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7jsp Actions

The document describes various JSP actions that can be used to control the behavior of the servlet engine. Some key actions discussed include <jsp:include> to insert files dynamically, <jsp:useBean> to find or instantiate JavaBeans, <jsp:setProperty> and <jsp:getProperty> to set and get JavaBean properties, and <jsp:forward> to forward the requester to a new page, terminating the current page. Each action has specific attributes that control their behavior.

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17 views7 pages

7jsp Actions

The document describes various JSP actions that can be used to control the behavior of the servlet engine. Some key actions discussed include <jsp:include> to insert files dynamically, <jsp:useBean> to find or instantiate JavaBeans, <jsp:setProperty> and <jsp:getProperty> to set and get JavaBean properties, and <jsp:forward> to forward the requester to a new page, terminating the current page. Each action has specific attributes that control their behavior.

Uploaded by

Amali Xavier
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JSP ACTIONS

http://www.tuto rialspo int.co m/jsp/jsp_actio ns.htm Co pyrig ht © tuto rials po int.co m

JSP actions use constructs in XML syntax to control the behavior of the servlet eng ine. You can dynamically
insert a file, reuse JavaBeans components, forward the user to another pag e, or g enerate HT ML for the Java
plug in.

T here is only one syntax for the Action element, as it conforms to the XML standard:

<jsp:action_name attribute="value" />

Action elements are basically predefined functions and there are following JSP actions available:

Syntax Purpose

jsp:include Includes a file at the time the pag e is requested

jsp:useBean Finds or instantiates a JavaBean

jsp:setProperty Sets the property of a JavaBean

jsp:g etProperty Inserts the property of a JavaBean into the output

jsp:forward Forwards the requester to a new pag e

jsp:plug in Generates browser-specific code that makes an OBJECT or EMBED tag


for the Java plug in

jsp:element Defines XML elements dynamically.

jsp:attribute Defines dynamically defined XML element's attribute.

jsp:body Defines dynamically defined XML element's body.

jsp:text Use to write template text in JSP pag es and documents.

Common Attributes:
T here are two attributes that are common to all Action elements: the id attribute and the sc ope attribute.

Id attribute: T he id attribute uniquely identifies the Action element, and allows the action to be
referenced inside the JSP pag e. If the Action creates an instance of an object the id value can be used to
reference it throug h the implicit object Pag eContext

Sc ope attribute: T his attribute identifies the lifecycle of the Action element. T he id attribute and the
scope attribute are directly related, as the scope attribute determines the lifespan of the object associated
with the id. T he scope attribute has four possible values: (a) pag e, (b)request, (c)session, and (d)
application.

The <jsp:include> Action


T his action lets you insert files into the pag e being g enerated. T he syntax looks like this:

<jsp:include page="relative URL" flush="true" />

Unlike the inc lude directive, which inserts the file at the time the JSP pag e is translated into a servlet, this action
inserts the file at the time the pag e is requested.

Following is the list of attributes associated with include action:


Attribute Desc ription

pag e T he relative URL of the pag e to be included.

flush T he boolean attribute determines whether the included resource has its
buffer flushed before it is included.

Example:
Let us define following two files (a)date.jps and (b) main.jsp as follows:

Following is the content of date.jsp file:

<p>
Today's date: <%= (new java.util.Date()).toLocaleString()%>
</p>

Here is the content of main.jsp file:

<html>
<head>
<title>The include Action Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<center>
<h2>The include action Example</h2>
<jsp:include page="date.jsp" flush="true" />
</center>
</body>
</html>

Now let us keep all these files in root directory and try to access main.jsp. T his would display result something
like this:

The include action Example


T oday's date: 12-Sep-2010 14:54:22

The <jsp:useBean> Action


T he useBean action is quite versatile. It first searches for an existing object utilizing the id and scope variables.
If an object is not found, it then tries to create the specified object.

T he simplest way to load a bean is as follows:

<jsp:useBean />

Once a bean class is loaded, you can use jsp:setProperty and jsp:g etProperty actions to modify and
retrieve bean properties.

Following is the list of attributes associated with useBean action:

Attribute Desc ription

class Desig nates the full packag e name of the bean.

type Specifies the type of the variable that will refer to the object.
beanName Gives the name of the bean as specified by the instantiate () method of the
java.beans.Beans class.

Let us discuss about jsp:setProperty and jsp:g etProperty actions before g iving a valid example related
to these actions.

The <jsp:setProperty> Action


T he setProperty action sets the properties of a Bean. T he Bean must have been previously defined before
this action. T here are two basic ways to use the setProperty action:

You can use jsp:setProperty after, but outside of, a jsp:useBean element, as below:

<jsp:useBean ... />


...
<jsp:setProperty name="myName" property="someProperty" .../>

In this case, the jsp:setProperty is executed reg ardless of whether a new bean was instantiated or an existing
bean was found.

A second context in which jsp:setProperty can appear is inside the body of a jsp:useBean element, as below:

<jsp:useBean ... >


...
<jsp:setProperty name="myName" property="someProperty" .../>
</jsp:useBean>

Here, the jsp:setProperty is executed only if a new object was instantiated, not if an existing one was found.

Following is the list of attributes associated with setProperty action:

Attribute Desc ription

name Desig nates the bean whose property will be set. T he Bean must have been
previously defined.

property Indicates the property you want to set. A value of "*" means that all request
parameters whose names match bean property names will be passed to the
appropriate setter methods.

value T he value that is to be assig ned to the g iven property. T he the parameter's
value is null, or the parameter does not exist, the setProperty action is
ig nored.

param T he param attribute is the name of the request parameter whose value the
property is to receive. You can't use both value and param, but it is
permissible to use neither.

