The JBoss RichFaces developers are now running full-sprint towards the next major version of the JavaServerFaces component library.  RichFaces 3.3.3 started the JSF 2.0 integration, now RichFaces 4.0 is here to finish it(!).  JBoss just released the second Alpha of version 4.0, which adds loads of new features and prepares for complete JSF 2.0 integration, development, and extensions.

Here are the main new features added in RichFaces 4.0.0
Alpha 2:

• Redesigned and improved Component Development Kit - Nearly complete!
• Ajax core components set almost completely migrated
• Ajax request smart Queuing mechanism implemented
• Rich Data Iteration components created
• Skinning including standard control skinning feature was migrated
• Maven archetype that is a very basic application to build on

With the alpha 2 release, there are also significant updates to the RichFaces build structure.  When RichFaces 4.0 is complete, it will have a redesigned modular repository and build system.  This will make JSF development easier for beginners, and it will let developers work on new components in various sandboxes.

Here is a complete list of the current components, behaviors, tags, and functions as of this release:

Core:

• a4j:ajax
• a4j:commandLink
• a4j:commandButton
• a4j:push
• a4j:mediaOutput
• a4j:status
• a4j:jsFunction
• a4j:log
• a4j:outputPanel
• a4j:poll
• a4j:param
• a4j:queue
• a4j:attachQueue
• a4j:repeat
• a4j:region

Iteration:

• rich:dataTable
• rich:extendedDataTable
• rich:subTable
• rich:dataScroller
• rich:subTableToggleControl
• rich:columnGroup
• rich:column

Miscellaneous:

• rich:clientId
• rich:element
• rich:component
• rich:isUserInRole
• rich:findComponent
• rich:componentControl
• rich:hashParam

The next release of RichFaces 4.0 will be milestone one.

You can download all the release artifacts at the RichFaces download page . The distribution readme.txt in the richfaces-4.0.0.ALPHA2 file contains all you need to get started and integrate the library into your application. If you are using maven you can follow the wiki instructions: How to add RichFaces 4.X to Maven Based Project.