2 project, and can be used with other portals. (The struts bridge documentation describes in more detail the issues involved with such a conversion.)

Other portals may have their own custom methods of using Struts with portlets, e.g. with a modified Struts library, and/or by making your portlet inherit from a StrutsPortlet class provided by that particular portal. This custom Struts support can interfere with more standard use of Struts in portlet applications, in helper servlets that should work independently of the portal. This may happen if the portal modifies or replaces the Struts configuration in your portlet webapp.