The <jsp:g etProperty> Action


T he g etProperty action is used to retrieve the value of a g iven property and converts it to a string , and finally
inserts it into the output.

T he g etProperty action has only two attributes, both of which are required ans simple syntax is as follows:

<jsp:useBean ... />


...
<jsp:getProperty name="myName" property="someProperty" .../>

Following is the list of required attributes associated with setProperty action:


Attribute Desc ription

name T he name of the Bean that has a property to be retrieved. T he Bean must
have been previously defined.

property T he property attribute is the name of the Bean property to be retrieved.

Example:
Let us define a test bean which we will use in our example:

/* File: TestBean.java */
package action;

public class TestBean {


private String message = "No message specified";

public String getMessage() {


return(message);
}
public void setMessage(String message) {
this.message = message;
}
}

Compile above code to g enerated T estBean.class file and make sure that you copied T estBean.class in
C:\apache-tomcat-7.0.2\webapps\WEB-INF\classes\action folder and CLASSPAT H variable should also be
set to this folder:

Now use the following code in main.jsp file which loads the bean and sets/g ets a simple String parameter:

<html>
<head>
<title>Using JavaBeans in JSP</title>
</head>
<body>
<center>
<h2>Using JavaBeans in JSP</h2>

<jsp:useBean />

<jsp:setProperty name="test"
property="message"
value="Hello JSP..." />

<p>Got message....</p>

<jsp:getProperty name="test" property="message" />

</center>
</body>
</html>

Now try to access main.jsp, it would display following result:

Using JavaBeans in JSP


Got messag e....
Hello JSP...
The <jsp:forward> Action
T he forward action terminates the action of the current pag e and forwards the request to another resource
such as a static pag e, another JSP pag e, or a Java Servlet.

T he simple syntax of this action is as follows:

<jsp:forward page="Relative URL" />

Following is the list of required attributes associated with forward action:

Attribute Desc ription

pag e Should consist of a relative URL of another resource such as a static pag e,
another JSP pag e, or a Java Servlet.

Example:
Let us reuse following two files (a) date.jps and (b) main.jsp as follows:

Following is the content of date.jsp file:

<p>
Today's date: <%= (new java.util.Date()).toLocaleString()%>
</p>

Here is the content of main.jsp file:

<html>
<head>
<title>The include Action Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<center>
<h2>The include action Example</h2>
<jsp:forward page="date.jsp" />
</center>
</body>
</html>

Now let us keep all these files in root directory and try to access main.jsp. T his would display result something
like as below. Here it discarded content from main pag e and displayed content from forwarded pag e only.

T oday's date: 12-Sep-2010 14:54:22

The <jsp:plug in> Action


T he plug in action is used to insert Java components into a JSP pag e. It determines the type of browser and
inserts the <object> or <embed> tag s as needed.

If the needed plug in is not present, it downloads the plug in and then executes the Java component. T he Java
component can be either an Applet or a JavaBean.

T he plug in action has several attributes that correspond to common HT ML tag s used to format Java
components. T he <param> element can also be used to send parameters to the Applet or Bean.

Following is the typical syntax of using plug in action:

<jsp:plugin type="applet" codebase="dirname" code="MyApplet.class"


width="60" height="80">
width="60" height="80">
<jsp:param name="fontcolor" value="red" />
<jsp:param name="background" value="black" />

<jsp:fallback>
Unable to initialize Java Plugin
</jsp:fallback>

</jsp:plugin>

You can try this action using some applet if you are interested. A new element, the <fallback> element, can be
used to specify an error string to be sent to the user in case the component fails.

The <jsp:element> Action


The <jsp:attribute> Action
The <jsp:body> Action
T he <jsp:element>, lt;jsp:attribute> and <jsp:body> actions are used to define XML elements dynamically. T he
word dynamically is important, because it means that the XML elements can be g enerated at request time rather
than statically at compile time.

Following is a simple example to define XML elements dynamically:

<%@page language="java" contentType="text/html"%>


<html xmlns="http://www.w3c.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page">

<head><title>Generate XML Element</title></head>


<body>
<jsp:element name="xmlElement">
<jsp:attribute name="xmlElementAttr">
Value for the attribute
</jsp:attribute>
<jsp:body>
Body for XML element
</jsp:body>
</jsp:element>
</body>
</html>

T his would produce following HT ML code at run time:

<html xmlns="http://www.w3c.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page">

<head><title>Generate XML Element</title></head>


<body>
<xmlElement xmlElementAttr="Value for the attribute">
Body for XML element
</xmlElement>
</body>
</html>

The <jsp:text> Action


T he <jsp:text> action can be used to write template text in JSP pag es and documents. Following is the simple
syntax for this action:

<jsp:text>Template data</jsp:text>

T he body fo the template cannot contain other elements; it can only contain text and EL expressions ( Note: EL
expressions are explained in subsequent chapter). Note that in XML files, you cannot use expressions such as
${whatever > 0}, because the g reater than sig ns are illeg al. Instead, use the g t form, such as ${whatever g t 0}
or an alternative is to embed the value in a CDAT A section.
<jsp:text><![CDATA[<br>]]></jsp:text>

If you need to include a DOCT YPE declaration, for instance for XHT ML, you must also use the <jsp:text>
element as follows:

<jsp:text><![CDATA[<!DOCTYPE html
PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">]]>
</jsp:text>
<head><title>jsp:text action</title></head>
<body>

<books><book><jsp:text>
Welcome to JSP Programming
</jsp:text></book></books>

</body>
</html>

T ry above example with and without <jsp:text> action.

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